Is farmer income support a sustainable solution?

The government’s income support to small farmers may not be sustainable in the long run (Photo by Jeevan Singla)

Income support to smallholder farmers is similar to palliative measures like minimum support prices or loan waivers that do not address the problem of an unsustainable population living on a fixed resource base

Irrigation key to fighting poverty in Kandhamal

Farmers in Bhuturgaon face difficulties in utilizing surface water and increasing farm income due to lack of irrigation facilities (Photo by VAF)

Groundwater recharge in Kandhamal’s undulating terrain and pumps to lift water are needed to break the nexus between lack of irrigation and poverty in this seriously underdeveloped area of Odisha

Rural India still insensitive to persons with disabilities

People with disabilities face a tough life in our country (Photo by Kailas Kokare)

In a society steeped in referring people with special needs by their disability, there is a need for concerted efforts to recognize their rights and create inclusivity

Tamil women bank on herbs to boost income

Women such as Mallika gave up farm labor work to turn entrepreneurs to revive traditional knowledge and regular use of herbs (Photo by Balasubramaniam N.)

Women in rural Villupuram have quit working as farm labor and have become herbal entrepreneurs to conserve traditional knowledge, revive use of healthy herbs and boost household incomes

Santhal girls shatter social taboo playing football

Teenaged Santhal girls Bitti Mardi, Malati Hansda and Arpita Murmu have taken to football, defying traditions and opposition, hopeful of a better future (Photo by Gurvinder Singh)

Teenaged Santhal girls in West Bengal have taken to football despite facing community antagonism. They hope that the sport would deliver them from poor socioeconomic shackles

Village women up in arms against alcoholism

Women, such as Mokshamma of Madya Nisedha Andolana, have been demanding prohibition since 2016 (Photo by Madya Nishedha Andolana)

Women in rural Karnataka have banded together to demand a prohibition on liquor because they are at the receiving end of alcoholism of men that leads invariably to domestic violence and financial hardship

The travails of India’s forest dwellers

Tribal people are no longer sure of living in their traditional habitations (Photo by Bishnu Sarangi)

Tribal people who live in and around forests are being continuously pushed beyond the edge of their meager livelihoods and the land where they live, despite laws that are supposed to protect their rights

Odisha women fight malnutrition with backyard gardens

Nutrition gardens, such as the one cultivated by Alladini Bhanda and her husband Ashok in Ratanpur village, supply diverse and nutritious vegetables at no cost (Photo by Basudev Mahapatra)

Women in distressed and malnourished regions of Odisha are growing nutrition gardens to feed their families organic vegetables and legumes consistently through the year at no additional cost

Healthcare of elderly suffers with youth migration

The elderly in villages, like Sakharam Dhendle and Pandurang Dhendle in Ghasir, have severe mobility restrictions and spend substantial amounts on medicine (Photo by Abhijeet Jadhav)

With little livelihood opportunities in villages, the youth in rural Maharashtra migrate to cities, leading to delayed healthcare of elderly dependents and increased medical expenses

Kashidakari women look to grow embroidery earnings

Practiced for personal use, Kashidakari embroidery of Rajasthan has evolved as an important element in contemporary fashion and furnishings (Photo by Tripta Sharma)

Women in Jodhasar, who have begun embroidering for a living by putting traditional skills they used for embellishing personal clothing to good use, need better market linkages to boost incomes

Beedi rolling robs Murshidabad girls of their childhood

Villagers in Murshidabad prefer girls as they can start rolling beedis at a very young age, adding to the family income (Photo by Gurvinder Singh)

Young girls in rural Murshidabad are pushed by their parents to roll beedis, the poor man’s cigarette, at the cost of their schooling because being able to earn improves their marriage prospects

Palakkad’s priestly community encash culinary tradition

Homemade the traditional way makes the snacks and food items of Kalpathi popular (Photo by Chithra Ajith)

Priests from Tamil Nadu, who migrated to Kerala for temple duties centuries ago, have put their culinary skills to good use, augmenting household incomes and the local economy

Is resettling millions of forest dwellers feasible?

The future of forest dwellers has been called into question (Photo by Saurabh Chatterjee)

A recent Supreme Court order that will likely lead to the largest ever eviction of forest dwellers in India needs to be seen as a wake-up call for state governments to quickly remedy the situation

Seed guardians of Banswara revive traditional varieties

Women farmers of Aamlipara village of Banswara district in Rajasthan showcase dried seeds of traditional vegetables (Photo by Rakhee Roytalukdar)

Village women in Banswara district of Rajasthan are setting an example as organic farmers by adopting and spreading awareness to revive indigenous varieties of crops that boost nutritional security

Karnataka dairy farmers face heat of drought

Shivamma, secretary of Stree Shakti women self-help group in Somlara village of Tumkur district who runs a milk collection sub-center, says collection has declined in the past one month due to drought (Photo by Nidhi Jamwal)

Dairy farmers in Karnataka have been seriously impacted by the severe drought in most parts of the state as milk yields have fallen and fodder has become more expensive

Maternity homes provide safe haven to tribal women

Health assistants check women from remote areas with no access to hospitals staying in the pre-confinement maternity home (Photo by Rakhi Ghosh)

Pregnant women from tribal villages in Kandhamal that lack roads and mobile phone connectivity have found a safe shelter in intermediary maternity homes that prepare them for institutional delivery

Singing genealogists of Karnataka sustain ancestral profession

Lakshman Helavar, a traditional chronicler of family histories, with his carefully preserved genealogical records (Photo by Amoolya Rajappa)

The Helavas of Karnataka, who sing family genealogies from carefully maintained records, have practiced the tradition for centuries, and continue to do so despite fading relevance

Tribal women in Rajasthan assert citizen rights

Tribal women in southern Rajasthan have gained confidence to take collective action and get government entitlements due to them (Photo by Priyanka Jain)

Solidarity groups of tribal women in southern Rajasthan have started taking collective action to claim government entitlements such as food and rural employment

Child marriage ban helps Gond girls pursue dreams

Alladin’s parents advised her to wait till she turned 18, following a resolution by the Gond Tribal Samaj to ban child marriages (Photo by Rakhi Ghosh)

In Gond tribal villages where child marriages were the norm till recently, a resolution by elders to ban marriages before legal age has helped girl children to continue their education