-NDTV/ IANS It was the tribals in Khunti -- a district practically in the backyard of state capital Ranchi -- who started using ''pathalgadi'' as a form of protest against the centre Ranchi: Mere hours after being sworn-in, Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Jharkhand government announced its first cabinet decision late Sunday evening - to drop all cases against tribals in connection with the Pathalgadi movement of 2017. In a tweet posted...

-The Indian Express Sweden last week urged India to restore free movement and communication in Jammu and Kashmir. Days after Sweden raised the issue of human rights in Jammu and Kashmir, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told visiting Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde on Monday that the “right to life is the most basic human right” as he linked it to “cross-border terrorism”. This position is likely to form the template...

-The Indian Express Transgender Persons Bill has let down the community’s long struggle for self respect. The passage of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, has caused great disapointment to the transgender community in India that had urged the Rajya Sabha to refer the Bill to a select committee. The Bill failed to incorporate crucial recommendations of the Parliament Standing Committee and several depositions by the transgender and intersex community....

-The Hindu Does the Bill address issues of gender and identity? Does it consider the appeals and the concerns of the community? The story so far: Parliament has made into law the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, which had been framed for the welfare of transgender persons. The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on August 5 this year, a month after its introduction in the House, and the...

-The Indian Express Viable solutions to PDS portability are being ignored in the push for Aadhaar. Migrants’ woes are often invoked in making a case for portability of benefits in the public distribution system (PDS). Most recently, an article (‘A hundred small steps’, IE, September 26) did just that. However, in many cases of short-term seasonal migration (a dominant form in India), only one or two of the household members migrate,...