Social exclusion of children belonging to marginalised groups and barriers to children's access to their rights-based entitlements were highlighted as crucial issues confronting the society at a workshop on children's rights here recently. Activists said children being forced to work as labourers was an “abysmal failure” of all institutions.The day-long workshop was organised jointly by Save the Children, Prayatna, Society for All Round Developemnt (SARD), Consumer Unity and Trust Society...

While the high-profile Adarsh land and housing scam has brought Mumbai's near-lawless urban development into focus, a silent malnutrition crisis in the city points also to a grotesque imbalance in people's access to resources and a collapse of social services. At least 16 children under six years have died from malnutrition and related illnesses from April this year in just one locality of the city - Shivaji Nagar in Govandi,...

The rally members will highlight farmers' insecuritiesKisan Swaraj Yatra (rally for farmers' sovereignty), a conglomeration of farmers' organisations, consumers and civil society groups, is to make a presentation on the agriculture crisis to the National Advisory Council (NAC). They seek a Farmers' Income Commission and a social security legislation for farmers.Representatives of the Yatra, who met NAC chairperson Sonia Gandhi here on Saturday to highlight the income insecurity of farmers,...

Kisan Swaraj Yatra (rally for farmers' sovereignty), a conglomeration of farmers' organisations, consumers and civil society groups, is to make a presentation on the agriculture crisis to the National Advisory Council (NAC). They are seeking a Farmers' Income Commission and social security legislation for farmers.Representatives of the Yatra, who met NAC chairperson Sonia Gandhi here on Saturday to highlight the income insecurity of farmers, will be invited to make a...

Chhattisgarh special prosecutor TC Pandya on Friday claimed that civil rights activist Dr Binayak Sen's wife Ilina was in correspondence with the ISI — a huge gaffe. For, the ISI she had links with was the Indian Social Institute, not the Pakistani intelligence agency. Pandya was deposing in a local sessions court and said that Sen had dealings not just with local Maoist networks but also international terrorist groups as well. He...