A recent survey carried out by the TNUEF brings to light details of the discrimination Dalits in Madurai have faced for generations. OVER seven decades have rolled by since the freedom fighter A. Vaidhyanatha Iyer successfully led Dalits into the Meenakshi temple in Madurai, overcoming all the impediments posed by the casteist forces that were hell-bent on thwarting the historic event. But the stark reality is that “hidden apartheid” against...

I solicit your personal intervention in the matter to ensure that para-wise comments on the reports of Sanjay Dixit (member of Central Employment Guarantee Council who's come out with a scathing report on the implementation of NREGA in Uttar Pradesh) and pending complaints are attended on priority basis. - Rita Sharma, union secretary (now retired), rural development, in a letter to Atul Kumar Gupta, chief secretary, Uttar Pradesh, on January 13....

The Centre is considering seeking the help of private institutions to impart training to BPL households to augment functional capability of workers in rural areas, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here on Tuesday. Addressing the MNREGS Sammelan 2010, Dr. Singh said integration of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme with the National Rural Livelihood Mission was among the options before the government to not only create job opportunities...

Maoist-hit Koraput region will soon find a place on the international map, but for a different reason. The region is going to be recognised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation as a “globally important agriculture heritage system” on the pattern of world heritage sites declared by the Unesco, said eminent agro scientist M.S. Swaminathan here today. Considering the extraordinary biological and agricultural diversity of the Koraput region, which needs to be protected...

The United Progressive Alliance’s flagship scheme, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), could have saved the day for India when the world fought against rising job losses on account of century’s worst ever recession , says a report by the International Labour Organisation. “There has been much progress in extending social protection through NREGA, which helped in maintaining levels of consumption and poverty,” the report on Global Employment Trends 2010...