Salaries of MPs, MLAs and bureaucrats have seen huge hikes recently but for workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), wages have remained static ever since the scheme was launched five years ago. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot recently announced a Diwali bonus for the government employees in the state. "For Diwali we have decided to give bonus equal to 30 days salary. This will cost us Rs. 223 crore...

A young woman carries a torn blouse and an undergarment and a lock of her hair in a clear plastic bag that rarely leaves her side. Kunjami Mangli (name changed) of the Bade Bidme panchayat in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district preserves these items as evidence of the events of the night of October 12. “Four uniformed policemen burst into my house at 2 a.m.,” said Mangli, speaking through a translator. “They ripped...

Except for the Left parties, none of the major political parties have given importance to land reforms and problems of landless people during the elections. The Janata Dal(U) and the RJD-LJP are silent on land reforms. In their manifestoes in the previous elections, they had devoted some space to declare their dedication to the problem of land reforms. According to the official sources, the last action of distribution of surplus land was...

In a shocking incident in Rajasthan, three Dalits were fined Rs 45 thousand by a Panchayat for Daring to drink water from a public tap. A case has now been registered against the accused. These Dalits have been discriminated against not just by the upper castes, but also by Muslims. The three of them from Randhisar village near Bikaner were fined Rs 15,000 each by their Muslim sarpanch Gope Khan. Their...

Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh have thrown up many curious phenomena. Everyone involved with the panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh seems to love it. Sons, brothers, sons-in-law of MLAs contesting for seats at the village, tehsil or district levels in vast numbers are happy because the vidhayak mahoday is campaigning on their behalf, making full use of the party machinery. Wives and daughters-in-law from ‘influential families' are delighted because their family's...