The farmers' struggle against land acquisition only shows that from passive forms of protest they have turned to active forms of resistance. THE recent agitation by farmers in Uttar Pradesh against cropland acquisition for non-agricultural purposes is only the latest in a long series of protests by farmers and rural communities, which started a decade ago in different parts of the country and which gathered momentum over the past five...

Tribal people constitute close to 50 per cent of the population that has been displaced because of "developmental" activities. “IF you are to suffer, you should suffer in the interest of the country,” Jawaharlal Nehru has been quoted as telling the village residents to be displaced by the Hirakud dam in 1948. And so it has been for the past 64 years. People, mostly impoverished tribes, have been suffering because...

The current perception that cash transfers can replace public provision of basic goods and services and become a catch-all solution for poverty reduction is false. Where cash transfers have helped to reduce poverty, they have added to public provision, not replaced it. For crucial items like food, direct provision protects poor consumers from rising prices and is part of a broader strategy to ensure domestic supply. Problems like targeting errors...

Allegation that Ansari was killed by Naxalites is a ploy: report NEW DELHI: Debunking claims of the Jharkhand government, the Union Ministry of Rural Development has called for a CBI inquiry into the murder of whistle-blower Niyamat Ansari charging that there was an attempt to cover up the murder. It called for “serious action” against Latehar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rahul Purwar for alleged dereliction of duty and failure to prevent funds...

The National Advisory Council's (NAC) idea about a uniformland acquisition policy - with the government being responsible for all public purpose transfer of tracts - has not found all-round support. There are no differences on safeguarding the rights of farmers and landowners. But experts say the most essential aspect is to put in place a powerful institutional mechanism for conflict resolution that will also supervise the process of acquisition. In the...