The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from human rights defenders in Orissa who have discovered that government funds to ensure food security by providing employment in rural areas have been allegedly misappropriated by local officials. A farm pond project that was started to ensure salaries for the workers but they were forced to stop working and pay bribes instead. When the case was revealed, the alleged perpetrators tried to silence the human rights activists who brought it to light by assaulting them and filing fabricated cases against them. One of the perpetrators has been given a show cause notice but no guarantee that justice will be granted has been given to the victims. Read more about INDIA: Another massive misappropriation of government funds to ensure food security in Orissa …

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) draws your attention to the starvation death of a 30-year-old woman belonging to the Scheduled Caste (known as ‘untouchables’ or ‘Dalits’) in Jabalpur district, Madhya Pradesh. According to the field research by Jay Shiksha Kendra and the Right to Food Support Group, all the members of the family, including the victim, could barely manage to obtain half a piece of Indian bread per day during the last month. The deceased victim did not eat any food for four days before she died on December 16, 2009. Despite of this, to date, no government programmes targeting the poor have reached the family. Read more about INDIA: Government’s neglect and corruption drives a 30 year-old Dalit woman to death through starvation …

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) draws your attention to the starvation death of a 30-year-old woman belonging to the Scheduled Caste (known as ‘untouchables’ or ‘Dalits’) in Jabalpur district, Madhya Pradesh. According to the field research by Jay Shiksha Kendra and the Right to Food Support Group, all the members of the family, including the victim, could barely manage to obtain half a piece of Indian bread per day during the last month. The deceased victim did not eat any food for four days before she died on December 16, 2009. Despite of this, to date, no government programmes targeting the poor have reached the family. Read more about INDIA: Government’s neglect and corruption drives a 30 year-old Dalit woman to death through starvation …

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to draw your attention to the 22 children who died of malnutrition associated with relevant diseases for past two months in Sidhi district where is highly predominated by tribal communities. According to the report the AHRC received from civil groups including Dalit – Adiwasi Mahapanchaayat, Mahila Adhikar Manch, Janpehal and Right to Food Campaign (Madhya Pradesh), twenty two children died in four villages from August to October 2009. They revealed that the health institutions as well as public food distribution scheme guaranteeing right to food and health has failed to reach the region’s poor tribal communities. Despite these findings, the local administration has not taken substantial action. Read more about INDIA: 22 children died of malnutrition associated with diseases for past two months in Sidhi district, Madhya Pradesh …

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that 28 tribal children have recently been allowed to die of malnutrition. According to a field report by Madhya Pradesh Lok Sanghash Sajha Manch and the Right to Food Campaign Madhya Pradesh, the families of the deceased children have clearly been deprived of their right to food and right to health of the children in particular, due to the failure of government programmes to reach tribal communities. Despite this, the relevant government authorities have not yet taken action to support the victims, or other children in the villages confronting the same situation. Read more about INDIA: Twenty-eight tribal children in two villages have died of malnutrition in the last three months in Madhya Pradesh …