Tip | Understanding India’s legislation known as Forest Rights Act and its relevance for tribal communities

The FRA was enacted in 2006 with the aim of protecting the claims of tribal communities over tracts of land or forests they have inhabited and cultivated for generations. It has the potential to democratise forest governance by recognising community forest resource rights over an estimated 85.6 million acres, thereby empowering over 200 million forest … Read more

eBook | “That pride must never allow us to forget our many weakness and failings or blunt our longing to be rid of them” (Jawaharlal Nehru): Museums in the service of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace: International Museum Day (18 May)

https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.98835 In his book, The Discovery of India, Nehru wrote, long before 1947, about the difficulties regarding uniting people with diverse languages, religions and cultural values. At the same time, as a historian, he could sketch the unifying forces which connected India right from the Ashokan period to pre-Independence India. His grasp of Buddhist philosophy … Read more

Helping end human trafficking and modern slavery – #FREEDOMFORGIRLS

71% of modern slavery victims are women and girls. With an estimated 40.3 million people victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, that’s a lot of girls around the world who are being exploited for someone else’s benefit, or treated like a commodity, unable to leave because of threats, violence, coercion, and abuse of power. Read the … Read more

The Right to Information Act (RTI): Legislation that empowers citizens to prevent illegitimate concentrations of power

The basic object of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in real sense. It goes without saying that an informed citizen is better equipped to keep necessary vigil on the instruments … Read more

eBook | “It is possible to finance tribal health care”: Recommendations by the Expert Committee on Tribal Health – Government of India

Though it has long been suspected that tribal people have poor health and unmet needs, health care for tribal people remained subsumed in rural health care. It was assumed that tribal people have same health problems, similar needs and hence the uniform national pattern of rural health care would be applicable to them as well, … Read more