Only 8 % of Indians go for higher education

Only eight percent of Indian students finishing school go for higher education – compared to 20 per cent in China – and the country needs 1,500 new universities in the next seven years to bridge the shortfall of skilled workers, India’s Knowledge Commission has said.
The 82nd annual conference of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) [...]

17 million children in India work out of compulsion

Children’s Day under the shadow of the rape of childhood
We observe November 14, the birthday of the first Prime Minister of India, Chacha Nehru as Children’s Day. But a look at the condition of children in India makes one question the significance of November 14?  Do we really cherish our future citizens?
THE DEFINITION OF a [...]

Absent teachers resulting in 22.5 % education funds India

A classroom struggle
Schools be damned. That seems to be the only message that keeps getting hammered with every disheartening report on the status of schooling in India. If last week it was the severe step of having to file FIRs against teachers in the face of a staggering number of cases of abuse of children, [...]

316 million Indian workers get below $ 0.49 (Rs. 20) a day

394.9 million workers (86 per cent of the working population) belong to the unorganized sector
316 million workers live on less than Rs. 20, or $ 0.49, a day.
88 per cent of the Scheduled Tribes and the Scheduled Castes, 80 per cent of the Other Backward Classes and 85 per cent of Muslims belong to this [...]

Untouchables’ left behind in booming nation

DALLIPUR, India — The hip young Indians working inside this country’s multinational call centers have one thing in common: Almost all hail from India’s upper and middle castes, elites in this highly stratified society.
India may be booming, but not for those who occupy the lowest rung of society. The Dalits, once known as untouchables, continue [...]

967 Cases of Atrocities against Dalits in Gujarat

Dalits in Gujarat eclipsed under Modi: Meira
Claiming that the Dalits were “eclipsed” under the present dispensation in Gujarat, Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar on Monday criticised the Narendra Modi-led government for the “atrocities” meted out against Dalits and other backward sections of the society.
“The present government in Gujarat has a poor track [...]

The false pride of the National Human Rights Commission of India

Indians take pride in several issues ranging from democracy to unity in diversity. Most of this “pride speech” is often by India’s middle class and neo-rich that are sometimes completely disconnected from reality. The government and its various agencies often reflect similar pride.
The government of India has spared no venue to boast about itself whenever [...]

77 % believes that Indian Judiciary is corrupt : Global Corruption Report

The reputation of India’s judiciary, considered overbearing and democratically unaccountable by many, has taken a knock with the publication of a report by Transparency International (TI) called the “Global Corruption Report 2007″.
The report, based on a 2005 countrywide survey of “public perceptions and experiences of corruption in the lower judiciary,” conducted by the Centre for [...]

India needs 124 years for clearing pending cases in its courts

Backlog of cases has become a big problem for the judiciary — from the Supreme Court to the subordinate courts. At the current speed, the lower courts, may take 124 years for clearing 2.5 lakh cases.
In the last seven years, the disposal rate has [...]

Two out of every three children in India are physically abused

Two out of every three children in India are physically abused, according to a landmark government study.
Commissioned by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the study says 53% of the surveyed children reported one or more forms of sexual abuse.
This is the first time the government has done such an exhaustive survey on the [...]