-The Indian Express We must ask hard questions of these mobilisations, before we declare them a new politics It is certainly not an easy task to enter into an argument with Yogendra Yadav. His plea to understand the “new politics” of urban protests (‘This new politics’, IE, January 2) makes persuasive reading but begs for a critical review of some issues. His point about the need to avoid two extreme approaches to...

-The Indian Express National Commission for Protection of Child Rights chief Shantha Sinha Saturday opposed women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath’s demand that the 17-year-old involved in the Delhi gangrape be tried as an adult. Sinha is also not in favour of “knee-jerk revisions” in the age provision in the Juvenile Justice Act that Tirath has hinted at. “Law is not made over one unique case. NCPCR is against any dilution of...

-The Indian Express The CPM has demanded that the maximum punishment in cases of “aggravated sexual assault” and “rape” be enhanced to rigorous life imprisonment till death and suggested that laws related to sexual assault be made “gender specific”. The party is not in favour of death penalty as it feels existing laws provide for capital punishment in “rarest of the rare” cases of gangrape and murder like the Delhi incident. In...

-The Economic Times CPM, which has conventionally opposed capital punishment, has suggested enhancement of punishment in sexual offences and proposed life imprisonment and even death in rarest of rare cases.  In the final draft of suggestions being sent to Justice Verma Committee, formed by the government to rewrite the country's rape laws after the horrific gang-rape, the Left party has openly called for capital punishment in rare and brutal cases. According to...

-The Hindu Farmers bring their cattle to camp to provide water and fodder Shidewadi (Maharashtra): It’s Kavita Garje’s 10th day at the cattle camp and she can already predict the conditions for the next 10 months. “It didn’t rain at all this year, so our buffaloes have to be kept here at least till next September. We have no fodder or water for them,” the 13-year-old girl says, as she feeds her...