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Objectives: Indoor residual spraying (IRS) with insecticides is the main vector control intervention for the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis in India. After a change in IRS policy in 2015 due to widespread resistance of Phlebotomus argentipes to DDT, IRS with DDT was replaced with alpha‐cypermethrin IRS in 2016. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the susceptibility of P. argentipes to DDT and its alternatives, namely malathion and pirimiphos‐methyl (organophosphates); alpha‐cypermethrin, deltamethrin, lambda‐cyhalothrin and permethrin (pyrethroids), and bendiocarb and propoxur (carbamates), in support of visceral leishmaniasis elimination in India. Methods: Phlebotomus argentipes sandflies were collected from the visceral‐leishmaniasis endemic states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. In the WHO tube tests, the phenotypic susceptibility of F1, 2‐day old, non‐blood fed females were determined against filter papers impregnated with DDT 4%, malathion 5%, pirimiphos‐methyl 0.25%, alpha‐cypermethrin 0.05%, deltamethrin 0.05%, lambda‐cyhalothrin 0.05%, permethrin 0.75%, bendiocarb 0.1% and propoxur 0.1%, which were sourced from Universiti Sains Malaysia. The knockdown of sandflies after 1‐h exposure and mortality at 24 h after the 1‐h exposure period were scored. Results: Mean mortality of P. argentipes 24 h after exposure in tube tests was 22.6% for DDT and ≥ 98% for other insecticide‐impregnated papers tested. Conclusion: Phlebotomus argentipes continues to be highly resistant to DDT with no reversal of resistance after DDT's withdrawal from IRS. P. argentipes was fully susceptible to pyrethroid, organophosphate and carbamate insecticides tested. Regular monitoring is warranted for insecticide resistance management in sandfly vectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ventilago Gaertn. (Rhamnaceae) is widely distributed in pantropical areas of Africa, Asia, and Australia. However, fossil records of this taxon are sparse, which limits understanding of the evolution and biogeographic history of the genus. In the present study, we report and describe two new fossil species of Ventilago, V. siwalika sp. nov. from the Miocene sediments of Himachal Pradesh, western Himalaya, and V. pliocenica sp. nov. from the Pliocene sediments of Jharkhand, eastern India based on single‐winged samaras. Ventilago pliocenica is characterized by a prominent midvein, obtuse to sub‐round apex with mucronate tip, longitudinal secondary veins extending the full length of the fruit, and reticulate nature of higher‐order veins, the presence of equatorial rim, the hypanthium, and short pedicel. On the other hand, V. siwalika is characterized by a prominent midvein, obtuse to sub‐round apex with mucronate tip, longitudinal secondary veins extending the full length of the fruit, and reticulate nature of higher‐order veins. Our discovery represents the first unambiguous fossil record of single‐winged samara of Ventilago from India and provides valuable insights into the evolution of this genus. In this paper, we also review its biogeographic history and add new information to understand its hypothetical migration route. Present and earlier records of Ventilago also suggest that this genus was a common forest element during Neogene (Miocene time) in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an object of ethnographic enquiry, this paper explores the significance of the modes of production debates for the radical Left in India. Its aim is modest: to investigate whether the analysis of the Indian economy by the underground Communist Party of India ( Maoist), or the Naxalites, maps on to agrarian transformations in the heart of their revolutionary struggle, in one of their guerrilla zones in Jharkhand. The Maoist concern with the agrarian question is shown to be first and foremost an issue of politics, determining their strategy and tactics; the question of identifying who is the 'enemy', who to form alliances with and how to progress the struggle. A principal contradiction is established by the Maoists as being that between feudalism and the masses. Analysing the political economy of the hills and forests of Jharkhand, this paper reveals first how feudal relations were not established there. Second, it shows the persistence of non-capitalist relations of production in farming. And, third, it illuminates the emergence of class differentiation through processes that bypass the development of capitalism in agriculture. The argument is that it is the modern state itself that has played a crucial role in these slow processes of class differentiation in the Adivasi-dominated hills and forests of India. Analysing the agrarian transition in this guerrilla zone, this paper offers a critical analysis of Maoist strategy and tactics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although India's Jharkhand movement resists classification as either an ethnic or an environmental movement, it has, at different times, mobilised clear elements of both with frequently violent outcomes. This paper examines the movement from a political ecology perspective and focuses on violence arising from natural resource-related grievances, notably land alienation, forest policy and employment from Jharkhand's mines. Drawing from political ecology's emphasis on the need to examine conflict from a range of different spatial scales, the paper emphasises the importance of a micro-political ecology approach for understanding how locally based conflicts over natural resources can harden into more established grievances that can be mobilised politically as part of a wider and potentially violent protest movement. It is also suggested that micro-political ecology approaches can assist participatory resource management initiatives in ameliorating local conflicts over access to resources, thus helping to prevent them from escalating into more widespread violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecballocystopsis (Oocystaceae, Chlorellales, Trebouxiophyceae) is a rare green algal genus, represented by only five taxa: E. dichotoma var. dichotoma from China and E. indica, E. desikacharyi, E. himalayensis and E. dichotoma var. minuta from India. Here we propose the novel variety E. dichotoma var. anandii from Jharkhand, synonymization of E. himalayensis with E. dichotoma and erection of E. dichotoma var. minuta to a separate species as E. minuta stat. et comb. nov. These taxonomic changes are well supported by the results of a multivariate analysis based on a numerical taxonomic approach. Cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA) and principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) were performed to resolve the species delimitation ambiguity and supplement the morphology‐based classification of the genus. Ecballocystopsis himalayensis and E. dichotoma grouped in a single cluster along with the proposed new variety, while E. indica, E. desikacharyi and E. minuta formed separate clusters. An identification key to the species of the genus Ecballocystopsis is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion of the transnational indigeneity discourse relative to adivasi political life in Jharkhand, India. The transnational discourse of indigeneity turns on a "politics of recognition" that is at the center of the modern form of "governmentality." The Koel-Karo movement in the nation has been discussed as a specific example for the topic.

Abstract: Objective: This study was carried out to explore whether the rates of postabortion adoption of a contraceptive method, and continuation of contraception over 6months, differ among women undergoing medical abortion (MA) or surgical abortion by manual vacuum aspiration (MVA). Methods: The study was conducted in Bihar and Jharkhand, 2 of the least-developed states of India. The analysis focused on 679 married women who were followed up 6months after they underwent MA (n=308) or MVA (n=371) at clinics run by Janani, a nonprofit organization. Results: The rates of adoption and continuation of contraception were similar in the 2 groups, although with some notable distinctions in the timing of adoption of contraception and the method of contraception adopted. While the women who underwent MA were significantly less likely to adopt contraception in the month following abortion (58% vs 86%), this difference had narrowed considerably by the end of the second month (82% vs 91%); and by the end of the sixth month (89% vs 94%), respectively. There were no significant differences between the MA and the MVA groups with respect to the continuation of reversible contraception. Conclusions: The findings indicate that, in a setting that offers comprehensive counseling and a range of contraceptive methods, and where adoption of contraception is voluntary, a large majority of women will adopt and continue to use a method of contraception after an abortion even in these less developed parts of India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]