The “Ranchiwallas” are on the warpath in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.These tribals from Jharkhand’s Chhotanagpur region, 400 of whom were first shipped to the islands by the British way back in 1918 to build Roads, are demanding scheduled tribe status with job and education benefits under the C and D categories.They have made it clear they are not seeking full reservation under the A and B categories — free...

South Asia in general and India in particular have the dubious distinction of standing out for wrong reasons every time a new global poverty report is released. We not only have the largest number of underweight children, a very high maternal mortality rate and the world’s highest number of out of school children but we also top the global malnutrition chart. (See links below for more details)  However the 2011 United...

Heavy rains have claimed 16 lives in coastal Andhra Pradesh since the last two days and have caused widespread damage to standing crops, an official said on Wednesday. South coastal Andhra districts received heavy rains as a depression in the Bay of Bengal crossed the coast near Bapatla on Wednesday morning.According to an officials of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the depression was centred 50 km northwest of Bapatla and...

“Resource crunch often makes people depressed, especially for small farmers like us who are used to it for decades. We often live in severe cash-strapped situations and learn to adjust or adapt; sometimes we just succumb to it,” says farmer Mr.Vikas Shinde from Jalgoan, Maharashtra, who developed a motor cycle operated water pump to irrigate his fields.“The government just does not seem interested in encouraging farmers,” he says.“The National Rural...

Heavy rains lashed the southern Tamil Nadu and Chennai claiming 30 more lives in the last three days. The death toll went up to 181 since October. Officials said most of the deaths were caused by wall collapses, floods, lightning and electrocution. Standing crops on more than 58,000 hectares have been spoilt and the damage to buildings, bridges and Roads is to the tune of Rs 800 crore. Tamil Nadu...