Dear Reader,

The Indian government’s crackdown on foreign funding to NGOs, on the plea of instituting transparency, has led to an 87 per cent drop in external donations - from Rs 16,490 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 2,190 crore in 2019-20. Over 16,000 organisations have been affected. This arbitrary decision, Article 14 argues, has not only sought to “criminalise” civil society organisations but also deprive the poor of assistance when they need it most, in the midst of the pandemic.

India accounts for nearly 20 per cent of global stillbirths - foetus deaths during pregnancy. Mojo Story ground-reports from a village in Darbhanga in Bihar and finds that the state of affairs is alarming – with many women suffering multiple miscarriages - caused by widespread under-age marriages, early pregnancies and malnutrition.

As aspirant India hungers for growth and jobs, recent incidents of violent protests in UP and Bihar by the youth against what they see as inequities in the recruitment for jobs, signals a deep resentment as their quest for a livelihood has been belied. ThePrint argues that this deep yearning among India’s youth for jobs, and the political system’s inability to provide them, is alarmingly taking the shape of “the biggest risk for national stability and security”.

The Citizen reports from the ground on the Bishnoi community – “one of the oldest environmental activists” - in Rajasthan, with a long history of protecting the environment and living in harmony with nature’s creations. A tradition honed and nurtured over the years, enshrined almost as a ''religious duty''.

In the ‘Cleanest Cities of India’ series, Down To Earth does a deep profile of Kumbakonam, the temple city in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, for the innovative way in which it has turned non-biodegradable plastic waste into fuel for making cement, supported by volunteers and the citizens.

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

Warmly,

Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF

 
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An Arbitrary Crackdown On Foreign Donations Cripples NGOs At A Time When India Needs Them Most

As the NGO sector in India comes under intense scrutiny from the government, Article 14 analyses the latest amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010, to tell why this has impacted critical relief work for the poorest under Covid.

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The Babies who do not get a chance to live l Mojo Ground Report

Mojo Story investigates the high number of stillbirths in the Darbhanga district in Bihar - the state with one of the highest number of cases in India – and finds out what measures are being taken to tackle the issue.

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Let them eat communalism: Yogi’s poll pitch may work but heartland’s jobless fury endangers India

The cleavage between the aspiration of India’s youth for livelihood and the State’s ability to provide jobs is threatening to regress into a demographic nightmare, as recent protests by job-aspirants in the states of UP and Bihar have shown. ThePrint asserts that redressing this gap is one of the biggest challenges to India’s stability.

Read Here

 
 

Rajasthan’s Oldest Environment Activists

The Citizen profiles the Bishnoi community in Rajasthan, which has a tradition of fiercely protecting nature and its creatures, and living as one with them. So much so that it has become an object lesson of a community as crusaders for the environment.

Read Here

 
 

The Cleanest Cities Of India | Ep-6 | Kumbakonam uses its plastic waste as fuel in cement factories

Kumbakonam – a temple town in Tamil Nadu, counted among the cleanest in India, has found a way to segregate its plastic waste and use it as a fuel in cement factories. Down To Earth chronicles its journey in innovative and effective waste management.

Watch Here

 
 
 
 
 
More from the grantees
 
How reorganisation of AP into 26 districts could violate Adivasis’ rights
The Andhra Pradesh government is set to reorganise districts, creating 26 new ones from the existing 13, for “better governance”. The News Minute looks at how the reorganisation without a dialogue with the Adivasis is a violation of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996.
 
Online harassment spurs outrage among journalists; tougher regulations need of the hour
The Probe looks at the rampant online harassment of journalists in India, particularly women, and argues that new and effective legal provisions to fight the menace are the need of the hour.
 
 
Women Steering Ahead: Women Drivers Taking Charge Of The Wheels & Breaking Stereotypes
Feminism in India reports how some traditionally male-dominated vocations– truck, bus and cab driving; bartending; delivery associates; mechanics and even private detectives - are being taken over by women to not only earn a living but to also break stereotypes, and even spawn new business models.
 
Supreme Court: Monthly Review - January 2022
Supreme Court Observer does a round-up of the apex court’s engagements in January. The Court grappled with data for reservations, the rights of money laundering suspects, and the limits of legislative privileges.
 
 
गर्म मानसून में ठंडी जलवायु की खेती कर किसानों ने किया कमाल
Khabar Lahariya reports on how innovative farmers in Bundelkhand in Madhya Pradesh have grown agricultural produce despite adverse conditions. Among them is a young farmer in Tikamgarh district, who has successfully cultivated and sold mushrooms and a farmer in Varanasi who cultivates apples!
 
Special Report: “आम्हाला सरकारने धुरातच कोंडले”, उज्ज्वला योजनेच्या प्रतिक्षेत अनेक महिला
Max Maharashtra reports from the ground on the struggles of the women in Wangi village in Sangli district of the state who are yet to get a gas connection under the PM Ujjwala Yojana, which was launched with a mission to provide 50 million LPG connections to women from BPL families.
 
 
Fact-check: Did Nehru say “I took the decision of partition” in his last interview?
Alt News investigates the viral claim that Jawaharlal Nehru had said in an interview in 1964 that “I took the decision of partition”, and reveals the context in which the attributed quote was said by India’s first prime minister.
 
'बिटींग रिट्रीट सेरेमनी'तून वगळलेले गांधीजींचे ते आवडते गीत
The composition 'Abide with Me' has been played since 1950 at the Beating Retreat Ceremony on January 29 at Delhi’s Vijay Chowk to mark the end of the four-day-long Republic Day celebrations. However, it was dropped from the ceremony this year. Saptahik Sadhana delves into the origins and the history of the song.
 
 
 

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