text: About 500 people, mostly belonging to the Madiya Gond tribe, inhabit the Katakanda village in Darbha block of Bastar district in Chhattisgarh. Being marginal farmers with an average annual income of Rs. 30,000 and literacy level as poor as 26 per cent, the Katakanda villagers lacked the confidence to address issues that had kept bothering them since ages. Even, raising their voices for the malpractices in the local Ration shop was something they avoided.
  March, April, May are months with special relevance for families in Nayatola, Bikhjhariya, and several other villages of Sarai tehsil in Madhya Pradesh. Most of them, being marginal or small-holder farmers, depend on their neighboring forests to collect Mahua and Tendu leaves, along with a variety of other non-timber forest products.
  The Government of India introduced the Public Distribution System for the distribution of food grains at affordable prices and management of food-scarce situations. Over the past few years, the term PDS has become interchangeable with the term “food security” and also an integral part of the government’s policy for the management of the food economy in the country.
  Iqra Khan’s parents wanted her to pursue Science after her Boards. After all becoming an Engineer and bagging a corporate job was the easiest option in front of a high school student to taste success and affluence in life! But literature struck a different chord in the teenager’s heart.
  The nippy November breeze of Aunradih village, in a remote nook of Petarbar district of Jharkhand, had started filling up with sounds of crackers and smell of gun-powder. It was Diwali time. Diwali was never one of the main festivals for people in Aunradih
  It is rightly said that we should surround ourselves with people who inspire us. They not only motivate and encourage us, but also help us to be better people. This story about one such person, from a very far flung village, Sarlakala, in Gola block of Jharkhand.
  Parbati Karjee was still holding the frail left-hand of Dukhabandhu when he breathed his last in a dark hospital room in Kendujhar town. Dukhabandhu, the man whom she married 19 years back and lived with ever since. The doctors did their best, but could not save him. The only solace, for a numb Parbati, was that she could do her best to treat him well.
  Tears rolled down Sulata’s cheeks. Her federation mates hugged and comforted her. Just a day before, Sulata had asked for Rs 500/- from her husband to pay for the pending tuition fees for her daughter, a class seven student. Her husband went off to the market to sell a certain portion of their harvested paddy to get the required money.
  Mahatma Gandhi fought against the British Raj, with undeterred spirit to win back freedom. His fight was a long haul. Gandhi’s decades of courageous, dedicated and selfless efforts, directed towards the cause of mass liberalisation was one of the major pillars of India’s success to freedom.