-Tehelka The sentencing of Wall Street wizard Rajat Gupta in the historic insider trading case has led to the fall of a one-time icon for many Indians “This is where destiny is taking me.” This is what former Goldman Sachs Group Inc director, Rajat Gupta, told old friend Pramod Bhasin, as he sat with a glass of scotch in hand, in a mid-town bar in New York. Little did Gupta know how prophetic...

-The Pioneer With an average of 93 crime against SC/STs being reported daily, a number of dalit human rights groups on Thursday urged the Government to amend the SC/STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the Winter Session of Parliament to ensure speedy trial and higher conviction for such crimes. These groups, united under National Coalition for Strengthening SCs and STs, have approached Congress president Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council and various political...

-Tehelka Dalit and Tribal activists plan a “Dilli Chalo” campaign demanding an amendment to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act The National Coalition for Strengthening Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act on Thursday 25 October 2012, announced the launch of “Dilli Chalo” a nationwide campaign to pressurise the government to amend the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act. The campaign will culminate...

-The Hindu In the State that leads in incidents of rape, the shame-inducing statistics are pushing the administration into action Time was when Payal (name changed to protect her identity), a standard VII student from Madhya Pradesh’s tribal dominated Betul district, had only school, friends and family on her mind. But her little world changed dramatically in March this year. The 15-year-old, a resident of Betul’s Majhinagar slum, was abducted in public by...

-The Hindu The conviction rate for every kind of crime is in free fall, engendering a breakdown of law that no republic can survive Even criminals, back in 1953, seemed to be soaking in the warm, hope-filled glow that suffused the newly free India. From a peak of 654,019 in 1949, the number of crimes had declined year-on-year to 601,964. Murderers and dacoits; house-breakers and robbers — all were showing declining enthusiasm...