-The Indian Express The new year could witness the first national elections being fought on farmers’ issues. And it could test both the ruling BJP pushed to the defensive, particularly in the larger sugar-producing states, and the Congress under pressure to deliver loan waivers If 2017 saw the beginnings of agrarian unrest in large swathes of the country, 2018 brought it centrestage as the numero uno political issue. And almost everyone’s...

-The Indian Express “Incomes” not rising, due to low crop prices and stagnating wages, has more than offset any “asset” gains in the recent period, which also probably explains the party’s heavy losses in the three states it ruled, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. New Delhi: The big rural economy takeaway for the BJP from the just-concluded assembly elections is that mere asset creation — building roads, houses and toilets or...

-The Hindu Citizenship form will have a separate column for them The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, is pending in Parliament, but the Union Home Ministry has notified amendments to the Citizenship Rules, 2009, to include a separate column in the citizenship form for applicants belonging to six minority communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Under the amendments, a separate entry in the form will ask the applicant: “Do you belong to one...

-The Indian Express Adivasis in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are doing poorly, economically and educationally. Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are among the four Indian states — other than those in the Northeast — with more than 20 per cent Adivasi population. Chhattisgarh, in fact, has an Adivasi population of more than 30 per cent. However, the Scheduled Tribes (STs) have hardly found a mention in the election campaigns in the two...

-Newsclick.in Unbridled exploitation of workers under the supervision of BJP governments has led to widespread anger and discontent, which is likely to be reflected in the Assembly polls. While Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are gearing up for Assembly elections, the two BJP-ruled states have also been at the forefront of actively overseeing the worsening  condition of industrial workers. Besides administering meagre rates of minimum wage, the two states have introduced a slew of...