Last month, a group calling itself the “Maa Danteshwari Swabhimani Adivasi Manch” circulated a pamphlet in Dantewada district, threatening to kill anyone perceived to be a supporter of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). The pamphlet accused Dantewada's oldest journalist N.R.K. Pillai, Anil Mishra, Chhattisgarh Correspondent for Tehelka, and Yashwant Yadav, District Secretary of the Chhattisgarh Working Journalists' Union, of working for the Maoists and threatened them with dire circumstances. The...

When we talk of India's mammoth work force, be it in rural or urban scenarios, what comes to mind is the 'unorganised' sector. They form the multitudes that do not 'belong' to a sector governed by a slew of measures in accordance with labour laws or employment terms defined by policy measures. These are the multitudes, which fall outside the ambit of Central Government legislation pertaining to wages and salaries....

Manish Kunjam , a former MLA and president of All India Adivasi Mahasabha, the tribal front of the CPI, is the only politician in Bastar who continues to organise Adivasis peacefully for their constitutional rights. Jyoti Punwani spoke to Kunjam about doing politics while facing police repression and Naxal violence: After a long gap, Chhattisgarh recently witnessed two massiveAdivasirallies.What were your demands? The Chhattisgarh government is running under the writ...

In a matter relating to displacement of Adivasi population in Kokrajhar district of western Assam the Gauhati High Court accepted a status report from petitioners in the matter. Petitioners were displaced on account of violence in the 1980's against them and had approached the court seeking relief.Petitioners who were driven out of their homes during a communal riot at the time of autonomy movement of Bodo tribal community in Assam...

Twenty five years after the beginning of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the movement buzzes with inputs from activists and students. But, dogged by many limitations, is there a positive end in sight?An increased and meaningful interface between tribals and non-tribals came about...The air enveloping the ghats at Koteshwar is heavy with spirituality. Devotees, tourists and other visitors throng the place every day to pray at the several temples around the...