-The Indian Express Mumbai: If a sample study conducted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, is anything to go by, schools in Maharashtra have failed to bridge the caste divide between students. The study found that more 60 per cent of standards VII and IX students at Talsar village in Ratnagiri district want to make same-caste friends, while 40.5 per cent are against inter-caste marriage. Further, 35.7 per cent of students...

-Live Mint Panchayat-related caste violence continues unabated and has become a part of the social reality today In ancient India, the panchayat system was based on the age-old caste system, social status and family. Although the local self-government concept was introduced in 1882, it took more than 100 years for the local self-government institutions to become a part of the Indian Constitution. While tremendous possibilities have been opened up in the...

-Live Mint Lack of decentralization means municipalities lack power, resources to meet rising aspirations of ‘middle' India Othakadai, Madurai (Tamil Nadu)/Hubli (Karnataka): S. Paramasivam , president of the Othakadai panchayat, has big plans for his area. "Rainwater harvesting, removal of encroachments on roads, waste recycling, covered drainage, bigger primary health care centres and community parks," lists the 58-year-old, who has spent 30 years in the stainless steel business that dominates industry...

-NDTV April 15, Gandhi Nagar, Delhi: A five-year-old girl is raped by two sexual predators, both young adults The shocking gang-rape has raised many questions. Where are the perpetrators of rape coming from? What makes them commit rape? To prevent sexual abuse and sexual violence against children, understanding the minds of the sex offenders is of utmost importance. Experts in the field of mental health and child abuse say perpetrators are like any of...

-The Hindu Dehra Dun: Navdanya, the People's Science Institute and the Friends of Doon - all local environment protection groups - have urged Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to immediately cancel the memorandum of understanding signed with Coca-Cola that plans to set up a unit in Vikas Nagar area near here. "We will never allow Coca-Cola to set up its plant in the ecologically sensitive Doon Valley as the plant, besides stealing...