While inflation has been hitting people hard across the country, the rate of price rise has been the most in Kerala, Orissa and Meghalaya, as per government data released today.     In all three states, the consumer price index (CPI) overall stood at 108 in January from a base of 100 in 2010, suggesting inflation of 8 per cent. Incidentally, even richer states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi and Punjab reported a...

Marie Antoinette, the liberal and concerned queen of FRAnce, on seeing the poor and hungry masses demanding bread, said in a fit of charity — “let them eat cake”. Member of the prestigious National Advisory Council (NAC) Jean Dreze surveyed the performance of the existing National Food For Work Programme (NFFWP) in July 2005 and concluded that the performance was “alarming”. The work guidelines were not being enforced, and the...

Tribal communities are vulnerable not only because they are poor, assetless and illiterate compared to the general population, their distinct vulnerability arises from their inability to negotiate and cope with the consequences of their forced integration with the mainstream economy, society, and cultural and political system. The repercussions for the already FRAgile socio-economic livelihood base of the tribals have been devastating—ranging from loss of livelihoods, land alienation on a vast...

Investigation into the attempted suicide by five members of a farmer’s family in Sanand on Monday has revealed that the main accused, a land dealer and an advocate, is related to the family, the police said a day later. Mansinh Sandhav, his sons Kalusinh and Hamir, and daughters-in-law Jatan Kalu Mansinh and Leela Hamir Mansinh had consumed pesticide in Vikramsinh Solanki’s house after the latter refused to give back their land....

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh tied himself in knots on Monday to defend the guidelines his ministry had issues on turning national parks and sanctuaries into inviolate critical wildlife habitats, bypassing provisions of the Forest Rights Act. Even as his statement contradicted the guidelines issued by the environment ministry on February 8, Ramesh defended them claiming that `news reports' against the fresh set of rules were `misleading'. TOI had reported how the...