-The Telegraph All nine persons, including Left-leaning economist and activist Prasenjit Bose, were produced before Suri court which sent two local residents to police custody Bolpur (Birbhum): Police on MonDay arrested nine persons, including seven activists from Calcutta and two local persons, who took part in a meeting on SunDay to protest against land acquisition for the proposed Deocha-Pachami coal that spiralled into a detention-cum-hostage situation. All nine persons, including Left-leaning economist and...

-The Hindu How the Centre’s approach has eroded the very premise of MGNREGA   The disappointing allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the FY 2022-23 budget has created a buzz. Organisations such as the All India Kisan Sabha and NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM) have raised concerns about the inadequacy of the amount. Grassroots activists and academics have been demanding higher budgetary allocations for MGNREGA; yet, the...

-Hindustan Times The ministry of social justice and empowerment on February 17 updated the mandatory condition for the scholarship. Students from marginalised sections of society will no longer be able to study Indian culture, heritage, history and social studies under the government’s national overseas scholarship programme, a move that has been criticised by the teaching fraternity and the opposition Congress party. “The government should steer clear of deciding the choice of the topics...

-The Hindu In his book on Bihar, M.R. Sharan provides a closely observed, scholarly, and empathetic account of the struggle to make constitutional promises a reality in rural India  M.R. Sharan’s splendid book brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. The scene is a public meeting at “Narega Chowk” in Ratnauli village, Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. Activists of Bihar Manrega Watch (BMW) are helping resolve grievances. An old woman...

-TheQuint.com They are tortured so much that they forget their village name and limit their life to feeding cattle, clearing dung. “Eh ta meri bebe hai,” said Dalbir Singh, (she is my mother) looking at his distraught mother. He then identified his sister. One after the other, he called out the names of familiar faces among the villagers who came with his family. The small crowd cheered every time he joined names...