Maoists in Assam are making rapid inroads among the Santhals, who were brought to the state 200 years ago and coerced into working in tea plantations. Intelligence agencies say the rebels have propped up a relatively new adivasi (tribal) militant outfit called Santhali Tiger Force (STF). The outfit has begun to spread its influence across five western and northern Assam districts. The indoctrination and the initiation process are taking place at two...

Two more tribal women have been stripped and forced to parade naked in front of large crowds in the Indian state of West Bengal, police say. The incidents were in the same area - the Birbhum district - where a similar case took place four months ago. Locals say that the women were being punished for "having close relations" with men from other communities. Birbhum police spokesman Humayun Kabir told the BBC that...

EVEN though the Right to Information Act guarantees citizens their right to know and expose corruption in government offices, increasing attacks on RTI activists have put this most important right in jeopardy. The RTI Act was enacted after a long struggle by civil rights organisations. However, those who dare question the ways of the powers that be and expose them are eliminated in cold-blooded murders. The manner in which Amit...

The Women's Commission in the Indian state of West Bengal has announced an inquiry into allegations that a tribal woman was forced to parade naked. Officials say she was forced to walk without her clothes for nearly 10km (6 miles) through three villages and was filmed on a mobile phone. They say that she was also molested and jeered by a large crowd. Locals say she was being "punished" because of an illicit...

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths on Tuesday seized Rs 13.05 crore in cash stacked in sacks and boxes from the house of a relative of a scam-accused official in Guwahati. The house, in Assam's main city, is owned by Amjad Hussain, brother-in-law of RH Khan, one of the main accused in the multi-million rupee financial scam in Assam's North Cachar Hills district. Khan, a deputy director in the state social welfare...