-The Hindu Resolution points out various forms of violence against Dalits, especially women The European Parliament (EP) has recognised caste-based discrimination as a human rights violation and adopted a resolution condemning it and urging European Union institutions to address it. The EP consists of 28 member-countries of the EU. Acknowledging that caste-affected communities are still subjected to ‘untouchability practices' in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the October 10 resolution stressed the...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Jupiter's gravity could be Rahul Gandhi's flourish, but "escape velocity" is a buzzword in macro economics and empowerment this year, figuring in the title of an influential paper by two Harvard economists studying racial inequality. In "Achieving escape velocity: Neighbourhood and school interventions to reduce persistent inequality", Harvard's Roland D Fryer and Lawrence F Katz examine policies that enable youth to "escape the gravitational pull of...

-The Hindu More needs to be done to enforce the law banning manual scavenging. This monsoon, India's Parliament passed a law of enormous social significance prohibiting and punishing manual scavenging, which remains the most degrading form of untouchability and caste discrimination in the country. This is not the first time this practice was outlawed: untouchability and forced labour were forbidden in the Constitution itself and, in 1993, a law was first passed...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The sight of voluntary organizations generously helping villagers in the wake of the Uttarakhand tragedy was heart warming. But, its flip side has the state government concerned. The NGO dole given to villages has caused heartburn among other hamlets where these voluntary organizations did not reach, largely because the relief by non-state bodies is lavish when compared to the structured help provided by the government. Such...

-The Economic Times As elections approach and the campaign gets shriller, the UPA and opposition parties are in the market for talking points to pin each other down. The BJP gloats that it created more jobs in its five years than UPA-I managed to create between 2004 and 2009. This is correct: between 1999-2000 and 2004-05 when the BJP was in power, the total number of jobs went up by a little...