-Newsclick.in CM Mamata Banerjee has started handing over compensation packages, but SKM and other outfits have accused it of bypassing holding of gram sabhas. Kolkata: The Deocha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harisingha (DPDH) coal block under Mohammed Bazar Development Block in Birbhum district is fast becoming a “symbol of the West Bengal government’s high-handedness”. So much so that local residents, a large number of whom are adivasis/Santhals, are being cautious in airing their concerns about the proposed...

-TheWire.in It was indeed an unequal conflict, as the Santals unflinchingly fought with bows and arrows against troops armed with artillery – an indicator of how precious self-rule was to them. The 1857 uprising of Indian sepoys is commonly considered to be the first war of independence in Indian history, even though it was preceded by tribal revolts such as the Halba rebellion of 1774, the Bhil revolt of 1818, and the...

-Article-14.com A surge of untested, undocumented, unmonitored Covid-19 infections in India’s villages is killing thousands, many times more than reported cases. With no access to big-city medical care or Twitter SOSs, millions are at risk. Mumbai: It was past 10 pm when S H Mehdi, BAMS, saw off the last of the day’s 250-odd patients and settled down to speak over the phone. “Chaaron taraf fever phaili hui hai. (There are febrile...

-The Indian Express One year since the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed, there’s been little change in the hunger levels and unemployment rate among migrant workers, especially women. Today marks the first anniversary of the day the central government announced an ill-planned national lockdown. India is home to nearly 500 million informal sector workers with practically non-existent social security and the unilateral decision pushed them into perilous circumstances, triggering their great exodus from...

-The Telegraph Jobless in lockdown, 54-year-old who speaks only Santhali started journey from Delhi in August Jamshedpur: Of the tens of thousands of hapless migrant workers who had set out to walk hundreds of miles home after the lockdown was announced, one reached his village on Saturday. Berjom Bamda Pahadiya arrived home at Amarbitha in Sahebganj district of Jharkhand on March 13 after a seven-month trudge from Delhi, 1,200km away, showing remarkable resilience...