-Tehelka On its fifth and the last day, the Assembly demands recognition of ASHA and aanganwadi workers as govt employees The People’s Assembly being held at Jantar Mantar concluded on Friday 30 November with the release of a draft preliminary manifesto. The manifesto consists of resolutions adopted by the Assembly on issues like health, education, land acquisition and Lokpal Bill, among others. “We will intensify our demands with the People’s Manifesto and...

-The Times of India MIDNAPORE: Three days after TOI reported on the plight of Amlashole villager Malati Shabar, the Mamata Banerjee government sent officials to the poverty-stricken village with food. Malati is the daughter of Somay Shabar, who had died of starvation along with her sister Sombari in 2004. TOI had reported on Saturday that Malati was also in dire straits and fighting hunger pangs. The government on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into...

-Frontline After the year-long Jansamvad Yatra and Jansatyagraha, the Ekta Parishad has a written commitment from the Rural Development Ministry to advance land reforms.  Celebration and caution. These sentiments dominated the deliberations of senior activists of the Ekta Parishad as they gathered at Delhi’s Gandhi Peace Foundation office on October 18, one week after the organisation and the Union government had signed a 10-point agreement to advance land reforms. The agreement had...

-The Times of India They stay in cramped prison spaces with minimum facilities at their disposal. But they're not criminals. They are the children of women who have been convicted or are facing trial. Over 800 children up to the age of six are languishing in prisons across seven states and union territories, including Delhi, for no fault of their own. Sadly, the juvenile justice system is yet to make room...

-Economic and Political Weekly  The Government of India is considering a proposal to notify farming as an essential service. This is ostensibly to bring drought relief to farmers suffering from a weak monsoon - a laudable goal indeed. However, if farming is deemed an "essential service", farmers and farm workers could lose many of their political and civic rights because the government can then invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act to...