-PTI As the Centre plans to discuss the possibility of inclusion of Jarawa tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands into the mainstream, tribal rights body ‘Survival International' on Saturday said such steps would prove to be a disaster. “Any attempt to keep the Jarawas in the mainstream by force would be a disaster,” the London-based Survival said in a statement on Saturday. “Forcibly assimilating tribal people into national society has been viewed as...

-PTI The United Nations and leading world organizations celebrated India’s first polio free year and termed it as a major milestone in their fight against this dreaded disease. The World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan, termed it as the “greatest public health achievement” of India, the Bill Gates, of Bill and Milinda Gates Foundation described it as a major milestone in the global fight against polio. “This is a major milestone in...

-The Hindu   Has addressed issues of sex selection, infant-maternal mortality, child health A Dalit woman sarpanch elected to an unreserved seat in Bikaner district of Rajasthan has successfully brought gender issues to the mainstream development discourse with the help of a Jaipur-based advocacy group. She has addressed the crucial subjects of sex selection, infant and maternal mortality and reproductive and child health by focusing on gender fostering. Tara Devi, elected as Sarpanch of...

Child welfare continues to be accorded the least priority in planning and implementation of public services or amenities. Other than those institutions, public and private, directly charged with the protection of children, almost all others exhibit a low level of sensitivity to children and low levels of preparedness for child protection, a new study has shown. Conducted by Childline 1098 — a helpline service for children in distress — the study...

River Brahmaputra has eaten more than half of Asia's largest riverine island Majuli over the last 60 years. With land disappearing, there is progressive loss of the traditional means of livelihood of its people, leading to their displacement. Some lately are migrating even as far away as Andhra Pradesh, finds out Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty after a visit. Farmer Sridhar Bora stops mid-way as he brings down his axe on a tree...