Nearly 300 dalits offered prayers on the occasion of ‘Thirukarthigai' Day The dalits entered the temple on October 3 “for the first time in their lives” Amid heavy police security, the dalits in East Rajapalayam in the Gengavalli block in Salem district successfully re-entered the ancient Sri Chidambareshwarar temple in the village on Sunday, from which they were barred. Dressed up in their best, 300 dalits including women and children, carrying garlands...

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes Sunday rejected the Uttar Pradesh government's claims of bringing down incidents of violence against dalits, terming them 'baseless and misleading'. The commission's newly-appointed chairman P.L. Punia said the state government released figures of only the first six months of this year, and atrocities against dalits had actually registered a steep rise over the three-and-a-half year rule of Bahujan Samaj Party, according to statistics by National...

The rural poor in Andhra Pradesh, a State showcased as a model for SHG-bank linkage, are caught in the vortex of microfinance. WITHIN a decade of their coming into operation, microfinance institutions (MFIs) have dealt a serious blow to the economy and the well-being of thousands of families in rural Andhra Pradesh. Harassment by their collection agents has allegedly driven at least 60 borrowers to death, and the number is...

After 47 days of their sit-in, government agrees to pay prevailing minimum wage From a black Diwali to a colourful Id! For hundreds of labourers who sat on dharna from October 2 near the Statue Circle here to press their demand for minimum wages under the MNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), it was celebration time on Wednesday. After 47 days of sit-in protest, which was preceded by a...

NAC failed to address hunger and malnutrition: Right to Food Campaign Current proposals only offer window-dressing to present Targeted Public Distribution System Arguments suggesting lack of resources cannot be accepted, wrote Campaign members The Right to Food Campaign activists are “extremely disappointed” with the recommendations of the National Advisory Council (NAC) on the proposed Food Security Bill and have said they would continue their struggle for a Comprehensive Food Security Act. Urging the NAC...