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 …

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 …