-The Times of India Latest census data on scheduled castes and tribes shows that the trend of STs having the best sex ratios, and SCs too doing better than the non-SC/ST population continues to hold good. The trend suggests that 'backwardness' may actually work in favour of gender justice, presumably by denying access to sex determination techniques. Detailed data on SCs and STs from the 2011 census, released on Monday, showed that...

India's landmark Right to Information Legislation is called the biggest single step since independence to build transparency in governance. However, its remarkable success is owed only to just 0.3 per cent of Indians who file RTI applications. It's anybody's guess as to what would be the impact if even one or two per cent of Indians began to ask tough questions to hold their rulers accountable. It is noteworthy that...

-Newsclick.in Recent studies have shown that even as India fares better than many developing regions of the world on several indicators of growth and development such as GDP, per capita, Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), literacy, life expectancy, etc., the number of malnourished children in India is significantly high. What explains this paradox? The Union Cabinet recently approved a multi-sectoral nutritional programme proposed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to reduce...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The recent acquittal of all accused in the Laxmanpur Bathe massacre case is not an isolated example of justice denied to dalits. In terms of conviction rate in cases of crimes against Scheduled Castes, the national average is quite disappointing, with Bihar among the bottom rankers. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, while the national conviction rate for overall IPC crimes stood at...

-Outlook The faecal matter hits the rotary blades, politically-but we're still staring at a sanitation disaster "Indians defecate everywhere. They defecate mostly besides the railway tracks. But they also defecate on the beaches; they defecate on the hills; they defecate on the river banks; they defecate on the streets; they never look for cover." -V.S. Naipaul An Area of Darkness, 1964 Not...