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Context: The ongoing violence between the Kuki-Zomi tribals and the largely Hindu Meiteis in Manipur is the first time in three decades that the state has witnessed direct clashes between two ethnic groups. The Manipur valley is encircled by skirts of low hills that spread into Nagaland and Mizoram. In these hill areas live 15 Naga tribes and the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi …

‘Fix your gut, fix your brain’ used to be an underrated idea, but it is gaining in relevance today as more and more research throws light on the role of the community of bacteria living in your gut, that is, the gut microbiome. A healthy gut microbiome is not a …

The recent case of allegations of sexual harassment that some of India’s sportswomen (wrestling) are said to have faced have shocked us. Those affected had to sit in protest in the capital to make themselves heard. This shows that any internal complaints committee (if there is one) does not function. …

Sickle cell anaemia (SCA), a genetic blood disorder, found mention in the Budget this year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government will work in “mission mode” to eliminate the condition by 2047. India is the second-worst affected country in terms of predicted births with SCA — i.e. chances …

Towards the end of 2022, a hugely significant moment in the post-Independence history of Indian Muslims slipped by under the radar. The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, the oldest Muslim organisation in India, with its roots in the national freedom struggle, filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India seeking reservation for …

⦁ In a major tweak to the organ donation policy, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said the clause that people aged beyond 65 could not receive cadaver organ transplants had been removed. ⦁ “The government has decided to do away with the ceiling. Now, people beyond 65 in need …

India banned e-cigarettes in 2019. Ecigarettes were still available through online stores and local vendors. “Instances of such devices being sold at convenient/stationary stores near educational institutions have also been reported, which is resulting in easy access by young children to such products.” The increasing availability of such prohibited products …

Somanchi, Anmol, ‘Food and Social Security at the Margins: The Parhaiyas of Jharkhand’, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 58, Issue 4, January 28, 2023. While many government policies and schemes have been announced across the country to help vulnerable communities, it is imperative to look at the extent to which …

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in a report flagged the “inhuman and deplorable” condition of all 46 government-run mental healthcare institutions across the country. The report notes that the facilities are “illegally” keeping patients long after their recovery, in what is an “infringement of the human rights of mentally …

The links between childbirth and mental disorders have been described for hundreds of years. Mental illness after childbirth isn’t merely of historical interest. As illustrated by the findings of the U.K. Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths, suicide is a leading cause of maternal death following childbirth. In India itself, the …