http://www.bbc.com/news/business-25947984

Child Labor: India's Hidden Shame

13 year-old Lakshmi was abducted in her village. Before she was rescued, she was working in people's homes in Delhi. She had to clean, cook, and take care of children. She was not able to sleep, and when she did something wrong, the family would hit her. They would not let her leave the house so she did not even realize that she was in Delhi. When she was too tired and wanted to sit down to take a break, they would scream at her and hit her. Lakshmi was also sexually abused by the man who kidnapped her. Four years later, her uncle finally found her. She states, ""What can we really do? We are poor people - I didn't have enough money to come to Delhi to look for my missing niece." Many kids go missing everyday in India and are sometimes forced into the sex trade or forced to work as "slaves" to the people who kidnap them. This is a real and serious issue that has been happening for many years in India and it needs to change. 

Questions: How can families keep their children more safe and prevent them from getting kidnapped?
What can the police or other authorities do to rescue these children faster?

Blood Bricks

India's brick industry contributes approximately £3 billion (~$5 billion) to its economy. However, this booming industry is the product of modern slave labor. In Andhra Pradesh, one of India's over 150,000 brick production units is investigated. Terrible working conditions are present with barefoot workers and long hours. There are entire families working for up to 16 hours a day for extremely low wages. They are paid in advance and have to meet a quota of over 1,500 bricks each day. Workers are forced to stay for at least 6 months, so they must live with the conditions. A BBC report discovered very young children smashing coal for the kilns and found out about workers getting their hands cut off when they tried to escape the conditions. In 2011, the United Nations and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development created new guidelines for the companies with any association to these abuses. The new rules state that these companies have direct responsibility for human rights abuses anywhere in their production and supply lineage. Unfortunately, there is not much reinforcement.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/jan/08/blood-bricks-india-urbanisation-human-rights-slave-labour

1. Should all companies in association have a direct tie to the abuses involved? What does it mean if it is their responsibility (in terms of action or not)?
2. Should these children even be allowed to work in the first place?
3. What is the issue with being paid in advance?

Combating leprosy in India

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/t/story/stigma-hinders-efforts-combat-leprosy-india-22836869?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

India is a very rich and prosperous nation, but it still is not completely developed. Many people in India still suffer from leprosy, a disease that is no longer found in America. India has taken great lengths to prevent the fatality rate. People no longer die from leprosy in India, but it is a persisting problem. Cases of leprosy are rising in India and so is fear. People are afraid of catching leprosy even though Indian officials are saying that it isn't as contagious as people think. India is now stepping up its fight against leprosy by assigning more health officials to over 200 districts in India. This issue with this though is that people are too afraid to step up and say they have leprosy. They are afraid of being made fun of. This is going to be an issue that will take many years to fix in India, but they are going in the right direction.

1) If you knew that someone at Mitty had leprosy and didn't speak up about it, would you help them get treatment?
2) Do you think that India will ever be able to be on the same level as America on health standards?

In India, Poor Kids are Illiterate Despite 4 Years of Education: Unesco Report

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/In-India-poor-kids-are-illiterate-despite-4-years-of-education-Unesco-report/articleshow/29524124.cms

This article highlights upon the many issues that India’s education system has. In India, education for the poor is inadequate and largely unavailable. While India has made progress in enrolling more children in school, there are still many children who do not have access to an education. Furthermore, many children who do get an education are unable to do basic math and do not know the basics in other subjects. The lack of education and the bad quality of the education given to poor people in India can be attributed to the fact that poorer states do not have as much money as richer states to pay for good quality educations. The rich are able to pay for a better education, while the poor are unable to and are not getting enough funding to pay for good teaching. Another reason why the quality of education in rural India is bad is due to the fact that many teachers do not show up to their jobs consistently. Overall, the education system needs to be changed so that children throughout India have access to an education.

1. Who do you think is responsible for reforming the current education system in India?

2. How are the children who are unable to receive an education not being given the human rights they are entitled to? In other words, which human rights are being violated?

3. How does this article indicate the gap between the rich and the poor in India?

Channasandra's women celebrate new-found power

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Channasandras-women-celebrate-new-found-power/articleshow/31629109.cms

In the outskirts of Bangalore, Channasandra's Milk cooperative society offers women a chance to earn their own income and therefore, empowerment. These mainly illiterate women run a cooperative society. The women have cows in their backyards which they graze and milk themselves. These women live typical Indian rural lives, but their cows have helped them gain independence and empowerment. The Channasandra Milk Cooperative Society is one among the 1,930 women's societies functioning in the state and it has helped foster this women empowerment. Before, the women had to rely on their husbands but now they have independence with the new self-earned incomes. The money made from the milk has helped improve village lifestyles and women can now afford to send their children private schools. This society has helped women feel empowered and unafraid to be active members of the villages. 

1. Why is women empowerment such an important factor when trying to fix other issues such as poverty, education, etc.?

2. What are the benefits of women who are able to make their own income and not being reliant on their husbands especially in poverty stricken areas like India's villages? 

Forced labor in India's carpet industry

http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghabahree/2014/02/05/your-beautiful-indian-rug-was-probably-made-by-child-labor/

Megha Bahree has recently written an article for Forbes that condenses the information discussed in "Tainted Carpets," an in-depth report by Siddharth Kara of Harvard University's School of Public Health. 

Kara assembled a team of eight researchers who traveled to India to gather information about child labor/forced labor in the carpet-weaving industry. First they found that much of the facilities, after being put under scrutiny, had relocated from southeast Uttar Pradesh to a few hundred kilometers away around the area of Shahjahanpur, Badaun, and Hardoi, now dubbed the "carpet belt." They found overwhelming evidence of inhumane conditions, stating "an astonishing level of outright slavery and child labor for carpet weaving appears to be all but the norm in the region in and around this new carpet belt." For some numbers, they found that a minimum of 45% of all workers in India's carpet industry suffer from forced labor under Indian law, 28% are in bonded labor, and 20% are child laborers. India's carpet sector employs roughly two million people and Kara estimates that 900,000 are forced laborers and 400,000 are child workers, as young as five and six. One of the most interesting parts of Kara's report are companies' responses to these allegations. Companies like Ikea, Target, Macy's, and Crate and Barrel source their hand-made rugs from India. All of the companies expressed concern over the findings, but say that they a strong commitment to ethical conditions and have continuous auditing occurring in India that doesn't show evidence of the conditions Kara mentions. 

Questions

1. Why do you think there is a discrepancy between the finding of these companies' audits and Kara's report? Considering the extensive production process of hand-made carpets, do you think it's possible to confirm that a certain carpet was made without forced/child labor? 

2. What are some possible steps India can take to reduce child labor? What can we do as consumers? 

Insurance for Women

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Women-make-up-less-than-a-third-of-insured-Indians/articleshow/31759775.cms)

As the title of this article suggests, women make up around thirty percent of all insured Indians. This number stems from perpetuated cultural values - that men should have all the financial decision-making power in Indian culture. As men tend to domineer over their wives and daughters, many of these women go without necessary insurance not necessarily because they cannot afford it, but because their husbands choose not to spend their money on their wives and daughters. However, women are experiencing a greater voice than ever before in these types of decisions. Working women in India, who are generally more autonomous over their money, have sharply increased the rates at which they are buying life insurance, a sign that is both encouraging to these companies as well as to the government. Women are not yet on equal footing with men, but this poverty and death can be alleviated through insurance purchases.

1. Is spending money on insurance a necessity for Indian citizens, and if so, what effect does this have on the economy and the uprising of the poor in India?
2. What are steps these companies can take to help foster a rise in the rates of women purchasing insurance for themselves?
3. What CST themes relate to this news and how can they be better upheld?

Fair trade in India

This article discusses how the government hopes that fair trade will help to alleviate some of India's economical problems. Recently there has been an alarming amount of farmer suicides due to the unreliable weather and abrupt rain storms. It seems that farmers have given up on the trade of farming all together and it is making a serious dent in India's agricultural business. The government hopes that by implementing fair trade they will be able to spark an interest back into the farming trade. They also hope to decrease the growing wealth gap between the rich and poor. All together India is taking a chance by using fair trade to strengthen the farming industry and stop a slew of economical issues.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/nov/21/india-fairtrade-rich-poor

Do you think fair trade will be effective for stopping farmer suicides?
What effect do you think fair trade will have on the economy?

Election Fever

India is getting ready to spend over five billion dollars on campaigning for elections next month. This will be the second largest total amount spent on an election in history. This spending is supposed to help the economy, which is in its largest slump in recent decades. But it will only be temporary as the money will increase the economic spending for now but soon it will go back down. Many people are worried that those who have the most money will win the election instead of those that are the best fit for the people. Also there is worry that fraud could be an issue. Most of the money will be put into Indian newspapers, which have been thriving, in recent years. There has been evidence of vote buying but that is often brushed off and to the world the elections seem fair and free choice. The only question is would all of this money be better spent in other areas instead of polling. Could these major political figures help out more if they spent some of the five billion dollars towards helping India and not themselves gain more power. Indian leaders regularly bribe voters with cash payouts and alcohol to gain their support. Recent state elections have seen innovations such as getting money to voters through new technology such as phones.

Do you think that this money spent for elections could be better spent in other areas to help the economy thrive in the longterm and not short term?

Do you feel that the world should take more action against India and the election fraud that goes on inside it?

Do you feel that corruption will be a big part of this election for India?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-set-to-challenge-US-for-election-spending-record/articleshow/31741588.cms

Ground Reality in Gujarat Different from what Politician Says

Ground Reality in Gujarat Different from what Politician Says

In Gujarat, Arvind Kejriwal, an AAP convener says that the current BJP leader, Narendra Modri, has lied about his promise to build 50,000 new homes for the poor in India. In fact, Kejriwal said that not even 50 homes have been built by the government of Gujarat in the last 11 years. Kejriwal also said corruption is running rampant in the Gujarati government and that this is not good for the people of the state. The Mining mafia, who recently murdered a young IPS officer, have not been put on trial yet after a few months. This goes to show how corrupt Indian politicians are, And how many of them create promises that they know they cannot keep. If India is going to change and help the poor, then the politicians need to change and start caring about the state of the Indian poor.

Discussion Questions:
What human rights are bing violated in this situation?

Will India's corrupt political system every change?

More Casualities in India's Naval Construction Industry

Once again, more were hurt and killed during the construction of a naval submarine in Visaisakhapatnam. When a hydraulic tank of the Arihant class was being tested, the lid of the tank fell off and fell on three civilian workers. One of them, 24 year old Amar, was killed instantaneously while Amzad Khan and Vishnu were seriously injured and immediately taken to a private hospital nearby. This accident is more than simply "an accident" since this has simply been one of the many accidents in the naval industry recently. Indeed, this incident on March 8 came a day after leakage of a deadly gas in an under-construction warship in Mumbai's Mazagon dock which claimed the life of a Navy Commander.  This is the 12th incident involving naval assets in service in the recent past or which are expected to join the Navy in near future. Ten days ago, two fire chiefs were killed in a mishap under water that caused fire and smoke and some months ago, 18 people were killed when the INS Sindhurakshak sank in Mumbai harbor. Clearly, the unsafe working conditions in India's growing industry is a problem that needs to be addressed.  

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/1-killed-2injured-in-accident-at-nuclear-submarine-under-construction-in-Visakhapatnam/articleshow/31686783.cms

1. What are some steps the Indian government can take to reduce the frequency of such accidents and make working safe?

2. Knowing that so much money around the globe goes to military spending, do you think that India should not even focus on naval constructions and invest in other things such as health and education? Why or Why not?

India Addresses Poverty Situation...Or not?

Finally! We've been learning about a lot of the problems in India but have yet to see many resolutions to the problems we inspect; however, it seems as though India is finally taking action against the immense poverty that wracks the nation. According to Any Madgavkar of The Economic Times, "India has had encouraging success in reducing extreme poverty: the official poverty rate has halved from 45% in 1994 to 22% in 2012. It's time to set the country's sights on a new horizon, helping as many as 580 million people build a more economically empowered life."

A research institute, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), has recently developed an "Empowerment Line, a new measure of the consumption required for an average Indian to fulfill eight basic needs: food, energy, housing, drinking water, sanitation, healthcare, education, and social security." Madgavakar believes that extreme poverty can be eliminated by the year 2022 if India chooses to focus on job creation and higher productivity. This is a menacing task but the author believes that three tasks must be accomplished in order to eradicate the current poverty situation. First, "India needs to add another 115 million non-farm jobs over the next decade, with the manufacturing and construction sectors, along with labour-intensive services, such as tourism, forming the backbone. Second, India's farms need to double their rate of productivity growth rate in order to bring farm yields in line with those in other emerging Asian countries. And lastly, India needs to revamp the way it delivers basic services so that every rupee of increased public spending can go further."

Ideally, these should be manageable tasks for India; however, with the immense corruption within the government, can we really believe that this is in India's near future?


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/india-from-poverty-to-empowerment/articleshow/30705158.cms


Is India really up to the task of altering some of its foundational industries to ensure that each person is entitled to human dignity? Why or why not?


The fact that this situation is being addressed, however, is definitely a step in the right direction. Is this an "Westernization" of culture that is accompanying industrialization in modern-day India?

Us flight suffers tyre burst in India

This past week a plain suffered a burst tire headed to Ahmedabad. There were 260 passengers and luckily none of them were injured or killed. The crew discovered mid air that the 3 tires were deflated .  Obviously it is hard to land without tires but luckily it was successful. The plane was unable to continue in the journey but like previously stated the passengers were okay. The passengers even got to slide down the inflatable slide when they landed.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-bound-Air-India-flight-suffers-tyre-burst-all-passengers-safe/articleshow/29822977.cms

5 Police Officers Accused Of Raping Minor Girl In India

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/20/police-accused-rape-minor-girl-chandigarh_n_4480187.html

 On December 20th, 2013, five policemen were accused of raping a 17 year old girl in Chandigarh. She had called in to settle a dispute with a relative. Allegedly, the man started harassing her over the phone. When she met with them, one of the officers raped her at gunpoint. Allegedly, the four others had raped her over a four month period. The news of this incident did not come to light until somewhat recently, until her bother relayed the information. This pertains to a lot of the issues we have seen surrounding women in India, and reinforces ideas read about in May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons. The five men were arrested, but such an example of justice is a rare one. The girl was too ashamed to come forward, because of the stigma that surrounds the issue. Few would have taken her seriously had it not been for her brother coming forward. But there is a culture of rape present, and coming from a member of authority, this hints at corruption.

In what ways does this article reflect the gender based issues brought about in "MYBTMOAHS?"

What can and should be done to prevent cases like this from happening again? What must be done to ensure action is taken and girls are not afraid to come forward.

North-east Indian population stands up against racial discrimination

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/people/North-east-Indian-population-stands-up-against-racial-discrimination/articleshow/29776184.cms

Just like the issue that Gandhi helped to fix of Indians in South Africa, certain groups in India are being discriminated due to their race. Over time, people of the Northeast region of India have been used to facing discrimination based on the color of their skin and the way the look, which differs from Indians from the rest of India. These discriminations have gone so far as to the Northeast Indians being attacked. Some cases include: a student from Manipuri (Richard Loitam) dying, an exodus of Northeast Indians from Bangalore to save their lives after a threat, a student from Arunachal Pradesh (Nido Taniam) being beaten up by eight others, and two women from Manipuri being beaten up in Delhi. These discriminating attacks happening within India itself have caused a protest to help end the racism towards the Northeast people. Hundreds of people are gathered in Bangalore to protest after the most recent death of Nido. These people are taking a stand after being discriminated for so long and want to finally feel as though they are able to live freely within their own country. They feel as though the government needs to help take action because right now, even the police are not even there for their support. It is an issue that is not focused enough on India; however, as shown, it needs to be brought to more attention so that all people living in India, no matter what they look like, are treated with the same respect. 

How can government make changes to help protect the rights of these Northeastern Indians?

Why are certain Indians, themselves, discriminating Indians of other regions, even after experiencing their own discrimination by the British?

India's light-weight gun for women slammed as 'abhorrent'

A new light-weight gun was created that was named after a gang rape victim in India. The firearm is called Nirbheek modeled after a woman who was raped and beaten on December 26, 2012. The weapon which is very light is said to provide deterrence for women who hold it in order to minimize the numbers of women who fall prey to rape in India. Just by holding the gun, rapists will be warded off and prevented from harassing the women. The gun, however, was abhorred by women as they did want to carry such a device in their handbags. In addition, it was very expensive, and the women who are actually affected by rape could not hold them because of its price tag. Obtaining a gun license is very difficult in the first place in India, and it is very difficult for poor women to get one in the country. In addition, adding a gun to the picture is only fighting violence with violence which is not a path that the women of India want to take. Ultimately, this new gun is destined to failure as it will not do what it is intended to do.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/13/world/asia/india-women-gun/index.html?iref=allsearch

1. What are the humans right abuses that can come out of the use of this gun? How does it relate to one of the 7 themes of CST?

2. What is one way that the gang rapes in India can be lowered because the solution of adding protection would not work as seen through this article?

Rape of Danish Tourist in India

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/world/asia/india-3rd-arrest-in-rape-of-danish-tourist.html

About two weeks ago, a middle-aged Danish woman vacationing in India was held at knifepoint and gang raped. This epidemic problem in India is affecting women of all races and ages. Women in India, however, are more accustomed to these tragedies, and therefore can me smarter in their efforts to stay safe and avoid rape. However, this naïve tourist went up to a group of Indian men to innocently ask for directions. Due to this fatal mistake, she was then held at knifepoint for over 3 hours, gang raped, and even robbed. The police have been involved and in pursuit of the attackers. One man has been arrested, and two other suspects caught, who were carrying stolen items form the Danish woman’s purse. The five other men involved are being sought out by the police, and the woman left India without submitting a medical examination.

1. How are injustices such as these to be prevented in India?

2. Is this level of police enforcement good, or should India still strive to get their police more involved?

3. How can tourists be warned of how to stay safe when traveling in India?

New Law to Ban Manual removal of Human Waste

As we have discussed in class, the caste system is still very prevalent in India today, but not simply in the cultural aspect. Rather, because of their caste people have to work in horrendous conditions. An example of this is the lower level Dalits who must dispose of waste by hand. State governments deny this issue and say that this practice does not continue, but many independent studies have shown that it still is very prevleant. Recently, a new law was past that there will be jail times and punishment for those who employ these sewage workers. It also states that those who had this job will receive cash to make up for the loss in job. Although this should be celebrated as a breakthrough, there are many problems with this law. There are no specifications on how the money or the enforcement will go about, and no enforcement has been taken place. The effectiveness of this law uncertain, but it is a step forward.

1) How does being expected to clean waste by hand strip one of their dignity?
2) Keeping in mind of the other problems India faces today including women's issues, how much of a priority should enforcing this ban of manual sewage clean up be?

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/24/new-law-to-ban-manual-removal-of-human-waste-disappoints/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

India stretched to the limit by overpopulation

India's population problem becomes more and more critical everyday, as seen through the country's environmental degradation, pressured infrastructure, and a stressed transportation system. The huge masses of people that live and grow everyday in India's increasingly metropolitan cities require more living space and transportation, most of which is merely impossible to get. In November, a building company put two extra stories in a Bangalore building in order to sell to more people. Unfortunately, the building collapsed and killed 12. The Indian railway and train systems, both vital to city life, simply cannot handle the amount of people that attempt to use them. The Delhi Metro routinely has to add more train coaches, widen boarding platforms, increase the size of stations, and increase the frequency of train rides. However, it still has trouble accommodating all those who try and use the trains. Overpopulation has taken its toll on the countryside and its environment as well. 80% of India lives in the countryside in remote villages, and they all need timber for fuel. This had lead to mass deforestation of India's forests, which only leads to soil erosion, pollution of the water supply, and desertification. If this is not stopped, it will cause a huge drop in India's agricultural capacity, only crippling the ever-burgeoning population even more. All in all, the overpopulation of India causes massive harm to almost every aspect of the nation.

Dailymail Online India, Gautam Bhatia. Published December 3rd, 2013.

1) Name two effective solutions to mitigate and eventually solve India's overpopulation crisis.

2) Which of the seven tenets of Catholic Social Teaching will this overpopulation eventually violate (if not already)?

Female Infanticide in Tamil Nadu

 http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/Infanticides-Come-Back-to-Haunt-State/2014/01/12/article1996031.ece

This article discusses two recent incidences of female infanticide in the state Tamil Nadu. In the first, a ninth month old baby girl was strangled to death with a rope by her mother, Punitha. Punitha and her husband Varadharaj had had one son and two daughters. Apparently Punitha, who wanted another son, strangled her daughter when her husband was away and claimed that she had died of fever. Her husband grew suspicious of this story and the a postmortem of the baby revealed that she had been strangled and her neck had been broken. In another instance of female infanticide in the area, the body of a baby girl was found in a river within the same area. The mouth and nose of the baby were plastered, indicating that someone had killed her and thrown her into the river. An inquiry is being conducted in order to determine who committed the murder. Meanwhile, the district is taking action against the female infanticide problem through a project known as the "cradle baby scheme." Parents who are considering infanticide are asked to turn their children into the district. Officials assert that it is better to give up the baby than to kill it--these children will be cared for in foster homes or elsewhere. Within the last year, 1, 395 babies were taken in by the district.
1) Do you believe the "cradle baby scheme" is an effective way of reducing the instance of female infanticide in Tamil Nadu? Or is it an ineffectual short term solution to the problem?
2) What is the root cause of the high instance of female infanticide in Tamil Nadu? Why is it so much more prevalent in this state even though literacy rates are reasonably high?
3) What solution do you propose to solving the problem of female infanticide in India?

Indian Woman and Baby Burned Alive for Dowry

In India women and her baby girl where allegedly burned herself and her baby alive. The report states this case is a dowry case. It could also be a little influenced because her first child was a girl. According to this report three suspects poured kerosene on her and her baby and set them on fire. The baby died instantly and the mother went to the hospital with complications. The court has sent the suspects to court. According to this article! "Police across India registered 8,233 murders of women as dowry deaths in 2012, according to national crime data" (Singh). This is a lot of people who died just because of dowry. Of course we know that this number is bigger because many people do not report it to the police. As a class we also recognize how long the courts take with one of these cases of bride burnings because of dowry. This is an example how bride burnings are still happening in India.

1. This is a great example that bride burnings because of dowry still exists in India. What would you recommend to try and stop these women trying to kill themselves?

2. Do you think the number of murders of women just because of dowry is accurate or inaccurate? Why?

India's missing women displayed in India's annual art fair

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/feb/01/india-art-fair-2014-missing-women


The Indian Art Fair, which opened Friday February 3, chose to tackle the problem of sex discrimination in India. The display of  black silhouettes  in the art fair represented the millions of missing women throughout India. This piece of art, called M.I.S.S.I.N.G, by artist Leena Kejriwal, is a visual response to the severe gender gap  and the resulting gender imbalances in many places throughout India. Mrs. Kerjiwal recognized the problem of infanticide, gender selective abortion, and the death of girls through neglect while explaining her art piece. According to the reports from the UN Development Programs, Asia was missing about 96 million women, which resulted from neglect and infanticide in throughout India.  The display of this art piece as well as others conveys India's successful attempts to raise awareness regarding issues such as sex discrimination. Through events such as the Indian art fair, people are reaching out to members of their community, asking them to help change their society for the better.


Do you think education of the public is the most effective way to eliminate gender discrimination throughout India? explain why or why not.

Explain how the display of M.I.S.S.I.N.G is an example of long-term justice.

Village Council Accused of Ordering Rape

Due to its prevalence in the media as of lately, rape and India have unfortunately been linked together. on Monday, there was yet another case of rape. A young woman in West Bengal had accepted an exogamous marriage proposal in which the panchayat (village council) had--to put it lightly--responded unkindly. Since this was an intercaste marriage, the village council had initially asked the woman's family to pay a fine of 27,000 rupees ($447), but when the family refused to pay, the village chief, Balai Mardi, ordered villagers "to enjoy her," according to one of the police officers. The young woman was then repeatedly raped in Mr. Mardi's hut. Since Monday, there have been 13 arrests made in the case despite the village chief's threat of burning down her house if she were to call the police. One of the leaders from a nearby village named Sunil Soren made sure to comment that they "respect [their] women a lot," but this was an "objectionable situation" because events like this "pollute the minds of youngsters."

1. Do you think endogamy perpetuates caste stratification or preserves a way of living and creates social order?

2. Do you think intercaste marriages should be allowed on the basis of your answer prior question?

Rahul Gandhi's Plan for India by Focusing on Women and Youth

Rahul Gandhi (no blood relation to Mohandas), the great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, has stated that he is confident that he will win the seat of prime minister in India's upcoming elections. In one of his first interviews ever-despite having engaged himself in politics for around ten years already-Gandhi criticized one of his opponents and clarified some of his own beliefs. Narenda Modi, a leader of an opposition party facing Gandhi's India National Congress Party, was accused by Mr. Gandhi for instigating anti-Muslim riots in 2002, which ultimately claimed the lives of over 1,000 Muslims. A statement such as this surely indicates where Gandhi intends to lead a country that is plagued by corruption and inequality. He said in the interview: "I don't like unfairness. It just makes my blood boil. I don't like it. And in whatever I did, if I saw unfairness, I would stand up against it. That's the heart of my politics." Yet, when questioned about his family's "political dynasty," he responded that one cannot simply remove a political dynasty by wishing it away. Rather, he believes that government must be made more open so that new players can enter the political field. Gandhi stated that he plans on doing this by focusing on the empowerment of women and young people, repairing India's recent and relatively sluggish economic growth, attacking corruption, and bolstering social welfare programs. 

1. How do these political claims affect women?

2. Do you think that government focus on the topics Rahul Gandhi mentioned will better India as a whole?