TRIBAL TRADITIONS
Holding on to a vanishing language

Hundreds of indigenous languages have vanished; many more are spoken by only a few. But as the Asur adivasis of Jharkhand show, it is possible to revive and preserve a language.

#Adivasis #Culture #Radio #Media #Society
SELF-GOVERNANCE
Ground-up planning in Ranchi's slums

Can people themselves plan for their basic services? A new initiative in informal settlements which have been ignored by formal planners shows the potential of a different approach.

#Adivasis #Cities #Water #Government
PROGRESS UNDER NREGA
Jharkhand looks at better planning to aid NREGA outcomes

A state-wide campaign called “Yojana Banao Abhiyan” undertaken to plan for NREGA implementation in Jharkhand has sensitized the people and authorities to the potential of the scheme and recharged local democratic institutions. Ankita Aggarwal reports.

#Labour Issues #Public Funds #Government
BASIC RIGHTS
Rallying for people’s rights

Jan Adhikar Yatra, a ten-day long march took place across the state of Jharkhand last month. The yatra was to mobilise people against the growing attacks on their basic rights like employment guarantee, food security, social security, and right to their forest and land. Ankita Aggarwal reports about her experience in the Yatra.

#People #Government
COAL WASHERIES
Coal-related pollution chokes mining towns in Jharkhand

The Dhanbad and Jharia regions in Jharkhand, noted for rampant coal mining and related operations, face grave environmental issues due to dumping of pollutant by-products from coal washeries. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports after a visit to Dhanbad.

#Mining #Environment
NREGS IN JHARKHAND
Fewer takers for NREGS after long wage delays
Less than 100 days of work and chronic delays in payment - in continuing focus on NREGS implementation across states, Himanshu Upadhyaya summarises the findings of a recent performance review by the CAG of the scheme in Jharkhand.
#Labour Issues #Government
FOREST RESOURCES
Plentiful, but for whom?
FOREST RESOURCES : Plentiful, but for whom?
The forests of India have enough treasure to power the economy of the whole country, it seems, but not enough to empower the adivasis. Shoma Chatterji reviews Johar.
#Adivasis #Films #Forests #Reviews
INTERVIEW: JEAN DREZE
Jharkhand's "government by fiction"
INTERVIEW: JEAN DREZE : Jharkhand's "government by fiction"

"The main hurdle to the development of Jharkhand is political: the state’s resources are under the control of this criminal nexus, and people have no say." Jivesh Singh interviews Jean Dreze on Jharkhand's 10th anniversary.

#Interviews #Government
PUBLIC SERVICES
Better healthcare, on our watch
A pilot project in community-based monitoring under the National Rural Health Mission in three districts of Jharkhand provides encouraging results. Freny Manecksha reports.
#Public Health #Health
JOB APPLICATIONS
NREGS: A farce at Latehar
JOB APPLICATIONS : NREGS: A farce at Latehar

The first-ever Lok Adalat on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was held recently in Latehar, Jharkhand. Most petitioners came in the hope of receiving unemployment cheques, or at least having their job applications accepted, but left with neither. Pradeep Bhargava reports.

#Poverty
PROFILE
Woman of steel
PROFILE : Woman of steel
I would like to salute women like Dayamani Barla, for reminding us that there are other ways to "develop" and that it is possible to fight peacefully but with determination for your convictions, writes Kalpana Sharma.
#Displacement #Kalpana Sharma #OP-ED #Kalpana's Commentary
FILM REVIEW: AB AUR WAQT NAHIN
Is it too late for Jharkhand's adivasis?
FILM REVIEW: AB AUR WAQT NAHIN : Is it too late for Jharkhand's adivasis?
"There is this growing feeling among the adivasis of Jharkhand that in this newly created state, given to them only in name, they stand at the crossroads," runs the commentary in Ab Aur Waqt Nahin, a documentary film directed by Abhijoy Karlekar. Shoma Chatterji reviews the film.
#Adivasis #Films #Society
HEALTH
In the line of fire

The Jharia mines in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district produce the best quality coking coal in India. However, the area, mostly inhabited by tribals, has been smouldering with underground mine fires for several decades now.

#Environmental Hazards #Mining #Health #Relief
Voices of the marginalised

In the poorest part of Jharkhand, community radio has become an important instrument for the development of neglected communities, Pratibha Jyoti reports.

#Radio #Media
A people's paper

A look into why Prabhat Khabar is now the number one Hindi newspaper in Jharkhand and a prominent Hindi daily of eastern India.

#Media
  • Population : 38.5 m (2019 est)
  • Area : 79,716 sq.km.
  • Density : 484/sq. km.
  • Sex Ratio : 948 (2011)
  • Child Sex Ratio : 948 (2011)
  • Literacy : 74.30% (2020)
  • Forest Cover : 29.62% (2019)
  • Lok Sabha MPs : 14
  • Rajya Sabha MPs : 6
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