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The Wire
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Wire
Five Stark Instances Counter Environment Minister's ‘Democracy Walking Alongside Development' Remark
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Government Five Stark Instances Counter Environment Minister's 'Democracy Walking Alongside Development' Remark Aathira Perinchery 47 minutes ago From democratic safeguards falling through to local communities not being consulted as stakeholders for various developmental projects, democracy and democratic dissent do not seem to apply to the environment in today's India. Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now Bengaluru: On May 29, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav spoke at the conclave of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), at a programme that was themed on 'Building Trust – India First' and how climate, the environment and sustainability play a crucial role in this, with regard to industry. Yadav called India a 'land of development-oriented nature worshippers', and said that India's is a 'story' of 'democracy walking alongside development', in the context of India's economy rising 'ahead' of Japan, the United Kingdom and France. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made environmental protection a 'participative process', he remarked, referring to Mission LIFE, a programme implemented by the current NDA government. India's climate action and policy are built on building trust, and ensuring that India comes first, he said. While Yadav dropped all the 'right' words and phrases in his speech – climate resilience, commitment to sustainability, and India being a voice of the Global South – there's mounting evidence to show that India does not walk the talk when it comes to some of these aspects. This is especially true in matters pertaining to the environment, and the ministry that Yadav heads, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Here are five instances where democracy and democratic dissent do not seem to apply to the environment in today's India, especially with regard to developmental projects. 1. Ignoring dissent about the Nicobar projects and democratic safeguards falling through A 'disaster', 'death knell', 'catastrophic': these are some of the adjectives that critics have used to define the slew of projects proposed by the Union government on Great Nicobar Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The projects, costing more than Rs 72,000 crore, involve constructing an international transshipment terminal, a greenfield airport, a township and a power plant in the 970 sq km-small Great Nicobar Island that is surrounded by vibrant coral reefs and is the southernmost in the Nicobar group of islands in the Bay of Bengal. The National Green Tribunal, India's apex green court, has already ruled in favour of the projects despite the grave ecological concerns that social and science researchers have warned will affect both the indigenous communities living on the island (the Shompen and the Nicobarese, who are listed as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups) and its endemic and unique biodiversity. The Union government has also already denotified a part of the tribal reserve which had been set aside for the indigenous communities; in 2021, the Union environment ministry under Yadav denotified the Galathea Bay Wildlife Sanctuary for the projects too. The Andaman and Nicobar Administration, in a recent tender notification, has also claimed that gram sabha consent – which the Forest Conservation Act (1980) had mandated as necessary for such projects – will not be applicable to the villages in the area, or the indigenous communities living here, thanks to the recent amendments to the Act that exempts projects for 'national security' among others, from gram sabha consents. Conservationists and expert groups were quick to point out this loophole when the amendments reached Parliament for discussion in 2023. However, the government did not follow due course on these, and the committee appointed to look into the amendments bulldozed through the recommendations and cautions that these groups highlighted, passing the new Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam in 2023. Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav speaks during the 24th edition of the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS 2025), in New Delhi, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. Photo: PTI 2. Anger brews in Arunachal courtesy the Siang mega dam, but the government is turning a blind eye Protests are gathering steam in Arunachal Pradesh's Siang district and its adjoining areas against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project. This ~11,000 megawatt hydropower dam that India plans to build on the Siang river in northeastern Arunachal, just as it enters India from China, is touted as a response to China building its own mega dam upstream on the Siang. However, experts as well as local residents have repeatedly noted that the concern that water flow will decrease in the Siang after China's dam is constructed does not rise because the Siang is also fed by streams on Indian territory. Local communities have reiterated, time and again, that they do not want the dam as it will submerge their homes and agricultural lands, erasing their cultural identities. However, their demand has fallen on deaf ears: the state government has repeatedly deployed armed forces in the area, most recently over the past week to forcibly conduct a pre-feasibility study for the project. Villagers took to the streets in hundreds, even burning a hanging bridge at Beging in Siang district last week in an effort to prevent the army from reaching the area. And yet the Union government turns a blind eye: armed forces still occupy these areas, and the state has filed complaints against an activist and lawyer, Ebo Mili, for allegedly spearheading these protests. 3. Cutting trees, displacing people, diverting land: There's nothing that fosters sustainability or climate resilience here In his speech at the CII on May 29, Yadav talked of climate resilience. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change defines climate resilience as the 'capacity of social, economic and ecosystems to cope with a hazardous event or trend or disturbance'. Resilience includes adaptation abilities of people or communities to deal with climate change-related events such as floods and droughts. Yadav, in his speech, said that India's climate policy is about green energy access to its people, and keeping our skies blue and our oceans clean; and that India remains the most trusted partner for the global world, for, among others, its 'unwavering commitment for a sustainable world'. One baseline to foster both climate resilience and sustainability is to protect existing natural ecosystems and wild spaces, as Yadav pointed out. India's role as voice as the global South is supported by three interlinked drivers, he said, one of them being 'protecting natural ecosystems and strengthening resilience'. However, evidence from Chhattisgarh shows how the government is robbing people and local communities here of their existing sustainable ways of life and their ability to be climate resilient by permitting corporations to fell trees and mine coal in the very forests that people here depend on. In Chhattisgarh's Hasdeo Arand, one of the last-remaining largest contiguous forests in the country, indigenous communities are still protesting the allocation of their forests as a coal block for mining by the Union government. Activists and citizen groups have alleged that at least 15,000 trees were illegally felled in the Korba and Sarjuga districts here to carry out coal mining in the Parsa East Kete Basan coal blocks by a subsidiary of the Adani Group for its client, the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RRVUN, the power generation company of Rajasthan state). Villagers claimed they never gave their consent for mining but trees were felled in Parsa anyway. Violent clashes between residents and police followed. Later, an investigation by the Chhattisgarh State Scheduled Tribes Commission found that clearances for mining in Parsa block were given based on forged gram sabha consent documents. Through petitions filed by activists, the matter is being heard at both the Chhattisgarh high court and the Supreme Court. This is one reason it cannot take up the petitions linked to the issue at the National Green Tribunal, the Tribunal said in an order on May 28 this year. In the judgment, accessed by The Wire, the Tribunal also added that it had already heard related cases and asked a joint committee to submit a 'factual and action taken' report. On perusal of the report, the Tribunal said that the committee had not reported any violation. In a previous judgment, the Tribunal had noted that authorities had taken 'due permissions' for the cutting of the trees and thus disposed of the cases related to the tree felling submitted to the Tribunal. With the apex green court washing its hands off the issue, reprieve for local communities will now hinge on what the Chhattisgarh high court and Supreme Court rule on these cases. 4. Rights of forest dwellers remain on paper, many fear eviction from their homes In 2006, India introduced the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, also called the Forest Rights Act. It aimed to recognise and protect the pre-existing rights of indigenous communities who depend on wild spaces for sustenance and livelihoods, acknowledging that they also play a crucial role in conservation. Though hailed as a landmark legislation, this Act still remains mostly on paper nearly two decades later. Authorities of several states have not granted rights to many applicants: their claims have been rejected, making them vulnerable to relocation out of protected areas and their homes without their consent. According to a 2013 estimate, six lakh forest dwellers have already been displaced from their forest homes. In June last year, the National Tiger Conservation Authority – which implements and oversees Project Tiger across the country, and operates under Yadav's Union environment ministry – sent an order to wildlife wardens in all tiger states asking them to expedite the relocation of 591 villages, comprising 64,801 families, from all tiger reserves. Thousands of tribes from tiger reserves across the country have been protesting against this impending forced eviction since then. According to one report, the government has identified at least 5.5 lakh Scheduled Tribes and other forest dwellers who live in 50 tiger reserves across India for involuntary relocation by Project Tiger to create 'inviolate areas' for tigers. Petitioners had also filed cases in the Supreme Court regarding why the families whose claims had been rejected under the FRA had not been ousted from parks yet. Though the Supreme Court was to hear the crucial case pertaining to this in April, this has not happened so far. Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty 5. Ladakh's protests for the Sixth Schedule to protect their environment In February last year, the people of Ladakh strengthened their already-consistent demand for statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule through district shutdowns, peaceful protests, indefinite fasts and long marches. Being included in the Schedule would grant Ladakh – currently a union territory in 2019 after it was separated from the state of Jammu and Kashmir – tribal status, giving local communities not only higher autonomy but also means to safeguard their unique cultural identities. Two important political groups, the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, backed these demands; and climate activist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk who hails from Ladakh also spearheaded several protests and 'climate fasts', urging the Union government to uphold its word that it would give statehood to Ladakh, among other things (the BJP had promised this in its election manifesto in 2019). Among the prime reasons for these demands has been the fragile environment of Ladakh. With local communities already witnessing the impacts of climate change in the area, there has been stiff resistance against Union government-backed projects such as a 10-gigawatt solar energy project in Pang in the Changthang which would take up at least 150 square kilometres of prime grazing areas, and a geo-thermal energy plant (which is currently stalled due to technical issues). With Ladakh being rich in critical mineral resources, it could also witness mining for minerals such as uranium and lithium. In April 2024, Wangchuk and Ladakh's local leaders called for a 'Pashmina March' to highlight how indigenous pastoralists are losing large tracts of prime pasture land in the Changthang – a high-altitude meadow where local communities graze their indigenous sheep, the wool of which is used to make prized pashmina shawls – to corporates who want to develop projects including energy projects. In response to protests, the Union government came down hard on people; it imposed curfews in Leh and other areas on multiple occasions. In October last year, tens of climate activists from Ladakh led by Wangchuk marched from Leh to New Delhi's Rajghat, in an effort to remind the Union government again about its promises to implement the Sixth Schedule in the Union Territory – only to be detained as soon as they crossed the Singhu border and entered Delhi. Is India really a democracy, many of them asked, shocked by the display of force on a peaceful march. As the news spread, people from across India lent support to the Ladakhis, urging the government to lend them an ear. Finally, the detainees were released and the Union government relented; it said that it would hold talks with Ladakh's leaders to come to a conclusion about this. Talks are still ongoing at a snail's pace, as Ladakh's local leaders and the Union government rally on several points of discussion. Meanwhile, work linked to setting up energy parks and transmission lines in Ladakh continues. On May 28, the Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) – a government of India enterprise and the country's largest electric power transmission utility – invited bids to establish a pilot project at the Pang HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) station in Ladakh. The project involves constructing a 2,100 kilowatt off-grid solar photovoltaic power plant along with a 300 KW/1,200 kWh Battery Energy Storage System, with a provision for grid integration in the future, at a cost of about Rs. 137 million. On May 22, it had also invited bids to set up a transmission line from Pang to Sarchu (on the border of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh), associated with the transmission system for the evacuation of renewable power from energy parks in Leh (listed under the 5 GW Leh-Kaithal transmission corridor). The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Make a contribution to Independent Journalism Related News 'Issue of Statehood and Sixth Schedule Unresolved': Ladakh Leaders as Union Govt Notifies New Rules 'Hopeful that Centre Will Address Our Concerns': Ladakh Leaders After Meeting With MHA Panel How Satellite Images Contradict Himanta Biswa Sarma's Claims on Rat-Hole Mining 'Stop Militarisation, Work Related to Dam-Building': Rights Orgs Back Arunachal Villagers' Demands The History of the Ocean, as Told by Tiny Beautiful Fossils Ladakh: Local BJP Unit Joins Protests Against LG B.D. Mishra's 'Administrative Failures' 'In Public Interest': MMRDA Tells SC as it Scraps Tender for Mumbai Elevated Road, Tunnel Projects The Trump Policy Tsunami: More Shock than Therapy? Lalu's Son Tej Pratap Is Expelled from RJD For the Second Time in Five Years About Us Contact Us Support Us © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
The Wire
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
‘We Will Die For Our Lands': Villagers in Arunachal's Siang District Protest Against Mega Dam Plan
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Top Stories 'We Will Die For Our Lands': Villagers in Arunachal's Siang District Protest Against Mega Dam Plan Aathira Perinchery 9 minutes ago As the state deployed armed forces and drilling machines were brought in for a pre-feasibility report for the hydropower project, protesting villagers burnt a hanging bridge to prevent them from approaching the area. Villagers in Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh are protesting against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project. Photo: Nith Paron Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now Bengaluru: 'No dam, go away' – that is the refrain that echoed in the village of Beging in Arunachal Pradesh's Siang district, against the proposed nearly 12,000 megawatt Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP). Since May 23, villagers have gone on an indefinite dharna (sit-in protest) against the deployment of armed forces in the area to implement the first phase of the project – a study for pre-feasibility report – at the village. Protesters also burnt down a hanging bridge to prevent the army from entering the village. During the protest, villagers also clarified their two immediate demands: that the government remove the armed forces deployed in the area in three days; and that it also remove the drilling machines brought to the area for the pre-feasibility study. Local communities' main concerns about the hydropower project – which is being implemented by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) – include displacement, loss of homes and agricultural lands, as well as the environmental impacts, such as the loss of rich biodiversity that the area is home to. To make matters worse, the Upper Siang project – set to be India's largest hydropower project, if it is built – is also proposed in a seismically-active area. A burning hanging bridge While villagers who would be affected by the project have been protesting against the proposed hydropower project for several years now, the latest protests are a result of armed forces being deployed in the area since May 21 for the first stage of the implementation of the project, in which the NHPC is to prepare a pre-feasibility report for the project. Sources told The Wire that around 100 army personnel – belonging to the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) – were deployed in the districts of Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang for the NHPC to conduct its pre-feasibility report. On May 23, in the village of Beging in Siang district – the epicentre of the protest – villagers took out a march in protest against the deployment. Spearheaded by the Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum (SIFF), they once again reinstated their demands that the government not build a dam in the area, starting with the removal of armed forces and the drilling machines brought in by NHPC to conduct the study. 'We will die for our lands,' villagers could be heard telling army personnel deployed in the area. Villagers in Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh resist army deployment. Photo: Nith Paron The protestors also burnt a hanging bridge on the same day, in an effort to prevent the armed forces from reaching Beging village. Although it was meant to be a peaceful protest, emotions were high and some angry villagers burnt the bridge, Deccan Herald quoted Nith Paron, a SIFF youth wing leader, as saying. He added that people have been now convinced to not resort to violence in any form and engage in only peaceful agitations. A letter submitted to the deputy commissioner of Siang district by the SIFF on May 23 stated that they have initiated an 'indefinite dharna', in protest against the deployment of armed personnel for the initiation of the pre-feasibility report for the SUMP. The letter, accessed by The Wire, makes three clear requirements. Firstly, that the state remove all CAPF personnel from the districts of Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang, where they have been currently deployed. Secondly, that the drilling machine brought to Beging for the survey be removed in four days. And thirdly, that the government provide an assurance that 'no further forceful activity related to the PFR [pre-feasibility report] will be carried out without the free, prior and informed consent of the local communities.' The letter specified that failure to meet these demands by the local communities will result in them 'intensifying their democratic protest'. Long-standing concerns In mid December last year, villagers of Geku, Reiw and Parong in the Upper Siang districts had taken out marches protesting against the SUMP. The protests, similar to the latest one, were also in reaction to a directive by the Arunachal Pradesh government to deploy central and state armed forces in the area to implement the project. While the government has claimed that the SUMP is a counter to the mega dam being built by China just upstream of the Indian border on the Siang river before it enters India, local communities are still worried and have repeatedly raised a number of concerns about the project. Villagers worry that nearly 27 villages will be displaced, and their lands (either in whole or partly) will be acquired and/or submerged for the project. This will result in the loss of peoples' homes and their agricultural lands. Agriculture is the mainstay of people in the area. Secondly, the way that district authorities, the state government and the Union government have pushed forward with the initiation of the project, without taking the local people into confidence is of concern. Army deployment has become a regular phenomenon, and local communities have been resisting this actively. Army personnel at Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh. Photo: Nith Paron 'The whole scenario has been very sad and unjust for our people,' said Katon Moyong, a resident of Pasighat who arrived at Beging on May 23 to join the protest. Noting that the protest has been going on for decades against the dam, he said that the last two-three years have been particularly worrying. 'We have been demanding for no PFR for the Siang Upper Multipurpose Dam. Hiding the agenda, the district administration, the state and central governments have pushed through the system and brought all these equipment to Beging village to do a survey for land acquisition for the dam. Our people do not agree…if the public says no, it is no. The government does not have the right to enforce it,' he said. Another major concern the people have raised is that apart from the area's rich biodiversity, the Siang river also holds high cultural significance for the indigenous communities in the area. A dam could endanger this in many ways, including by loss of access to traditional fishing grounds, among others. Moyong said that by deploying the army, the state and central governments are sending a 'clear message' that they will still enforce the construction of the SUMP with or without the public's agreement. 'I came here [to be part of the proteste] so that we can save our lands…save our mountains and rivers from this sheer humiliation against us – putting a 12,000 MW dam in our lands without our permission, without our consent. That is a punch in our hearts,' he said. Moyong said that the protest is a 'warning to the leaders behind it – Arunachal chief minister Pema Khandu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Amit Shah' to 'back off from this so that our people can live peacefully'. 'We are not against dams, but we are against large dams like the SUMP,' he said. Make a contribution to Independent Journalism Related News Delays, a Half-Built Campus, and No Amenities: Inside the Protests at FTI Arunachal Pradesh India Rejects as China Assigns Names to Places in Arunachal Pradesh Again How Amaravati Has Gone From Grand Blueprint to Ghost Town – and Back 'Completed' on Paper, But Missing in Key Border Areas: J&K Authorities Probe Centre-Funded Bunker Project Seshachalam Tragedy: A Decade of Silence and Desperate Call for Justice Project Cheetah: More Set to Arrive From Botswana Soon, Plans Underway for Wildlife Corridor Why We Need Social Audits in the MGNREGS The Redevelopment of Dharavi will Destroy the Livelihoods of Those Who Work in Small Businesses MP: How Media Trial of a Rape Case in Bhopal Fuelled Communal Hate View in Desktop Mode About Us Contact Us Support Us © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
The Wire
22-05-2025
- Health
- The Wire
Thermal Injustice: 20,000 Indians Died in Heatwaves In 20 Years – Caste a Key Factor
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Top Stories Thermal Injustice: 20,000 Indians Died in Heatwaves In 20 Years – Caste a Key Factor Aathira Perinchery 36 minutes ago Strong associations between caste, occupation, and heat stress exposure are best described as 'thermal injustice', experts say. Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty. Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now New Delhi: Heatwaves killed nearly 20,000 people in India between 2001 and 2019, a recent study has found. The study found that men were more susceptible to deaths caused by heat waves in the country. Another recent study also found that heatwave deaths are divided along caste lines – more people belonging to marginalised communities died in India from exposure to heat than people from other communities. This is a kind of 'thermal injustice', researchers who work on the study say. Reports by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) such as this one in 2021 have warned that India, along with many other parts of Asia, will likely experience more extreme weather events – including heatwaves – in the years to come. The heat is also breaking records every year. According to the India Meteorological Department, February 2025 was the hottest that India has witnessed in 125 years. Killer heat Heatwaves can adversely impact human health. And heat strokes – which can cause not only mild symptoms such as exhaustion and dizziness but also death – are common during this time. A team of scientists from the O.P. Jindal Global University in Sonipat, Haryana, studied deaths caused by extreme outdoor temperatures in India, and also looked at age and gender parities in such deaths. For this, they analysed data from several governmental sources – such as temperature data from the India Meteorological Department and mortality data from the National Crime Records Bureau. 'These strong associations between caste, occupation, and heat stress exposure are best described as 'thermal injustice', the study noted. The team found that between 2001 and 2019, India reported 19,693 deaths due to heatstroke and 15,197 deaths due to cold exposure. However, these numbers would be an underestimate due to the underreporting of deaths caused by exposure to such extreme temperatures, the study – published on April 29 in the peer-reviewed journal Temperature – noted. People in the age-group of 45-60 years were most susceptible to die both due to heatstroke and cold exposure, followed by the elderly (60 and above) and those between 30-45 years. The study also found that deaths from heatstroke are more common among men; male deaths were three to five times higher due to heatstroke when compared to deaths of women during this time. 'The higher death toll from heatstroke in working-age men may reflect the fact that men are more likely to work outdoors than women,' Pradeep Guin, professor at the O.P. Jindal Global University and co-author of the study, said in a statement. State-wise data from 2001 to 2014 also showed that the three states with the greatest number of deaths due to heatstroke were Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Per their study, the findings show 'an urgent need to strengthen welfare and social support systems and invest in built environment and livelihood interventions to counter the avoidable mortality from extreme temperature events'. 'With an intense heatwave forecast to hit most of the country this summer and extreme weather events becoming more frequent around the globe as the world warms, there is no time to be lost in raising awareness about the dangers of extreme temperatures and putting in place measures to reduce their impact. Support systems exist, but more needs to be done,' Guin, who studies climate change, the environment, health, politics and governance, commented in a press release. 'We believe that the government should consider offering some form of social support to outdoor workers, particularly low-income workers and those on a daily wage, who may feel they have no option but to turn up to work, whatever the temperature is,' commented Nandita Bhan, a co-author of the study and professor at the Jindal School of Public Health and Human Development at the O.P Jindal Global University, in a press release. 'Thermal injustice' Deaths due to heatwaves in India are also divided along caste lines, according to another recent study. A team from institutes including the Indian Institutes of Management (in Bangalore and Ahmedabad) used satellite data to obtain fine-scale information on heat stress exposure during the summers of 2019 and 2022 and compared this with data from the Periodic Labor Force Survey, which contained several demographic indicators to specifically look at people (a sample size of more than 1 lakh) who worked outdoors. They found that people from dominant castes spent 27-28% of their working time outdoors, whereas people belonging to the Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities spent 43-49% of their working hours doing such work. Together, people belonging to both the Scheduled Castes (SC) and ST communities spent more than 75% of their working hours outdoors in at least 65 districts across the country over the two years. But could this be because marginalised groups live in hotter areas? The team was able to ascertain that this was not the case by analysing exposure to land surface temperature at night. 'These strong associations between caste, occupation, and heat stress exposure are best described as 'thermal injustice', the study noted. 'While workers in a free market would be free to choose combinations of wages-occupational risks that optimise their preferences, our findings imply that the positions of these combinations are shifted by caste, to the detriment of marginalised groups in India,' the study said. Further, the study's 'robust evidence for the association between caste identity and exposure to heat stress shows why adaptation and mitigation plans in India must account for the hierarchical social order characterised by the 'division of labourers' along caste lines rather than the mere division of labour,' it added. Data from the NCRB – which Guin and his co-authors used in their latest study – did not provide any caste-related information, so they could not test the issue of caste-specific deaths caused by heatwaves in their study, Guin told The Wire. 'The Demography article is very interesting, and it is evident that scholars there have used data to test the association between caste and heat stress, and recommending implementation of caste-based adaptation and mitigation plans,' Guin told The Wire over email. Make a contribution to Independent Journalism Related News Can the BJP Merge Aggressive and Inclusive Hinduism? How Women Farmers in the Sundarban Are Reviving Indigenous Rice Varieties As Delhi Courses Through Another Punishing Summer, Residents Are Once Again Pushed to the Brink Climate Change May Have Played a Big Role in North India's April Heatwave Those Opposing Caste Survey in Karnataka are Among the Most Socially Advanced Communities in the State With Bihar BJP Facing Setbacks After Pahalgam, Questions Hover Over Poll-Bound State's Politics 'Dalit Converts Not Under SC/ST Act': A Colonial‑Era Logic in a 21st‑Century Courtroom How Contract Labour and Caste Inequality Undermine India's Sanitation Drive 'Saying Caste Census Will Take Place Not Enough': Opp Keeps up Pressure After BJP's U-Turn View in Desktop Mode About Us Contact Us Support Us © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
