Giving a thumbs up to the defence ministry’s proposal to raise a territorial army battalion consisting of local tribal youth in Maoist-affected areas, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked it not only to take it up on priority basis but also to raise three battalions instead of one. After being vetted and cleared by both the key ministries, the proposal is expected to come up in in the cabinet...

Even legislation championed by Sonia Gandhi can get stuck in bureaucratic limbo—witness the fate of amendments that needed to be made quickly to a law that seeks to safeguard the rights of tribals. The combined backing of the National Advisory Council (NAC), headed by Congress president Gandhi, and the political leadership of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government hasn’t been enough to put in place new guidelines meant to remove the...

-The Telegraph The cabinet secretariat has issued a circular instructing all ministries at the Centre to “mandatorily” consult the national commissions for SCs and STs on any policy concerning the two sections. The Centre seems to have woken up to the wanton violation of this rule by its own ministries and the states. The circular, issued on February 16, said: “The ministries/departments are advised to ensure that the National Commission for SCs or...

-PTI   Aiming to preserve the indigenous knowledge of tribals and products manufactured by them with the help of natural resources, government is planning to patent some of these under the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). "Tribal Affairs Ministry has taken an initiative to patent the forest by-products and indigenous knowledge of making these products through the Intellectual Property Rights," Tribal Affairs Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo said here. "The use of products and the...

A government panel has suggested the Centre revise its “no intervention” policy on the Jarawas of the Andamans and try to “empower” them rather than let them continue to be what an academic has described as “showpiece hunter-gatherers”. The panel wants the government to see if it can provide food and medical help —and possibly some education and housing — to these tribals inside the Jarawa Reserve without disrupting their lifestyle. It...