Rema Musahar is the daughter of Ms. Lalmani and Mr. Ashok Musahar. The family stays in the Raitara Musahar ghetto in Pindra village of Badagaw block in Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh. The family works for the village head as bonded laborers. They hardly get 50 Rupees [1.01 USD] as their wage per day, that too whenever their employer Mr. Rajkumar Yadav is willing to pay. It is alleged that Rajkumar and his brother Mr. Sijan Yadav are known criminals of the locality. Sijan is alleged to be involved in several kidnappings for ransom in the district. It is also alleged that the village head has kept the Musahars in the Raitara ghetto and never allows them to leave the place without his permission, which he never give. Read more about INDIA: Two-year-old girl facing imminent death from starvation in Raitara village of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh …

Asanahar village of Pati panchayat is in Sonbadra district of Uttar Pradesh. The district though known as the ‘power house’ of north India lacks all basic facilities, including drinking water, electricity, telecommunication, post office or even a Public Food Distribution (PDS) shop. The district is often referred to as the ‘power house’ after the construction of two major power stations, the Rehand power station in the sixties and the Obra Thermal Power Station in the seventies. The construction of these two power stations within sixty kilometers of each other, literally converted the Renu River into a huge lake. As the water level increased, the villagers in several villages within the catchment area of the dams that houses the power stations had to seek higher lands to live. Read more about GENERAL(India): Hundreds of families deprived of all benefits of the government welfare programmes in Asanahar village in Sonbadra district of Uttar Pradesh …

Maya Musahar is the daughter of Ms. Jiyuti and Mr. Patalu Musahar. The family stays in the Raitara Musahar ghetto in Pindra village of Badagaw block in Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh. The family works for the village head as bonded laborers. They hardly get 50 Rupees [1.01 USD] as their wage per day, that too whenever their employer Mr. Rajkumar Yadav is willing to pay. It is alleged that Rajkumar and his brother Mr. Sijan Yadav are known criminals of the locality. Sijan is alleged to be involved in several kidnappings for ransom in the district. It is also alleged that the village head has kept the Musahars in the Raitara ghetto and never allows them to leave the place without his permission, which he never give. Read more about INDIA: Five-year-old Dalit girl facing imminent death from starvation in Raitara village of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh …

According to the information received, several families in Alhadapur village were engaged in the weaving industry. However owing to the influx of cheap alternatives from outside the country and various other factors like poor management of the industry by the private entrepreneurs and lack of government support, the weaving industry in Uttar Pradesh deteriorated. This terminated the source of income of several thousand families in the state. Most of these families are staying in villages and Alhadapur is one such village. Read more about INDIA: Deaths from starvation imminent in Alhadadpur village in Amebdkar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh …

The Musahar community, in Varanasi district, is socially and economically one of the most marginalized communities in India and they are poorest amongst poor. The Musahar community falls under the category of the Scheduled Caste. Although the practice of untouchability is a crime in Indian law the Musahar community is not allowed to enjoy ordinary social life with the mainstream society and to share common amenities in the village. Read more about INDIA: 18 Musahar families are dying of starvation due to negligence of district administration in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh …