-Scroll.in The recent starvation death in Simdega epitomises a much larger problem of Aadhaar-related exclusion from the public distribution system in Jharkhand. The recent death of 11-year old Santoshi Kumari in Simdega district of Jharkhand has rightly stirred the country’s conscience. The context of this tragedy, however, is poorly understood, not least because of the Jharkhand government’s obfuscation. According to the family’s video testimonies, Santoshi died after starving for eight days. Even...

-Hindustan Times Koili Devi, whose daughter starved to death after ration card was caught in tech glitch over Aadhaar, apparently travelled eight kilometers from her village Karimati in Jharkhand’s far-flung Simdega district to seek shelter at the home of an activist. Ranchi: A Jharkhand woman, whose daughter allegedly starved to death last month because the family’s Aadhaar and ration cards weren’t linked, was attacked by villagers, activists and local sources said on...

During the Bengal famine of 1943-44, over 2 million people died due to starvation, diseases and malnutrition, among other things. According to scholars, the apathy of the British government was largely responsible for such a massive tragedy. Despite the enacting of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in 2013, the situation of the downtrodden and the poor has not changed much in the country as compared to pre-Independence time. On 28...

-The Telegraph Ranchi: Over six lakh people engaged in jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Jharkhand have not got their daily wages since September 15, the backlog on Tuesday standing at an estimated Rs 155 crores, making it a dim Diwali for the state's poorest. The onus of this lies on Jharkhand as the Centre has withheld funds as the state government has not yet handed...

-Scroll.in Aadhaar is depriving the most vulnerable people of their grain entitlements. Eleven-year-old Santoshi Kumari died asking for rice on September 28, eight months after her family stopped getting food rations from the government because their ration card was not linked to their Aadhaar, the biometrics-based 12-digit unique identification number that the Centre wants all Indian residents to have. The child’s death in Jharkhand’s Simdega district has elicited official responses that verge...