-The Hindu Jaipur: On Thursday, several people in Jaipur celebrated the Valentine’s Day in a way it has never been done before, as they gathered in the heart of the city to pledge an end to violence against women under the global “One Billion Rising” campaign. “I too, as a woman, have come to lend my voice and express solidarity to end violence against women from the face of the earth,” Rajasthan...

-The Hindu Koynanagar (Maharashtra): First, a dam, then an earthquake and finally a tiger reserve — families in Satara district’s Koyna have been displaced thrice in one generation. In 1960, the people had to move, paving the way for the Koyna dam; in 1967 following the earthquake and then for the Koyna tiger reserve in 1985, says Jagannath Vibhute, an activist of the Shramik Mukti Dal and one of the many...

-The Hindu By exempting some projects on forest land from gram sabha consent, the government has undermined the rights of local communities and their crucial role in protecting the environment In early February, the Ministry of Environment and Forests partially revoked a crucial order it had issued in August 2009, which made the consent of gram sabhas mandatory for projects seeking diversion of forest lands for non-forest purposes. Now, the ministry has...

-The Telegraph Jaipur: In this e-age, the pen can still be a potent weapon. The good old writing instrument, mightier than a sword in the hands of the right user, found a band of little champions who recently used it to telling effect. They got education authorities in Rajasthan to appoint a teacher for their school. They didn’t write emails, though laptops are being given to meritorious students to become e-savvy. They just...

-The Times of India Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien has written to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President HamidAnsari, claiming innocence in the Suryanelli rape case. Kurien is learnt to have written to the two leaders last week to counter the renewed controversy over the rape scandal that has put him in the line of fire. BJP and CPM have adopted a tough stand, demanding that he step down from his...