Giving a thumbs up to the defence ministry’s proposal to raise a territorial army battalion consisting of local tribal youth in Maoist-affected areas, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked it not only to take it up on priority basis but also to raise three battalions instead of one. After being vetted and cleared by both the key ministries, the proposal is expected to come up in in the cabinet...
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Bid to revive forests in Jammu and Kashmir by Peerzada Arshad Hamid
ZAVOORA, India (AlertNet) – Amid thousands of tree stumps stretching over almost 60 hectares (150 acres) of bare plateau, there are signs of life. Delicate saplings of kail and deodar conifers are growing between other newly planted deciduous trees. The woodland had been cut down illegally by loggers and encroached upon for farming. But forestry officials here in Shopian district, a two-hour drive south of Srinagar, the summer capital of India’s...
More »Post-Election Blues in West Bengal by Sumanta Banerjee
Trinamool Congress government’s policies in West Bengal are leading to suicides of small farmers, a reign of terror in the Jangalmahal area and a curbing of academic and trade union rights. Its student activists beat up students and teachers who do not profess loyalty to the party. Will the CPI(M) which led the previous Left Front government for 34 years and paid the price for its insolence and corruption...
More »Tribal rights Act tied up in red tape by Liz Mathew
Even legislation championed by Sonia Gandhi can get stuck in bureaucratic limbo—witness the fate of amendments that needed to be made quickly to a law that seeks to safeguard the rights of tribals. The combined backing of the National Advisory Council (NAC), headed by Congress president Gandhi, and the political leadership of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government hasn’t been enough to put in place new guidelines meant to remove the...
More »Soon, tribal corps to fight Reds by Josy Joseph
The central government is finalizing a series of decisions to increase military presence across the Naxal belt in east and central India. Among them is a plan to raise the first Territorial Army battalion comprising local tribals. While sources insisted that the strategy was to increase military presence and no operations were planned, the move could deny many local advantages enjoyed by the Naxals. With a locals-only 'Home and Hearth' battalion...
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