-The Hindu Vantangiyas, who derive their name from a Burmese tradition of hill cultivation, have lived in tin shacks without toilets for decades Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh): There is no proper road to Jungle Tinkonia-3. As its name suggests, one must pass a woodland of sal and teak trees to reach it. The situation gets even more precarious during monsoons and medical emergencies, as the village does not have any health centre. Its infrastructure is...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday sought the response of the Election Commission on petitions filed by Congress leaders seeking the use of voter-verified paper audit trail machines in randomly selected polling stations. A bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan posted the matter for further hearing to August 31. Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot have filed separate petitions seeking the use of VVPAT machines in "at...

-The Indian Express The Assam Accord of 1985 began with the assurance that the “government has all along been most anxious to find a satisfactory resolution to the problem of foreigners in Assam.” In the late 1970s, an extraordinary student movement had taken root in Assamese soil. The Mangaldoi constituency, which was voting in a bypoll after the death of its MP Hiralal Patwari, was under the spotlight. The seat, with a...

-The Hindu Scores of visitors from Assam are looking for the names of the earlier generations in the electoral rolls from 1952 to 1971; the State archives issues certified copies Kolkata: Mintu Das, a Guwahati-based businessman, could not find the names of three members of his family on July 30 when the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was released in Assam. In the past two days, Mr. Das...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Election Commission has said exclusion from the draft National Register of Citizens in Assam doesn't automatically cause disenfranchisement. "The Election Commission of India voter enrolment exercise is independent of the NRC, though they are working in sync," chief election commissioner O.P. Rawat said on Wednesday. The commission will go by three criteria - a voter person needs to be a citizen of India, he or she should be...