A recent Bombay HC ruling on the powers of the NCW, with regard to a case involving sexual harassment at the workplace, could have significant implications for gender justice in the long term. Revathi Siva Kumar looks at the facts of the case and the debate that it has stirred up. 

An innovative project in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka is helping sex workers empower themselves, by training them as paralegal volunteers. A confident community is fighting exploitation, standing up and being counted, reports Ramesh Menon.

Outsourcing may have come to stay, but the conditions in which it is undertaken are surely amenable to change. We might wish to consider questions about the future to which IT/BPO employees are being invited to commit themselves, or how much of the work is cutting-edge, says Lata Mani.

The primary role of the navy is the protection of the seaboards. Having been shown up by the recent failure, the security establishment now has to get the strategy right, says Pavan Nair.

In the shadow of the Narmada dam, those displaced by the canal once hoped that its water would irrigate their fields. Little did they know how their lives would turn out. Neeta Deshpande reports.

Labour contractors and large landowners continue to employ children, often exposing them to vulnerable situations. Extreme poverty in Rajasthan's tribal districts fuels the practice. Pradeep Baisakh reports.

We have been taught to remember Tagore as essentially a Bengali, Nehru as a Congressman, and Ambedkar as a Dalit. But their examples remain relevant to many others, says Ramachandra Guha.

Where other nationalisms insisted on a homogeneity of attitudes and worldviews, this one - from Gandhi, Tagore, Ambedkar, and Nehru - respected and even celebrated the linguistic, cultural and religious diversity of its peoples. Such was their idea of India. Ramachandra Guha continues his series on the great patriots.

From newspaper reports, it would appear that some of the focused programmes that the Haryana government launched after the uproar over the low sex ratio are making a difference. Until this is confirmed, we must assuage the genuine fears of people about the girl child, writes Kalpana Sharma.

Indian regionalism has come in three varieties - regionalism properly so called, parochialism, and secessionism. The odd thing about the Ulfa is that it has simultaneously partaken of all varieties, and this is why the common people of Assam have never turned completely against the militants, writes Ramachandra Guha.

Pope Francis’s Encyclical talks about poverty, social inequality, climate change, and other global crises mankind has created and proposes newer ways to resolve them. Ashish Kothari finds the Encyclical lacking in certain aspects but hopes that other religious and political leaders will learn to stand up and speak up like the Pope.

The beating of media persons at Kozhikode's airport had its fallout all over Kerala. It has pitted the media against the state government. Several issues concerning rights and privacy need to be discussed, including some of the media’s own failings says N P Chekkutty.

How relevant is the argument of a threat to freedom of the press in cases where the financial interests of a media baron could ostensibly conflict with that of the public? The question resurfaced recently in Andhra Pradesh over the Eenadu-Margadarsi controversy, writes B P Sanjay.

Is freedom of speech and expression deeply accepted in Indian society? Or is it merely a European cultural import that made its way along with the English language and appeared in the Constitution because of the founding fathers' genius? Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya reviews Freedom Song, a film and connects the dots.

A mainstream Bollywood production in the making, titled Gulab Gang, draws heavily on the circumstances and even the name of a now-famous real life movement, but purports to be purely fictional. Shoma Chatterji explores the questions of ethics and creative morality that this raises.

4 Tamarinds and Toffees is a delightful and nostalgic film on two women directed by a young and thoughtful director, writes Shoma Chatterji.

There is a surprising hope in the most despairing places. It isn't often that many of us see this, but when we do, we are struck by the determination with which enormous deprivation is tackled by real heroes. Somnath Mukherji encounters the work of Tomorrow's Foundation in Kalighat, West Bengal.

At Santiniketan, Tagore's presence still inhabits many buildings; the keepers of which buildings are often knowledgeable about his legacy. But the place needs to be de-parochialised to make it once more inclusively Indian, writes Ramachandra Guha.

The tragic reversal of roles is the result of national policies that have neglected agriculture and farming in the wake of globalisation, says Devinder Sharma.

The negative terms of trade against agriculture have to be turned around if the country is keen to emerge from the hunger and poverty trap, says Devinder Sharma.
Q&A on the Minimum Support Pricing policy

Umar Akmal, who was found guilty of two charges under the PCB Anti-Corruption Code has refused to divulge details of his two meetings with suspected bookies. According to the source, Akmal had a meeting with two unidentified men in Defence Housing Society in Lahore. The PCB source said Akmal also gave conflicting statements before the Disciplinary Panel hearing on April 27.

Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested a former trustee of Lilavati hospital in connection with a foreign exchange violation case.

On the day TOI highlighted the worsening state of Delhi’s air, the National Green Tribunal cited the report and issued a slew of directions to immediately address the problem.

Overshadowing a large chunk of the 15th century, The War of the Roses raged in England for a shade over 30 years as the descendants of Edward III divided themselves into Yorkists (white rose) who traced their line back to Edward's youngest son, Edmund Duke of York, and Lancastrians (red rose) who traced their line back to Edward's second son, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.

In the spirit of Mother's Day today, we're taking a look at the most stylish celebrity moms. In addition to being a hands-on mom, these Bollywood beauties never fail to impress us with their sartorial choices.

Weekly Books News (May 4-10)

Scuffle breaks out between Indian and Chinese army near Naku La in Sikkim

Parliament recently amended the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act to give it more teeth and enable the ASI to effectively protect and develop the 4000 monuments it looks after. Conservationists have raised a cheer. But more is required to enforce the law.

A film club that screens politically and socially charged films in the hinterland has been resisting sponsorship and censorship with equal vigour.

नई द‍िल्‍ली: कोरोना संक्रमण के बढ़ते प्रभाव को देखते हुए भारत में लॉकडाउन को 17 मई तक बढ़ा दिया गया है। भारत सरकार की नई गाइडलाइन के मुताबिक, ग्रीन और ऑरेंज जोन में 4 मई यानि कल से गैर-जरूरी सामान की बिक्री ई-कॉमर्स साइट

If dogs are man’s best friend, Max is a living testimony. Max, the family pet of Singhs has been quarantined with them in an apartment in Kalinidpuram — making him probably the first pet to be isolated in Prayagraj in the wake of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

South Korea's had 18 new cases in 24 hours with all but one of them linked to a 29-year-old man who visited three clubs in Seoul's Itaewon district before testing.

Cuomo had on Friday disclosed the death of a 5-year old linked to the coronavirus and a syndrome that shares symptoms with toxic shock and Kawasaki disease, which was the first known fatality tied to the rare illness in New York.

In recent weeks, the Donald Trump administration has repeatedly lashed out at China over its handling of the outbreak, questioning its death toll and criticising its early response to the virus.

It was unclear whether his statement referred to a $19 billion relief plan announced by the US Department of Agriculture in April. The agency said it would buy $3 billion worth of agricultural commodities as part of that program.

The EU member of 38 million people has found itself in the bizarre predicament in which the presidential ballot is formally neither postponed nor cancelled.