-Down to Earth   100,000 young children and teenage girls are victims of 'bonded labour' in Tamil Nadu; dalit girls worse off An international organisation working for welfare of workers has drawn attention to the hazardous and exploitative working conditions of young girls working for the garment sector in Tamil Nadu. An estimated 100,000 children and teenage girls are working in extremely oppressive conditions in the spinning mills and garment factories in Tamil Nadu,...

-Outlook The Supreme Court today asked all the state governments and Union Territories to fully implement legislation for eradicating manual scavenging and take action against violators, while issuing directions for education, employment and rehabilitation of affected people. A bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and justices Ranjan Gogoi and N V Ramana also directed them to take appropriate action for non-implementation as well as violation of the provisions contained in the Prohibition...

-The Hindu     The extent of violence against the girl as foetus and infant shows how deep the bias against women is and why they will be secure only if India introspects and changes Over the next few weeks, there will be many tussles between our mostly male politicians over India's security. But almost no one will ask if a country can be secure when half its citizens live in deepening insecurity, threatened...

-Down to Earth More than 200 people in 14 villages near Roro hill in Jharkhand are dying slowly because of an abandoned asbestos mine During a film shoot at the beautiful Roro hill in Jharkhand's Chaibasa district, the villain takes out his gun to kill a young man. The moment he shoots, onlooker Rango Deogam bursts into laughter and yells at the camera crew, "You are shooting a death scene on the...

-DNA Elections 2014 are around the corner. And when elections draw nearer, the Government suddenly wakes up and thinks of its duties towards the people. This year is no exception. Whether it is the one-rank-one-pension for the retired defence personnel or the legal monthly entitlement of 5kg of wheat/rice/millet for poor households under the national Food Security Act or the announcement of a 7th Pay Commission along with a DA instalment...