Articles by Mahasveta Devi

While the financial allotment for schemes for repair of river embankments in Sunderbans in West Bengal are determined according to the work norms adopted for the National Rural Employment Programme, the workers are being actually paid on the basis of more onerous norms and are thus being deprived of a part of their legitimate wages. Complaints right upto the highest levels of the West Bengal government have brought no succour to the poor workers.

The Shavara Tribals of West Bengal I

April 21,1984 Palamau in Bondage: For Ever?
Mahasveta Devi "PALAMAU is located on the Western border of Bihar. It lies in the northwestern part of the Chhotanagpur plateau. At one time the district boasted of great jungles. Today the jungles are largely destroyed and the district. can be described as dry upland. Consequently the density of population is less than that of the State. The district is predominantly rural and 38.6 per cent of the working population depends on agriculture.

August 6, 1983 regional personality of Jammu, which often gave it a communal and chauvi- nist twist.
Nevertheless, the BJP and its ances- tors suffered from some inherent handicaps. As a party incapable of ever returning to power in a Muslim majority state,, it could not he taken seriously by the voters. In a region, where Muslims constituted, around 35 per cent and Harijans around 18 per cent of the population, its base was eventually circumscribed to 3 or 4 urban Assembly constituencies out of a total of 32, Further, BJP was left without a popular slogan. As a constituent unit of the Janata Party, it had given up its demand for the abrogation of Article 370 of \he Constitution. It tried abruptly to revive the demand on the eve of elections. But that failed to become a credible election issue.


Lodhas of West Bengal