In essence, the notion of benefit sharing is recognition of the natural rights of affected communities over mineral resources in their traditional and historical homelands. Communities have a right to benefit first—culturally, economically and politically. These rights can be seen from the prism of both immediate as well as long-term …
Whether from a class perspective or from a community identity perspective, it is undeniably the biggest failure that decades after the land reforms, a good majority of the dalits and adivasis in Kerala remain fully landless. In the context of the Supreme Court verdict of 21 July 2009, which rejected …
Customary land rightsPalm oil firm loses to Kayans A native community in Malaysia won a 12-year legal battle against the Sarawak state government and palm oil giant ioi Pelita after the state’s apex court recognized their customary land rights. The court ruled that the government had unconstitutionally granted the native …
This document is the result of an intensive work of dialogue between the ILC Secretariat and the ILC constituency, especially civil society organisations from Africa, Asia and Latin America. The ILC Secretariat - including the three regional nodes - has facilitated the process, collected contributions, packaged information, and produced the …
Right now, the situation in Lalgarh is grave. The combined military offensive has got a nod from the central and state governments; it means we have to be worried about ghastly horror, concerned about more suffering and loss of lives. Since 18 June 2009, the entire area has been under …
Goats are increasingly seen as a threat to the ecology as they feed on any type of plant species. But goat keeping continues to be an important livelihood activity for the resource poor people. BAIF has promoted a number of initiatives with twin goals of helping small farmers in rearing …
In the face of persistent rural poverty, an incomplete agrarian transition, the predominance of small and marginal farms and a growing feminisation of agriculture, this paper argues for a new institutional approach to poverty reduction, agricultural revival and social empowerment. It makes a strong case for a group approach to …
The differential responses to the implementation of special economic zones across states offer an opening to understand how policy implementation gets shaped by the regional political economy. Despite being home to a large number of SEZs, Tamil Nadu has been one state which has not witnessed resistance to SEZs in …
Despite its rich resources like forests and minerals, Bundelkhand is a region of distress and crisis. A study fi nds that the distress of the region simply cannot be explained by the absence or irregularity of rainfall. There are long-term structural problems which have had a cumulative effect over the …
More than one billion people in the world are employed in agriculture, and most work in extremely precarious conditions. They cannot guarantee the food security of their families. Improvements will come only if these workers are better organised and better able to engage in collective bargaining. The IUF is working …
Rural Bihar is being suffocated by the control exercised by the landed gentry who own a disproportionate share of cultivable land and yet have little interest in increasing agricultural production. Those who can and do
The Common Minimum Programme of the UPA government at the Centre articulates that, 'Landless families will be endowed with land through implementation of land ceiling and land redistribution legislation. No reversal of ceilings legislation will be permitted' (The Hindu, 2004). The Kalrayan hills of Tamil Nadu is purposively chosen for …
A cooperative of landless women in Gujarat are making a successful living through collective farming. By converting their village into an eco tourism centre, they are conserving and promoting local cultures and cuisine.
The Ministry of Rural Development in association with states/UTs conducts the BPL Census generally in the beginning of a Five Year Plan. The objective of the BPL Census is to identify the rural households living Below the Poverty Line who could be provided assistance under various programmes of the Ministry.
Kameshwar Baitha, MP, will now fight to end Naxalism from jail There was a price on his head just a few years ago; Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh had together declared a reward of Rs 5 lakh for anyone helping in his arrest. Today, the head is held high
How have women been coping in the aftermath of farmer suicides in Punjab? This article is based on detailed interviews with 32 women in three districts of the state. Accosting the reality of women caught in the vortex of the agrarian crisis, one painfully comes to terms with the newer …
