Another Woman Dies Of Hunger In Jharkhand After Aadhaar
Kicking Off 2018 With A Pledge
Dear Countercurrents family (present and future)—
2017 was a tough year all around. Hot and cold wars continue, the environment further degrades and Trumpism/Putinism/Modiism reigns. One can get depressed- forlorn even- by the array of monsters to fight. Humanity in many weighs appears to be stepping backwards, embracing narrow and racist nationalism, further eroding the rights of women, reveling in obscurantism, and rejoicing in, well, meanness.
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Romi Mahajan
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Binu Mathew,
Countercurrents Editor
Dear Friend,
Another old woman lost her life owing to the coercive implementation of the Aaadhaar scheme in India. Etwariya Devi’s family was denied their monthly entitlement of 25 kg of grain under the National Food Security Act for three months preceding her death. In October, Usha Devi’s fingerprint could not be authenticated in the Aadhaar-based biometric Point of Sale (PoS) machine at the local ration shop and she was told by the ration dealer to come back some other day. When she went back after a few days, she was told that the ration stock had finished. The dealer did not give her ration in November as he claimed that he was not allotted grains for that month. No grain was distributed at the ration shop in December till Etwariya Devi’s death as the PoS machine was allegedly dysfunctional
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Another Woman Dies Of Hunger In Jharkhand After Aadhaar Disrupts Delivery Of Ration And Pension
Fact-Finding Report
Etwariya Devi’s family was denied their monthly entitlement of 25 kg of grain under the National Food Security Act for three months preceding her death. In October, Usha Devi’s fingerprint could not be authenticated in the Aadhaar-based biometric Point of Sale (PoS) machine at the local ration shop and she was told by the ration dealer to come back some other day. When she went back after a few days, she was told that the ration stock had finished. The dealer did not give her ration in November as he claimed that he was not allotted grains for that month. No grain was distributed at the ration shop in December till Etwariya Devi’s death as the PoS machine was allegedly dysfunctional
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Kicking Off 2018 With A Pledge
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Let’s kick off the year with a resolve to work hard and to enjoy the fruits of this work as we reshape the world.
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