-The Times of India   PATIALA: Dalits in Punjab are being used as proxy bidders by upper caste peasants to corner thousands of acres of agricultural village land that should ideally be rented out only to scheduled caste members. This practice has been exposed by the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission in its report on the boycott of dalits in Baupur village by upper caste members. The state government gives out agricultural...

-The Hindu   Salt workers toil under inhuman conditions to create the ingredient that converts a tasteless lump of calories into consumable tasty food Salt has played an iconic role in our freedom struggle, symbolised by the great salt satyagraha of 1933, led by Mahatma Gandhi at Dandi. Every child in India knows about this but how many know that a similar satyagraha was led in the Madras Presidency (now Tamil Nadu) by...

-The Hindu   On the first anniversary of the Uttarakhand disaster, here's a look at issues plaguing the fledgling state. On June 16, it will be a year since Uttarakhand experienced its worst natural disaster. It was also a year of loss, of grief, of recovery and of resilience. While those affected continue to cope and rise, we need to look beyond the disaster in order to unravel the contradictions and challenges that...

-The Indian Express   We need better primary health centres more than AIIMS-like institutions. The ministry of health is reportedly planning to open 10 more AIIMS-like institutes as well as cancer centres in different states. Creating new cancer centres is desirable, given the burden of the disease and the inadequate number of treatment centres. Today, cancer is one of the main causes of premature mortality in our country, and the 25 regional cancer...

-Down to Earth   The Badaun rape incident shows how vulnerable women are to sexual violence when there are no toilets in homes The shocking incident of gang rape and murder of two minor girls in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun district has drawn horrified reactions from leaders across the world. While most of the media attention has been on the apathy and insensitivity shown by the Akhilesh Yadav government and the police force, what...