A brick kiln owner in Palghar district has been booked for allegedly forcing a tribal labourer to work against his will after the labourer sought to return to his village to build a house sanctioned under a government scheme.
Thirteen children from the Baiga tribe were rescued from bonded labour in Chhattisgarh's Kabirdham district. Eight people have been arrested, including two alleged traffickers and six employers.
Ten days after the expansion of the BJP government's cabinet in West Bengal, key portfolios have been allocated, with senior leader Tapas Roy taking charge of industries and journalist-turned-politician Swapan Dasgupta appointed finance minister.
Through his commitment to democratic norms, debate, dissent and constitutionalism, Jawaharlal Nehru helped ensure that parliamentary democracy took deep root in independent India. Utkarsh Mishra evaluates Nehru's 17 years as India's first prime minister, examining his role in nation-building, democratic institution-building, economic planning, scientific advancement and foreign policy.
From Bandit Queen to Dhurandhar, these Indian films pushed cinematic violence to shocking, stomach-churning extremes.
Thousands and thousands and thousands of adults owe their lives to the commitment and medical fervour of Dr Armida Fernandez, who a grateful nation honoured with the Padma Shri this year.
The police in Maharashtra's Palghar district have registered a case against a woman for allegedly forcing a ten-year-old tribal girl into bonded domestic labour, an official said on Thursday.
The Trinamool Congress government's massive defeat in West Bengal shows "deep anti-incumbency and unpopularity" as out of 35 ministers who contested the assembly elections, 22 have been defeated, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her constituency.
Pakistani security forces killed two terrorists from the banned TTP who attempted to attack an under-construction police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The terrorists clashed with police after demanding construction work stop and kidnapped workers and policemen, who were later released after negotiations. A separate incident in the area resulted in one death and three injuries from a mortar shell.
As the March 31 deadline arrives, a wave of Maoist surrenders suggests insurgency's end, but political and social concerns remain.
A man killed during a recent anti-Naxal operation in Madhya Pradesh's Mandla district was a tribal and not a Maoist, an official said on Saturday. The opposition Congress claimed he was innocent and demanded a high-level probe and a judicial inquiry into the incident.
The Rajya Sabha currently has 19 government Bills pending, with the oldest dating back to 1992. These bills cover a range of issues including population control, rent control, seed quality, migrant workers, and tribal autonomy.
President Droupadi Murmu addressed the nation on the eve of Republic Day, emphasising India's role in promoting peace, the empowerment of women, and the country's economic growth.
'Losing a house is a terrible feeling... We were not given enough time to shift our belongings.'
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel allocated portfolios following a major cabinet reshuffle, with Harsh Sanghavi becoming Deputy CM and receiving Home and Industries. New ministers, including Rivaba Jadeja, were also assigned responsibilities.
As the years passed, joblessness in the region increased.
If they act now, they can reshape the strategic map of Asia without firing a shot. If they wait, the next opportunity will come only after a serious Taiwan Strait incident -- by which time the price will be far higher, and the room for boldness far smaller -- the opportunity may well be lost by then. The question is no longer whether this can or should be done, points out Varun Arya.
The Congress will launch a nationwide campaign against the repeal of the United Progressive Alliance-era rural employment legislation Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on January 5, similar to the pushback against the three farm laws which eventually forced the Narendra Modi government to rollback its decision, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
The tribal communities, asserting their rights under the Forest Rights Act, are now planning to gather in Delhi to demand "justice" for their livelihoods and traditions that are closely linked to the forests.
A victim of alleged human trafficking and forceful conversion in Chhattisgarh claims she was coerced by Bajrang Dal activists to give a false statement. She also alleges police did not record her statement properly and that the arrested nuns are innocent.
The incident occurred at Ningthoukhong Kha Khunou and the victims included a man and his 60-year-old father.
Kannappa is a bloated mess of a film that underutilises interesting story ideas, observes Arjun Menon.
Mrs Gandhi's power ebbed and peaked with the times. Mr Modi's has almost been constant, barring the few months of hard dip after the 240 seats of 2024, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'His willingness to take the initiative to fight for truth and justice and his willingness to cross swords with anyone for a just cause.'
A village in Madhya Pradesh's Dindori district is facing a severe water crisis, leading to a woman abandoning her husband and leaving with their children. The husband, Jitendra Soni, appealed to the district administration during a public outreach program, prompting authorities to take action. The Public Health Engineering department has been directed to resolve the water shortage, including connecting the village to an overhead tank in a neighboring village.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram organisation, which works for the welfare of 10 crore Scheduled Tribes in the country, in its national executive committee at Howrah took a resolution to address the issue of bonded labour in India.
The mood in the tribal heartland in the east and in central India spread over Odisha, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and parts of West Bengal and Assam, is upbeat.
Shiv Sena's Dadaji Bhuse is the new school education minister while Uday Samant continues to be the industries minister.
"I have been congratulated many times for scoring goals but I could never imagine that I will shake hands with the biggest cricket star," Goalpi said, beaming with excitement after getting a prized selfie with Tendulkar.
'When so many young Baloch men and women are willingly volunteering as fighters and even suicide bombers.'
The senior JMM leader, who briefly held the chief minister's post after Hemant Soren's resignation, said only the saffron party seems serious over the issue of tribals, while others are indulging in vote bank politics.
'I don't need to go out now. I don't have to buy votes. My workers are campaigning for me, visiting villages. I know people in every village and their issues,' says the 78-year-old leader.
Abdullah said if the terrorists think they can establish Pakistani writ in Jammu and Kashmir by indulging in such acts, they are mistaken.
The latest biopic on Jyotibai Phule has come at a time when the Department of Taking Offence is super-active. Utkarsh Mishra feels it will be interesting to see if it portrays his attack on Brahminism in the same 'no holds barred' manner-- and, if it does, what reaction it provokes.
Gandhi said just like the Constitution, the "caste census" is a policy framework and a guide for the Congress.
The journey has been tough and unconventional, but it has been worthwhile as Kerala tribal Minnu Mani became the only girl from the state to play in the WPL.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
After much flip-flop, the Congress decided to form an alliance with the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) and the two parties fielded their joint candidate -- Rajkumar Roat. However, the Congress candidate, Arvind Damor, whose name was announced before the stitching of the alliance, has refused to withdraw his nomination.
There was a memorable meeting with a 'tall, elegant, beautiful girl', who had recently finished her 12th in the strongly tribal Jhabua district, Madhya Pradesh. 'I was shocked. In this whole sea of villages, I knew for sure there was no other 12th pass girl. I said I want to meet your father.' 'She brought her father, a daily-wage labourer. I asked him: "How come you decided to educate your girl till the 12th standard? You break stones for a living and you don't have a lot of money".' 'He just said one line and in that one line he said everything.'
Gandhi claimed that Dalits, tribals, and Other Backward Classes were made bonded labourers and their participation was lacking in big companies, hospitals, schools, colleges and courts.
