-The Hindu Natpurwa is a village where women have been forced into prostitution for centuries. And one of them is determined to help the others break free. Round faced, stout and dusky, Chandralekha, at age 15, was the most desired girl among the politicians, policemen and senior members of Eastern Uttar Pradesh’s civil society. “They always wanted plump women,” says Chandralekha, now 51 years old. Chandralekha was pushed into prostitution, by her...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: Holding that no person should languish in jail just because no one was willing or available to stand surety for him, the Madras high court ordered the immediate release of 73 undertrial prisoners, who were in jail for long periods despite having got bail. They will all now be released on their own bond. While granting bail, a surety is insisted upon by courts because the person...

-The Times of India COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu government's move to declare Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve drew strong protests from tribal groups and human rights activists, who said the administration has failed to address survival and livelihood issues of over 10,000 traditional forest dwellers in the former Veerappan lair. They said the notification was illegal as it was not issued in conformity with the Forest Rights Act and...

-The Times of India Sparrows have become so rare in the capital that it seems not even Delhi's environment department can identify it correctly. The department's ad campaign on the occasion of World Sparrow Day on Wednesday carried a picture of the Eurasian tree sparrow, which is neither found in Delhi nor in most parts of India, mistaking it for the house sparrow. It was an ironic reflection of the plight of...

-The Business Standard The implications of the food security Bill remain worrying The revised draft of the food security Bill, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Tuesday, marks some distinct changes over the draft introduced in Parliament in 2011. However, it may still not fully satisfy either the states or activists. While it retains the overall population coverage of 75 per cent rural and 50 per cent urban,...