The Chamar tribe in Kodwari village of Mirzapur District in Uttar Pradesh, India is facing extreme conditions due to lack of food and inhuman living conditions. The environment is devastated by environmental degradation and currently huge granite quarries plunder granite from the land thereby adding up to an acute shortage of water. There is no accessible health care system and the local administration has ignored the victims when it comes to subsidized food assistance. Education for children is out of the question. Read more about INDIA: Villagers exploited by employment in slave like conditions due to lack of food and terrible living conditions …

Bighna Bhuiyan, who was unable to sustain either himself or his family due to abject poverty, committed suicide in Bhuiyanpara Village by hanging himself from a tree on August 21, 2005. Bighna and his family of six lived in a mud house. In order to earn a living Bighna worked as a day labourer. However, it was often difficult to find work, especially during the monsoons and Bighna found it increasingly hard to provide adequate food for his family. As a consequence, Bighna soon began to suffer from various disorders related to malnutrition. Read more about INDIA: Villager commits suicide in West Bengal due to hunger and lack of concern by authorities …

Punvasia, aged 65, died of starvation on June 12, 2005 outside her village home in Sonbhadra, Uttar-Pradesh. She was the wife of the late Meghan, and had three sons (Brahma, Bishnu, and Mahesh) and two daughters. All children were married and thus, Punvasia lived alone and supported herself. Read more about INDIA: Elderly woman dies of hunger after being denied food assistance in Uttar-Pradesh …

In 2003, the Maharashtra State Farming Corporation (MSFC) destroyed the homes of Ramesh and many of his fellow villagers. As a result of these hut demolitions, Ramesh and his family now have no home, no food and no means to provide for their own livelihoods. They struggle as casual labourers to scrounge up enough toContinue Reading INDIA: Family struggles to provide for their livelihood as government continues to destroy homes in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra

Rajkumari is a 30 year-old mother of three daughters, Usha, Rita and Sangeeta. She is a dalit (scheduled caste/’untouchable’) woman with no land and lives with a physical disability. Her husband, Lal Chand recently developed a psychiatric disorder and abandoned his home. Currently, no one knows where he is and his family has lost their only source of income. Read more about INDIA: Local government ignores starving mother and her three hungry daughters in Uttar-Pradesh …