-The Hindu   Unlike the success story of the tea stall owner who became Prime Minister, there are many others whose dreams have been forgotten. But their lives have been rebuilt by MGNREGA Right next to the village home in Devdungri, Rajsamand, Rajasthan where I lived and worked with Mazdoor Kisan Shakthi Sangathan from 1998, live Chiman Singh and his wife Meera. Both of them used to migrate to Ahmedabad for six months...

-Down to Earth Rural women in Uttar Pradesh join hands to end gender bias in agriculture and claim joint ownership of land Breaking the stereotype of rural women, 39-year-old Suresho Saini proudly drives a tractor to plough 1.6 hectares (ha) of agricultural land in Rahimpur village in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district. The plot belongs exclusively to her. "Women working in agricultural fields are a common sight in India; yet when we think...

India has witnessed many fiery debates on poverty estimates. Equally contentious has been the issue of inequality. Now a new report on exclusion offers a fresh perspective on poverty, inequality and social justice. (See below a summary of the report) Based on data and knowledge resources available in the public domain, India Exclusion Report 2013-14 highlights the systematic discrimination faced by women, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Muslims, persons with...

-The Hindu   Gujarat Dalit women's cooperative is fighting for entitlement to land it has reclaimed VAUTHA (AHMEDABAD DISTRICT, Gujarat): It's early morning, but the summer sun is already beating down on the row of women busy with their hoes. In Gujarat, known for the cooperative dairy movement, a group of Dalit women farmers from Vautha village in Dholka block of Ahmedabad district are pioneering the demand for Land Entitlement, for a one of...

-Women's Feature Service   For tribal communities, the forest has traditionally been their habitat, their source of income and their nutritional lifeline. So protection of the green cover and ready access to forest produce are issues that are connected with their survival. In India, while The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, recognises the rights of forest-dwellers over land and other resources, in reality there...