-The Economic Times Recently, we were witness to a noisy spat between economists Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati. Some commentators linked this to a Congress-versus-BJP fight over development models. Sen, the advocate of investment in education, health and nutrition as necessary for economic growth, was presumed to speak for the Congress. Bhagwati, the proponent of growthfirst model, was seen to be batting for the BJP. Indeed, Bhagwati has cited Gujarat as...

-The Indian Express An analysis of affidavits submitted by candidates in parliamentary and assembly elections since 2004 shows that a higher proportion of those with a criminal record were elected than from among those without such a record. The study found that only 12 per cent of those with a clean record won, which it described as their chances of winning, as against 23 per cent of those who a serious...

-The Times of India KOLKATA: After months of being in denial mode over the rise in sexual crimes in Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee government has been forced to take action. Kolkata Police is setting up an exclusive unit by Independence Day to protect women, especially tourists. Women will make up half of this new squad. TOI has relentlessly campaigned to make the city safe for women and the activism has yielded results. The...

-The Telegraph Has rape become an inspiring act? Protest, debate, anger, mutual blame, marches, mob violence are spilling out of streets and screens, yet the rape count continues to rise relentlessly, almost as if the outrage over one incident is inciting the next one. Such a narrative is to an extent encouraged by the way incidents are reported in newspapers and television, but the facts are inescapable, and everybody, including the...

-The Hindu That predators continue to enjoy impunity for crimes committed against women is now common knowledge. But less known is the fact that the worst perpetrators are often those most intimately known to women, or that the latter are vulnerable in consequence to life-long health-related risks. These frightening revelations are contained in a recent World Health Organisation report, issued in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical...