-The Times of India KAITHAL: As politicians and administrators in many northern Indian states were preparing to celebrate Dalit icon B R Ambedkar's 122nd birth anniversary this weekend, more than 100 Dalits were fleeing a small Haryana village after being chased by upper caste goons, angry that a Dalit man had dared to marry one of their girls. Meena and Surya Kant of Pabnama village in Kaithal were in a relationship for...
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The RTI activists' fights -Barkha Mathur
-The Times of India NAGPUR: After voting rights if there has been any other weapon which has empowered an Indian citizen it is the Right to Information (RTI). RTI is used to seek information about matters which affect the aamadami. How much of information is being handed out is still a contentious issue, but the act has definitely created a battalion of social activists. An RTI activist is not exactly the harried...
More »Lessons from the East Godavari pilot-Reetika Khera
-The Hindu A computerised database of ration card holders and purchases is a safeguard against diversion of PDS supplies but the process can be disruptive for beneficiaries The government has initiated an interesting pilot for the Public Distribution System (PDS) in East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh. When cardholders go to buy their PDS rations, their ration card number and UID (Unique Identification) number are punched into an "e-Point of Sale" (ePOS) machine. If...
More »South India lags national fertility rate, slows population boom -Saswati Mukherjee B
-The Times of India BANGALORE: India's burgeoning population appears to be both a problem and an advantage. Very soon, the southern states are likely to stare at an un-Indian situation: a shrinking populace, owing to a sharp dip in the fertility rate of women. Analyzing the 2011 Census data, the Population Research Centre of the Bangalore-based Institute for Social and Economic Change found that many southern districts, a significant number of them...
More »A tainted tradition-Raksha Kumar
-The Hindu Natpurwa is a village where women have been forced into prostitution for centuries. And one of them is determined to help the others break free. Round faced, stout and dusky, Chandralekha, at age 15, was the most desired girl among the politicians, policemen and senior members of Eastern Uttar Pradesh’s civil society. “They always wanted plump women,” says Chandralekha, now 51 years old. Chandralekha was pushed into prostitution, by her...
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