-Down to Earth Most insects are not harmful but beneficial to humans; without them, nature will lose its balance Any small creature with six jointed legs and a body divided into THRee parts namely head, thorax and abdomen is known as an ‘insect’. They have wings, two antennae and an exoskeleton. Ants, bees and flies are insects. ‘Entomology’ is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. There may be as many as...

-Down to Earth Government hasn’t learnt any lessons about a river known to change course itself, say environmentalists The Bihar government will try to divert the course of the mighty Kosi river in Bhagalpur district to save an archaeological site discovered recently, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said December 20, 2020. He made the announcement at Guwaradih village in Naugachhia sub-division of Bhagalpur district. Several priceless artefacts have been found at the site during...

-CaravanMagazine.in The South Asia Collective, a group of human-rights activists and organisations, recently published “The South Asia State of Minorities Report 2020: Minorities and Shrinking Civic Space” by the South Asia Collective. The report examines minority rights and the narrowing of space for human-rights defenders in light of increasing majoritarianism across the region. Its chapters, on Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, conclude that THRee basic freedoms—the constitutional...

-Newslaundry.com Rashid and Muskan are the first interfaith couple to be held under Uttar Pradesh’s ‘love jihad law’. He spent two weeks in jail, she miscarried in a women’s shelter home. “I held my baby for a few minutes before letting it go down the toilet,” said Muskan, who specifically told us to call her Muskan and not Pinki. “I willingly converted to Islam and adopted the name Muskan,” she explained. “I wish...

-TheWire.in If Modi wants to pull India out of the ‘Cereals Trap’, the path lies THRough the creation of infrastructure for agriculture. Five weeks after the Farmers agitation began, and a day after the Supreme Court urged the government to put the THRee farm bills passed in September on hold, Prime Minister Modi has finally agreed to hold talks with their leaders. But what will he hold talks about when neither he, nor...