In recent years, tea garden labourers in West Bengal have suffered from serious starvation and hunger-related problems. For the last three years, night blindness caused by malnutrition has spread rapidly in the Raimatang tea garden, in the Dooars area Jalpaiguri district. According to pharmacist Shibshankar Datta, at least 250 tea garden labourers are currently suffering from the disease. The disease is caused by the lack of nutritious foodstuff experienced by the labourers. It affects the full realization of their right to life, which the state government of West Bengal is responsible to protect. Moreover, the management of the tea garden, which is responsible to provide food to their employees, has not paid them their wages regularly, ignoring the fact that they do not have access to sufficiently nutritious food. Read more about INDIA: Tea plantation workers and their families suffer night blindness due to malnutrition in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal …

The Kumarpukur village, located only 17 km from Kolkata, is situated on fertile lands that provide fruits and vegetables for the city on a daily basis. However, 529 indigenous people currently residing in the village are suffering from extreme hunger and malnutrition. The villagers are also lacking several other basic facilities that include food, water, education, health care facilities and electricity. Read more about INDIA: Entire village community neglected and facing starvation in West Bengal …

Vishambhar, a weaver, lives together with his surviving children in a thatched hut, after his wife and two children died in April and May 2005. His wife Jigna died on April 16 and his 16-year-old daughter Soni died on April 21 due to starvation and hunger-related diseases. On May 21 his two-month old son also died from starvation. He and the others that are still alive are facing imminent death for want of food. Read more about INDIA: Three members of one family starve to death in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh …

In 1991 the Revenue Department, in consultation with local Panchayats (village governments), gave a land entitlement to 46 landless Kol adivasis (indigenous tribal people) and other villagers in Ailaha Badhaiya, Chitrakoot. After precise measuring and mapping, the land was handed over to these families individually. Read more about INDIA: Tribal people’s livelihoods threatened due to the confiscation of their land in Chitrakoot, Uttar-Pradesh …

Mr. Tilangi Mushhar, age 40, died on March 11, 2005 due to complications from taking medicine on an empty stomach. Tilangi, a landless daily wage labourer employed by a brick kiln in Kushinagar, earned approximately Rs. 40/- per day with the help of family members. He was married and had three sons and two daughters, all under the age of 15. The family lives in a small hut and is illiterate, as was Tilangi. Read more about INDIA: Man dies of adverse medicine reaction due to lack of food in Kushinagar …

The Social Development Foundation (SDF) reports that Suddhu Rawat, aged 43, and his family are living in appalling conditions due to the nature of his employment. Mr. Rawat can no longer support his family and, his wife and eldest son (aged 18) have needed to find employment. Nonetheless, the family is struggling against hunger and malnutrition and the children don’t have finances to attend school. Read more about INDIA: Municipal employees starving and sick in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh …

The last of the huts were destroyed in January 2005 by the Maharashtra. State Farming Corporation (MSFC) employees. Since the crops and huts of the adivasis were destroyed in the previous cropping season, the adivasis had to look for their livelihoods elsewhere. The MSFC employees took advantage of this and destroyed the majority of huts while the adivasis were working outside the area. The community was unable to put up the huts again because they were busy working as cultivators in other fields. This was not the case earlier, before the corporation destroyed over 1,000 acres of their farming land. Previously the adivasis could easily provide foodstuff for their entire community with their own food stuff. During this season however, only 16 people could cultivate their land. Further, the crop supply was under frequent threats by officials, and once by police. However, the adivasis managed to protect their crop. Read more about INDIA: Adivasi community unable to grow food, asserts their right to land in Maharashtra …