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An article on human rights violations in India is presented in which the author discusses the popular response to a December 16, 2012 incident in which Jyoti Singh Pandey was fatally sexually assaulted in Delhi, India as well as the government reaction to the demonstrations following her death. The author examines the frequency of sexual violence, gang rape, and assault in Indian culture, compares this with the oppression of ethnic minorities, and discusses the conduct of police and military forces in the prosecution of perpetrators of such crimes. A petition for those against sexual violence in India is also reproduced.

India's influence on world politics has grown considerably during the last two decades. The country is often said to be the largest democracy on earth. But how does the democratic nature of India's political system affects its external policies? What particular role does public opinion play? In the following article I analyse whether public opinion can make a difference in regard of Indian-American relations, the Kashmir-conflict and Indian climate change policies J My basic assumption is that three factors can lead decision-makers to consider public opinion before taking foreign policy decisions: (1) unambiguous preferences of the public, (2) a substantial elite dissent and (3) highly salient issues. My analysis of public opinion surveys shows that the first criterion is met in all three cases. A significant elite dissent, however, does only exist as far as Indian-American relations are concerned. The main reason why public opinion is of only limited importance for Indian foreign policy is the low salience of foreign policy issues in the media and during electoral campaigns [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]