Category: News

Ranchi: 22 Christian, tribal bodies to protest attempts to ‘grab land, divide people’

Twenty-two Christian bodies and tribal organisations will hold a rally in Ranchi to protest against the Religious Freedom Bill, 2017 and the amendment to Land Acquisition Act, 2013, alleging that these are attempts to divide the tribal population along religious lines while grabbing their land. The rally will be held on September 16 in Morabadi, a day after BJP president Amit Shah begins his three-day Jharkhand visit on September 15.

Organisations that will attend the rally include the All India Churches Committee, Rashtriya Isai Mahasangh, Jharkhand Christian Youth Association and Kendriya Sarna Samiti (Pahari Tola). “On the face of it, they look like laws in two different spheres but they are related,” A J Ekka, Chairman of All India Churches Committee, said.

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Courtesy: The New Indian Express

Unite, stand strong for conservation of natural resources: Felix Padel

Unite, stand strong and believe in your own knowledge for the conservation of natural resources which are depleting very fast, said noted anthropologist Felix Padel while delivering a key note address of the national convention of Adivasi people held at Bachat Bhavan to commemorate the 11th United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) adopted by the General Assembly on Thursday.Mamta Kujur from Chhatisgarh presided over.

Padel said, the tactics of capitalism and internal colonialism had made live of Adivasi communities in India measurable. Adivasis knew the protection of water, forest and land as they treat these natural resources as their mother. It is now a time to show solidarity to fight against the people who are exploiting these natural resources for minting money, he appealed. The convention started with welcome song presented by Indira Markam. In his introductory speech, Dinesh Madavi stressed the need to Adivasi Samanvayay Manch on national level. Ashok Choudhary, President of Adivasi Samanvayay Manch Bharat discussed the 11th UN declaration on the rights of indigenous people.

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Courtesy: The hitavada

Why many tribals don’t mind being ousted by dams

Millions of words have been written on the woes of people forcibly displaced by dams, of whom tribal oustees (who lose access to forest produce and grazing) suffer most. The counter-criticism is that these activists are denying tribals the right to development.

Many research projects have tried to assess the impact on tribals ousted by the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat, arguably the most controversial dam ever in India. Such studies do not clearly distinguish temporary from long-run impacts, or assess what living standards might have been without the dam. Nor have researchers asked non-ousted tribals if they might actually want to be ousted and garner the benefits of modernisation.

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Courtesy: The Times of India

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SAMATA JUDGMENT

COMMON CAUSE || Vol. XXXVI No. 3 || July-September, 2017

A Weapon of the Weak and the Marginalised

“Poverty in the land of plenty”, wrote Minoo Masani way back in 1953 in his book Our India. Masani rightly
recognises the paradox of our nation — the land with abundant natural resources has been the home for the
poor and the most deprived. The tribal areas in particular have been victims of this paradox despite the fact
that the Constitution laid down various provisions for the betterment of the tribal population. For instance,
Article 342, by providing that the President’s power to ‘notify communities as Scheduled Tribes’ (STs),
unconditionally recognises the fact that the ST communities are the ones which have suffered the worst
dispossession. The STs are guaranteed various forms of reservations by Articles 320, 332 and 334 of the
Constitution. PESA , 1996 provides tribal communities Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act
powers with regards to natural resource management and self-governance. Yet the widespread non-implementation of these provisions has created stark inequalities leading to poverty and deprivation of India’s tribal communities. Read more

52 children die in 30 days at MGM Hospital in Jamshedpur; main cause is malnutrition, says administration

Weeks after deaths of over 70 children in government-run hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, 52 infants have been reported dead in last 30 days at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College (MGM) Hospital in Jharkhand’s Jamshedpur.

According to a report by the ANI, the hospital superintendent has blamed malnutrition for the deaths.

The tribal belt of Jharkhand has been long battling the problem of malnutrition among the kids. According to a report by the UN agency for children, UNICEF, 47 per cent children in Jharkhand are undersized and 42 per cent of them are underweight. The report was part of the UNICEF’s Rapid Survey on Children 2013-14. Read more

Courtesy: India TV

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