The struggle of Adivasis in Assam is more or less unique. It is the only state in India where, post Independence, adivasis were given Other Backward Class (OBC) status instead of Scheduled Tribe (ST). Sriram Ananthanarayanan says this, and their struggle, warrants an examination.

Shifting cultivation in the Northeast, called jhum, is under stress because of conflicts and industrialisation. Sriram Ananthanarayanan examines how the cycle of jhum cultivation is getting adversely affected, causing immense hardship to the people dependent on it.

Recent conservation efforts, linked to the development of alternate livelihood options for local communities along the Brahmaputra, have led to new hope for Assam's state aquatic animal. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

In a region mired in conflict for a decade now, the emergence and growth of weaving as a livelihood option for Bodo women has been welcome, and the women have taken to it with great entrepreneurship. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Farmers in Assam have had to move out of agriculture during the past two years because sand dunes created over their fertile lands. Comprehensive bungling of river flood control and other ill-thought out projects are the cause, finds Surekha Sule.

With training from the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurs, a new generation of jewellery traders is making its mark in Assam, focusing on traditional designs. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Murders and other violent crimes are on the rise in Assam, as superstitious belief in witches provides cover for such actions. Both state and society have much more to do, writes Ratna Bharali Talukdar.

A young entrepreneur's new innovation promises to boost productivity and incomes in the weaving sector, and give a major fillip to an important industry in Assam. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

A livelihoods programme for villages on the fringes of Kaziranga National Park makes big gains in the fight against poaching, and also recognises the importance of locals as stakeholders in wildlife conservation. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Despite years of conflicts and lakhs of people being housed in relief camps, the Assam government is yet to develop a practical policy of responding to the recurring crises. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Endless ethnic clashes in the state since the 1990s, coupled with chronic flood and erosion, have triggered large scale migration from Assam to greener pastures outside the state. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

An innovative eco-friendly handicraft, developed and promoted by NEDFi, using the abundant water hyacinth has improved the economic conditions of rural artisans and crafts-women in the Northeast and given their lives new meaning Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

The recent nod to Telangana has led to unrest and violence anew in Assam, where several groups have been struggling for their respective states for decades. Ratna Bharali Talukdar looks at the current situation in the context of the long and checkered movements for statehood in the region.

Should foreign immigrants in Assam enjoy Indian citizenship as outlined by the Assam Accord and endorsed by Section 6A of the Citizenship Act? Tanvi Bhatikar reports on a recent court ruling that focuses on these questions.

In Assam, a unique innovation by a passionate tribal theatre enthusiast succeeds in taking the art from the confines of the auditorium into the lap of nature, creating a near-cosmic experience for the performer as well as the audience. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Callous school managements and over-anxious parents of abled children are barring 90% of India's 40 million disabled children from entering the nation's classrooms says Gaver Chatterjee.

On World Disability Day and the few days following it, there was some coverage in the media of issues that concern the disabled population. But, considering that this represents peak coverage for the year it is hardly adequate, especially as the number of disabled persons in India is huge, writes Ammu Joseph.

Children with disabilities are routinely edged out of an education system that's hesitant to acknowledge diversity. Inclusion may be the key word in India's current education policy, but there is a world of difference between the law and its implementation. Deepa A reports.

An inspiring account of Malini Chib, disability rights activist and author, who talks about how she got around to developing a strong disability identity that she wants to “celebrate” rather than reject.

A first-of-its-kind women-only BPO started by 'Harva' in a Haryana village is all set to harness the rural talent while changing the rigid mindset of the people, transforming rural economy, writes Hemlata Aithani.

Venu Govindu reviews Siddharth Dube's Words Like Freedom : Memoirs of an Impoverished Indian Family 1947-1997

This May 1, taking a resolute stand, the Supreme Court directed the Union and state governments to take specific measures to address the desperate crisis of food for drought-affected communities.

Focussed monitoring of the implementation of the Supreme Court's May 2003 directives on the Right-to-food litigation is beginning to pay off, say the campaigners.

From Urban Poverty Alleviation Initiatives in India : A General Assessment and a Particular Perspective (2002), a publication of the Ramanathan Foundation.

Administrators must work with service organizations to tackle the problems leading up to the symptom. Varupi Jain reports on those seeking alms on Delhi's streets.

The shift in the Central Government’s policy regarding the pricing and allocation of foodgrains has severely impacted Kerala’s Public Distribution System, which had for long been hailed as a fine model in the country. M Suchitra reports.

Migrant labourers of MP are stuck in debt in Maharashtra and also in a system that assures no health coverage for their hazardous occupation of stone crushing. Jaideep Hardikar recounts their travails.

The National Advisory Council sent a draft National Rural Employment Guarantee Act to the UPA government this August. The Prime Minister has since committed to bring the Act into Parliament this winter session. Rasika Dhavse reviews the proposed law, its entitlements and promises. See also: Interview with Jean Dreze, NAC member.

Despite the intervention of the Supreme Court, the state government is a long way from meeting its commitment to eradicate child hunger and deaths due to malnutrition. As a result, an already insecure condition for millions of children shows no sign of improvement. Rasika Dhavse reports.

The senior citizens of Chingrajpara slum in Bilaspur are unable to benefit from the largesse of the many government departments in New Delhi. In this fifth article in our SLUM DIARIES series, Ashima Sood notes that they go begging in the alleys of the slum, depending instead on their more reliable humble neighbours.

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is to be implemented in 200 districts around the country in the first phase. One of the main challenges will be to ward off corruption. Surekha Sule was recently involved in conducting a training programme, and notes how some villages in Andhra Pradesh are gearing up.

The budget reflects our continued affliction for numbers and the GDP growth rate. It also follows the Prime Minister's insistence that planners shoot for higher growth rates, especially on the back of an economy that has surprised everyone. But, asks Sudhirendar Sharma, will the juggling of numbers do it?

The first step towards eradicating poverty is to understand just how many of us are poor, and what that means. Thus far the government's measurement of poverty has simply been a self-serving one, and it's time we adopted a more honest calculation, writes Dilip D'Souza.

The numbers are among the worst in the world. But instead of addressing the infinite nightmare of poverty, the Indian government appears to be doing away with the poor altogether by statistical jugglery and artificially lowering the poverty line, says Colin Gonsalves.

By and large, poorer and badly-run states like Bihar and Orissa have seen higher inflation resulting from the NREGA windfall, while in the better-off states with less money flowing in through the scheme, inflation is much lower. Clearly, meddling in markets will show up in ways that are not necessarily all good, writes Sunil Jain.

Once, Andhra Pradesh's top leaders queued up at Bandi Lachmamma's home with promises. The debate on farm suicides hit the headlines when her husband took his life. Years later, she works as a coolie in Anantapur earning much less than the minimum assured by the NREGP - which turns away single women, writes P Sainath.

If our media can provide regular updates on the stock markets, foreign exchange and bullion rates, weather, pollution, etc., surely they can add a poverty watch? The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty passed on 17 October, and Ammu Joseph scanned the national press from Bangalore.

A unique strength of the NREGS is that citizens have the right to oversee its implementation, by direct scrutiny of its records. Sandeep Pandey provides daily updates on the progress of the social audit of the scheme in UP's Unnao district.

Several cases of starvation deaths have been reported in Orissa, especially in areas with high tribal populations. Added to this, government inaction in response to the crisis deepens people's woes. Arpan Tulsyan reports.

Xavier's Foundation in Guwahati has come up with the idea of establishing a Clothes Bank for the poor. It estimates that up to 3 million people may have need for its clothes. Ratna Bharali Talukdar reports.

Arvind Sinha's new film travels into streets and bylanes of a Kolkata we do not generally get to see, thus throwing up a collage of the city from a perspective many are not familiar with. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.

The rains may have failed Bundelkhand but more than this it is the governments that have forsaken the people over the years. Kannan Kasturi reports.

BPL politics at the central level is skewed, and quotas are fixed for every state, regardless of the actual number of people who need to be protected. Pradeep Baisakh reports on one family's near-total loss.

Even as the state government refuses to accept the cause behind the recent 50 starvation deaths reported by the media, hunger stalks the people of Balangir and other KBK districts in Orissa portending more such tragedies, writes Pradeep Baisakh.

The Suresh Tendulkar Committee's estimate of poverty in the country has reopened the debate on how the poor should be counted, what benefits they should receive from the state, and how. Darryl D'Monte reports.

With the proposed switch from food rations to direct cash payments to the poor, the government may be trying to free itself from its commitment to supply each BPL family with a certain quantity of food. Kannan Kasturi reports.

Why is there a huge discrepancy between official calculations of poverty and the alternative figures arrived at by many scholars as well as development agencies, asks Prahlad Shekhawat.

To improve food security and to bring extensive lands now left fallow into cultivation again, the government must support millets just as it supports rice and wheat. Karuna M reports.

Based on a laboratory understanding of nutrition, the government's public food support programmes and agriculture policies have condemned the poor to a daily diet that is of limited nutrition value. Rupa Chinai reports.

The evidence of wide-spread hunger and malnutrition is overwhelming and everywhere, and yet so little is done to address this most fundamental issue, writes Darryl D'Monte.