-The Telegraph The Telegraph reports on a riverine community’s determination to save its environs Once upon a time, when my forefathers were looking for land to settle down, they found this barren sandbar and decided to make it a habitable place,” says Nani Roy, 42, a resident of Manachar. Char is the Bengali word for sandbar. Manachar is the sandbar that extends from Durgapur Barrage to Panagarh in Burdwan district. About three...

-The Hindu * What are the Forest Conservation Rules and how will it affect forest dwellers and tribals? What is the government’s position on the updated rules? The story so far: The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sparred earlier this week on the latest version of the Forest Conservation Rules. Congress spokesperson, Jairam Ramesh, alleged that the latest version of the rules, updated last month, allowed forest land to be...

-The Hindu More than a billion people around the world were affected by drought in 2000-19, making it the second-worst disaster after flooding. The story so far: A United Nations report has revealed that many parts of India fall under the list of regions that are vulnerable to drought globally. The report also stated that India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reduced by 2 to 5 per cent between 1998 and 2017 due...

-Newsclick.in Recently, many tribal activists, journalists and human rights activists from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra came to the Press Club of India to highlight the contemporary situation in the tribal belt of India. New Delhi: Understanding the scope and reasons for anti-tribal violence necessitates a state-by-state comparison. Tribals are oppressed in various ways in every state. The sex industry rings exploit tribals in Madhya Pradesh, while counter-insurgency operations against Maoists in Jharkhand,...

-Press release by Mineral Inheritors Rights Association dated March 29, 2022 This is to urgently appeal for immediate release of Deme Oram and 21 other people who are still under arrest since yesterday and their location is still unknown. Yesterday (28th March) Deme Oram and 200 displaced villagers of Bondamunda were initially arrested while they were sitting on an indefinite dharna since 16th of March demanding justice and implementation of the...