For the tribals and the poor, "Green Hunt" is nothing else but a united front of state and mining corporations to grab their land and rich natural resources by silencing the voices of those who fight for their homeland rights. The state, the tribals and the poor believe, is in nexus with the designs of the multinational and Transnational corporations. The Honourable Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, had said that sacred hills do not give people food to eat or clothes to wear. That is why he explains that the state has decided to modernise and industrialise the tribal belt to provide food, clothing and employment. The only question the tribals are raising is whether they have any say over the model of development that the state has decided to impose on them. Can the state along with the corporations decide what kind of development they should adopt in a democracy? What has happened to the tribal self-rule law?

The massive earthquake hit Port-au-Prince in Haiti on 13th January with the magnitude of 7.0. The Red Cross has estimated the death toll as 45,000 to 50,000 in that small country.Following information has come from Peter Bisson of the Jesuits of Canada: “… While information is spotty, as of the last communications from Montréal and Port-au-Prince all the Jesuits in Haiti are all accounted for except for Dérino Sainfariste, in Canapé Vert, who was not in the house at the time of the quakes. The novices who have just begun their long experiment in Port-au-Prince, Edmund Lo and Artur Suski, are fine, and are in communication with Erik Oland, the novice master.” The Archbishop Miot of Port-au-Prince has died and that the Cathedral has been destroyed. There are more reports of about 100 priests and seminarians of the Montfort Order having died when their retreat center collapsed. In addition to the devastating loss of religious workers, UN workers and peacekeepers have also had heavy losses and Parliament and the Presidental Palace have collapsed. There are heavy losses of life generally, certainly in the thousands or tens of thousands. The JRS is already established in Haiti and will be able to use our funds directly. JRS has also set up a facebook group which communicates what is going on in Haiti.

At this moment of massive tragedy in Haiti, We in South Asia assure our prayerful support to all people in Haiti particularly Jesuits and others in JRS.  We grieve with the distressed and mourn with the suffering people of Haiti.

-with only 16% vote share of Jharkhand’s population JMM-BJP-AJSU-JDU combine has formed the govt -

When Sibu Soren and his two deputies were sworn in on 30^th December, the print and electronic media spoke of a ‘popular govt’ being formed. The question is: how popular is a popular govt? The following data offer some insights to point out that it is far from true:

Of Jharkhand’s population of 2 crore 70 lakh, the registered voter base is 1 crore 73 lakh. In the last Assembly election, only 95 lakh persons voted, a turn out of 55%. Of this the JMM-BJP-AJSU-JDU combine secured 46%, and of the total eligible voters 25%, and of the total population 16%. So 16% will rule over 100% of Jharkhand population!

Desperate relatives pay hundreds of thousands of rupees to highly-connected racketeers to get their loved ones released from IDP camps

Insight Team: Anthony David, Chris Kamalendran, Asif Fuard and Damith Wickremasekera, Pic by Sanka Vidanagama

She lives in one of the many crowded guesthouses that have mushroomed in Vavuniya. Twenty-six-year old Kamala, in blue jeans and striped T-shirt, is tall and big made. She digs into her handbag, pulls out a pink lipstick and moistens her lips before shaking my hand.

She points to a table in the corner of the air conditioned but empty restaurant. “Have you eaten? Can I get you something to eat or drink,” she asks as we settle down to our chairs. “A coke,” I reply and the conversation begins. “Tell me the name of the person, zone and tent number,” she says. I was ready with the answers.

Together with the contact I met earlier at a location in Vavuniya town, I had arranged to meet Kamala to seek the release of an Internally Displaced Person (IDP) at Menik farm.