-DNA 1. The equality of women, being integral to the Constitution, its denial is a sacrilege and a constitutional violation. Sustained constitutional violations mean that governance is not in accordance with the Constitution. A fortiori, all limbs of the State - the executive, the legislature as well as the judiciary -must respect women’s rights and must treat them in a non-discriminatory manner. 2. As a primary recommendation, all marriages in India (irrespective...

-Frontine Walmart’s disclosure that it spent huge amounts of money on lobbying in India and the allegation that it entered the retail sector through indirect means highlight the power of global capital in dictating the country’s policies. The world’s largest multi-brand retailer Walmart’s disclosure to the United States Senate that it had spent $25 million (Rs.135 crore) since 2008 on its various lobbying activities, which include enhancing access to the Indian...

-DNA Prominent RTI activists on Tuesday said violence on users, court stay on prominent decisions of the information commission, rulings that limit the scope of RTI and threats from the government through legislations were major challenges facing the Act. Aruna Roy, member of National Advisory Council (NAC), Shailesh Gandhi, former central information commissioner, Nikhil Dey, member of National Council for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), Shankar Singh, member of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti...

-NDTV The Delhi High Court today asked the capital's police force why its top officer is not being held accountable for the barbarous gang-rape of a student on a moving bus in Delhi last month. She died nearly two weeks later; five men have been charged with her rape and murder. The assault on 'Amanat' (NOT her real name) hit India with brute force, triggering massive angry protests and a demand for...

-Outlook As a debate raged over imposing death penalty for rape convicts, National Commission for Minorities (NCM) opposed such a "blanket provision", saying this would prompt offenders to kill their victims. "The laws concerning rape provisions should be made for enhancement of punishment with imprisonment of life and also liability to fine. A blanket provision for death would prompt offenders to kill their victims, compounding instances of rape and murder," the NCM...