INSIDE his hovel of branches and rags, a grizzled pauper called Badshah Kale keeps a precious object. It is a note, scrawled by a policeman and framed by Mr Kale, proclaiming that he “is not a thief”. For members of his Pardhi tribe, who are among some 60m Indians considered criminal by tradition, this is treasure. Squatting beside Mr Kale, on a turd-strewn wasteland outside Ashti, a village in India’s western...
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Panchayats should play a big role in helping us tackle Maoists: Manmohan by J Balaji
Even as Maoists continue to pose a threat to the government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday urged panchayats to play a big role in helping the Centre tackle the rebels by working more effectively and ensuring administrative transparency. Inaugurating a conference to celebrate ‘National Panchayati Raj Day' under the auspices of the Ministry of the Panchayati Raj here on Saturday, Dr. Singh said that if Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) functioned...
More »Stop Operation Green Hunt, Start Dialogue with the Local People
Interim Observations of the Jury of Independent People’s Tribunal on Land Acquisition, Resource Grab and Operation Green Hunt The Independent People’s Tribunal on Land Acquisition, Resource Grab and Operation Green Hunt (organised by a collective of civil society groups, social movements, activists, academics and concerned citizens) was held in New Delhi from April 9 to 11, 2010. Its jury comprised retired Supreme Court judge Justice P.B. Sawant, retired Bombay High Court...
More »Bianca Jagger, people’s rights advocate, interviewed by Shoma Chaudhury
How did your trip to Niyamgiri and Vedanta’s mining project there come about? I’ve been a human rights, social justice and environment protection advocate for the last 30 years. I am the founder and chair of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation. I also love India and have a long relationship with this country. Many people know this. This is why Action Aid approached me to meet Sitaram Kulisika, a tribal...
More »A Bellyful Of Proposals by Bhavdeep Kang
THE FLAGSHIP scheme of UPA II, the proposed National Food Security Act (NFSA), has become a policymaker’s nightmare. If suggestions by the Finance Ministry (reportedly at the instance of Congress President Sonia Gandhi) and the state governments are incorporated, the yearly food grain requirement would be close to 80 million tonnes. But considering food grain procurement in an average year is 40 to 41 million tonnes — half the amount...
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