Hunger deaths present a sober reality check to Bihar government  With the National Democratic Alliance government in Bihar playing cowboys and Indians with the Centre over the number of BPL (below the poverty line) families in the State, Gaya's hunger deaths proffer a sober reality check to the government consistently serenading its schemes for the Maha Dalit community. Three years ago, 14 members of the Bhuiyyan community (a Maha Dalit sub-caste)...

Says India is obliged under international law to protect right to life  Wants impartial inquiry into reports of excessive use of force by police ‘Force must be used in accordance with international standards' Amnesty International (AI) has urged the authorities in Orissa to halt immediately unnecessary and excessive use of force by police and private civil militias on Adivasi (indigenous communities) and peasants protesting against the acquisition of their lands and habitats...

The Centre is gearing to introduce a tribal policy that has been gathering dust for five years, hoping the move will win the tribals over from the Maoists. The draft of the National Tribal Policy, which proposes land rights for Adivasis and aims to bring their human development indices on a par with the rest of the country by 2020, will be placed before the cabinet this month, tribal ministry officials...

Tens of millions of dollars have been diverted in India from schemes to fight poverty and used to fund Delhi's Commonwealth Games, a report says. The Housing and Land Rights Network pressure group says its report is based on official documents obtained under India's right to information act. The group says there should be an independent inquiry into how this was allowed to happen. Government officials in Delhi say they are...

The government needs to recruit 20 lakh teachers to successfully implement the Right to Education Act, Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said on Monday. The implementation of the Act was a difficult task and the only solution would be to hire teachers even if they did not have the required qualification. “In the course of five years these teachers need to acquire the qualification necessary for the position,” he...