In Jharkhand, schemes neglected while hunger flares in the countryside

Policies to support Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups with food rations are being undermined by official theft and apathy. Tribal people are pushing back to survive

Winter mornings in the rocky hills of Jharkhand’s Latehar district are piercingly cold. Braving the unfavourable weather, Kaloti Masomat, 35, a widow with four children, is leaving for the local ration dealer’s shop. She holds her youngest daughter in her arms, the boys aged four to seven years follow her.

She will walk from Uchvabal, a small hamlet in the midst of dense forests where Parhaiyas – classified as a ‘Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group’ – like her live, to Dumri, about six km away, to collect her ration entitlements. The Antyodaya Anna Yojana, meant for the “poorest of the poor”, guarantees