-The Economist   The world’s population will reach 7 billion at the end of October. Don’t panic IN 1950 the whole population of the earth—2.5 billion—could have squeezed, shoulder to shoulder, onto the Isle of Wight, a 381-square-kilometre rock off southern England. By 1968 John Brunner, a British novelist, observed that the earth’s people—by then 3.5 billion—would have required the Isle of Man, 572 square kilometres in the Irish Sea, for its standing...

The Indian media display certain defects. These should ideally be addressed and corrected in a democratic manner. But if the media prove incorrigible, harsh measures may be called for. The time has come when some introspection by the Indian media is required. Many people, not only those in authority but even ordinary people, have started saying that the media have become irresponsible and wayward, and need to be reined in. Only a...

Vilas Bhagwan Pote grins as he recalls his election as sarpanch of Ralegan Siddhi, Anna Hazare’s village in Ahmednagar district, 11 years ago. “I was the traitor, the bad guy,” he jokes. “I openly defied Anna because I felt he was wrong.” Pote, a Dalit charmakar (cobbler) then in his 30s, had been unhappy as the 2000 panchayat polls drew close. As always, Anna had nominated a new executive body for the...

When it comes to property rights in matrimony, gender matters. The issue of property rights for women within a marriage has long been an area of concern across the world. While Maharashtra is now considering the idea of granting women equal rights in their husband's property, women's rights were being asserted in the US way back in 1771. Almost two-and-a-half centuries ago, New York brought in a law preventing a...

Says such a marriage is not a “valid marriage”; but it is “not invalid”   Marriage of a person with a girl whose age is below 18 is voidable. It will subsist until it is annulled by a court under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, the Madras High Court has ruled. Such a marriage is not a “valid marriage” in the strict sense; but it is “not invalid”, it said. In a...