India, March 8 -- Crimes against women and children strike at the very foundation of a society's moral compass and constitutional promise of dignity, equality, and justice. In India, responding to these crimes cannot be reduced to a narrow law-and-order lens. It is an ongoing exercise in strengthening institutions, modernising legal frameworks, expanding victim support systems, and-most importantly-building public trust. This task unfolds within India's federal structure, where police and public order are state subjects, placing primary responsibility on states and Union Territories, even as the Union Government has steadily expanded its role through legal reform, capacity-building, technology, and national coordination.

Over the past de...