-The Hindu How gender sensitive are the government’s flagship programmes, probes a report to be released today Why is the concept of ‘citizen’ always a male? Why is the formulation of government policies always male centric leaving out the female counterpart that actually constitutes half the population and contributes in equal measure to the economy? Perhaps keeping this in mind, UN Women and economists have come up with a report on eight flagship...

By recognising the rights of the transgender community, the state is not doling out largesse; it is only performing its duty under the Constitution They came beautifully dressed, some a tad brightly, but all beautifully and proudly, there was much chatter, and a lot of sisterhood. It was the public hearing of transgenders at Delhi. An excluded group must definitely feel cheered in a gathering, where the members of that group...

-The Times of India   The Supreme Court on Wednesday said its final decision on the correctness of the Delhi High Court judgment -- which decriminalized Section 377 of Indian Penal Code covering a sexual act in private between consenting adults -- could have far reaching impact on several sexual offences listed in the penal laws. A bench of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya requested the counsel for parties to...

-The Hindustan Times ‘The lives of female Hindoo subjects should be henceforth more efficiently protected; that the heinous sin of cruelty to females may no longer be committed, and that the most ancient and purest system of Hin-doo religion should not any longer be set at nought by the Hindoos themselves.’ Replace ‘female Hindu subjects’ with ‘homosexuals’ and the exhortation for a return to an uncorrupted religious past with that of a...

The Planning Commission's Approach Paper to the Twelfth Plan sticks with the neoliberal agenda despite claims of inclusive growth. INCLUSIVE was one word that came up time and again in the early announcements of the Planning Commission on the Twelfth Five-Year Plan. “Faster, Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth” was the slogan coined for the Plan and there was the promise of widespread consultations as never before as part of the processes...