-Newsclick.in It also requests the President to declare the proposed Bill unconstitutional as it violates the right to equality guaranteed to all citizens of the country under Article 14 of the Constitution of India. A group of women, women’s organisation, academics, health and legal rights activities, health networks have submitted a memorandum to the President of India opposing the proposed Draft Uttar Pradesh (UP) Population Control, Stabilisation and Welfare Bill, 2021. The...

-IndiaSpend.com To fight hunger and distress due to the pandemic, India must universalise foodgrain distribution, expand the food basket in its rations scheme and provide cash transfers, activist Anjali Bhardwaj tells us in this interview Bengaluru: The pandemic-induced lockdowns have had a profound impact on livelihoods, affecting poor Indians' food intake, studies show. In October 2020, more than half the respondents of a Hunger Survey said their rice/wheat consumption had declined during...

-The Hindu/ PTI Responding to a letter from Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Ramdev said he wants to put the matter to rest. Yoga guru Ramdev on Sunday withdrew his recent statements on allopathic medicine which triggered strong protests from the medical fraternity. Responding to a letter from Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Ramdev said he wants to put the matter to rest. “Hon’ble Minister, I have received your letter. I withdraw my statement,...

-Article-14.com Scepticism about Covid-19. Lack of smartphones, health information and healthcare. Resistance to vaccination. We found a perfect storm devastating the poor, southwestern interiors of India’s most-populous state. Banda (Uttar Pradesh): “At least one person in every household here is extremely unwell.” Shivdevi, who uses only one name, has over a decade’s professional experience as a journalist and has been reporting from rural Bundelkhand in southwestern Uttar Pradesh (UP) for the women-run, grassroots...

-The Hindu Contrary to expectations, the BJP’s appeal among backward classes and the rural poor has petered out The phrase ‘subaltern Hindutva’ was bandied about quite a lot in academic and journalistic circles during the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly election. Many journalists and scholars covering stories from the field had a common account, that a large section of rural poor, backward classes, Dalits and Adivasis had firmly shifted towards the Bharatiya...