-NetworkIdeas.org On Wednesday August 8, the Delhi High Court decriminalized begging in the capital. In the course of its hearing it had raised the question how begging could be an offence in a country where the government was unable to provide food and jobs; its final verdict is in line with this thinking. Of course there was no central legislation, or legislation relating specifically to Delhi, that had criminalized begging earlier;...

-The Indian Express India’s disability movement will not be the same again. I wonder if 50 years down the line, India’s disability movement’s timeline will be viewed as before and after Javed Abidi. The unexpected passing away of this colossus a few days back has shaken all — from activists who were his contemporaries to reporters wondering aloud on Twitter about whom to ask for quotes in future coverage of disability. So where...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that cinemas need not compulsorily play the national anthem but if they did, everyone in the audience except the physically challenged must stand up. The apex court modified its own order issued in 2016 after the Centre, in keeping with its altered stand that was articulated on Monday, said the earlier directives on the national anthem had been abused and they could...

-Press release by All India Transgender and Intersex Collective The Constitution of India, framed under the guidance of Dr. BR Ambedkar, was built on the framework of equality, justice, liberty and secularism. It is only due to these ideals that communities of people forced into society's margins have won some legal rights and also gathered the courage to fight against social injustice. The fight still continues, especially because transgender persons, dalits,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court was in for a surprise on Monday as it found that Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, mandated no special educational techniques for students suffering from different kinds of impairment and to make them part of mainstream education. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said it defied common sense that students with...