-The Hindu Complaints by Pakistan of executions, beheadings in secret cross-border raids by Indian forces In classified protests to a United Nations watchdog that have never been disclosed till now, Pakistan has accused Indian soldiers of involvement in the torture and decapitation of at least 12 Pakistani soldiers in cross-Line of Control raids since 1998, as well as the massacre of 29 civilians. The allegations, laid out in confidential Pakistani complaints to the...

-The Hindu While India celebrates its near victory over polio, another dreaded disease, leprosy, that was overpowered in 2005 continues to haunt the government. Those affected by the disease continue to face social stigma and discrimination. In addition to the 12,305 child cases detected during the past year, 16 States and Union Territories have also shown an increase in the number of cases. Though in 2005 leprosy was eliminated (having less than 1...

-Reporters without Borders Access the 2013 World Press Freedom Index here. After the “Arab springs” and other protest movements that prompted many rises and falls in last year’s index, the 2013 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index marks a return to a more usual configuration. The ranking of most countries is no longer attributable to dramatic political developments. This year’s index is a better reflection of the attitudes and intentions of...

-The Hindu One of the most prominent features of India’s middle-class-driven public culture has been an obsession about our GDP growth rate, and a facile equation of that number with a sense of national achievement or impending arrival into affluence. In media headlines, political speeches, and everyday conversations, the GDP growth rate number — whether it is five per cent or eight per cent or whatever — has become a staple...

-The Indian Express A committee set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forests has suggested new parameters to declare pristine forested areas as ‘inviolate’ and thus out of bounds for mining or other harmful non-forest activities. The panel, headed by former environment secretary T Chatterjee, has recommended that national parks and wildlife sanctuaries; areas within a kilometre of protected areas; compact patches of very dense forests; last remnants of forest types...