Dear Reader,

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder in which defects in haemoglobin cause red blood cells to assume a sickle shape, obstructing blood vessels and leading to pain, organ damage, and increased susceptibility to infections. India’s tribal communities are particularly vulnerable to the disease.

In July 2023, an ambitious mission was launched to eradicate sickle cell disease among the tribal population in India by 2047. The mission aims to halt transmission, provide care, and reduce the prevalence of the disease, targeting universal screening of 70–80 million individuals aged 0–40 in high-risk tribal regions by 2025–26.

However, a field investigation by मैं भी भारत in the tribal belt of Madhya Pradesh—in Sailana, in the Malwa region—reveals a starkly different reality. There is no systematic screening, no structured awareness campaigns, and no access to diagnostic facilities or trained medical personnel. Many families remain unaware of the disease, its hereditary nature, or available treatments. The report underscores the significant gap between government claims and the lived experiences of tribal populations, exposing how policy initiatives often fail to reach the most vulnerable, who need it the most.

In 2002, a decade before the enactment of the central legislation on rehabilitation and resettlement in 2013, Madhya Pradesh adopted the Madhya Pradesh Adarsh Punarwas Niti—a model rehabilitation policy. It promised that those displaced by land acquisition would be rehabilitated to live lives at least equal to, and eventually better than, their present condition. However, the ambitious policy has largely remained a pipe dream, as evidenced by the plight of families displaced by the Machagora Dam in the Chhindwara district.

Ground Report reveals that, despite the policy’s lofty aspirations, the displaced have been allotted poor-quality land, women have been excluded from beneficiary lists, and many farmers have been compelled to migrate for work. Moreover, despite a Supreme Court directive in early 2025 mandating a survey of the displaced within six months, no task force has yet visited the affected villages.

Migrants often live precarious lives. Far from their homes, families, and the familiar, they frequently exist on the edge. However, The Migration Story reveals the other side of migration—its potential to transform lives and livelihoods.

It chronicles the journey of two brothers from the Kandha community—among the most “oppressed and deprived sections of the country” in Odisha’s Kalahandi. Confronted with limited local livelihood options, they migrated to Kerala—one working in a brick kiln, the other in a restaurant. Their sacrifices and hard work paid off. They not only managed to earn a decent living and support their families back home but also saved enough to launch a small entertainment business—including the now-essential DJ—performing at weddings, birthdays, and ceremonies. This story, the second in a three-part series on the Odisha-Kerala migration corridor, shows that, unlike in the past, migrants’ labour now extend beyond mere subsistence, enabling investments in the future of their families and ensuring that their children do not have to migrate.

Supreme Court Observer analyses a growing pattern in the Supreme Court of India of delivering quick summary judgements and then reversing them. The trend has raised concerns about institutional consistency and the finality of its orders. Cases such as the stray dog directive—reversed within days to comply with existing rules—and the Bhushan Steel insolvency judgment—liquidated, then stayed, and ultimately recalled—has raised eyebrows.

These reversals, occurring within weeks of the original rulings, have intensified scrutiny of the Court’s procedural rigor, internal deliberations, and the broader implications for judicial consistency in matters with significant public impact.

For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.

Warmly,

Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF