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The brief report on the activities of the St. Petersburg Slavic Charitable Committee for the year 1869 includes a record that society members discussed the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus and established a prize for an essay on the Czech religious figure. The inclusion of Hus in the list of "jubilarians" worthy of honor not only highlights the significance of this religious thinker for the Slavic world but also touches upon certain political aspects of Russian history. The article analyzes the reasons for the Russian public's attention to Hus's persona, provides a characterization of the views of Russian intellectuals at the time of the contest announcement regarding the legacy of the Czech religious figure, and presents reflections on how the proposal to support Jan Hus's 500th jubilee aligns with the tradition of honoring cultural figures in the Russian Empire by the mid-19th century. The material draws from both published documents and sources not yet introduced into scholarly circulation. The motives behind honoring Jan Hus's legacy are seen in the acknowledgment by the chairman of the St. Petersburg branch of the committee, Gilferding, of the Orthodox foundations of the Czech reformer's teachings, deeming it possible to use Hus celebrations as a lever of influence on Czech society and advance the idea of political and religious unity among all Slavic branches in Orthodox faith.

In order to check the increasing diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes, the Government of India enacted the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) 1980 which mandated the central government's prior approval for any such diversions. This Act applied to land notified as forest under the Indian Forest Act 1927 or any other law, and the forest under the control of the forest department. The Supreme Court order in Godavarman Case (1996) expanded the definition of a forest for applicability of FCA to all forests irrespective of recognition, classification, and ownership, and also those conforming to the dictionary meaning of forests. This created operational problems. The 2023 amendments to FCA 1980 exempt certain forest lands from its purview and exclude certain activities from the definition of non-forest purposes. The amended law shrinks the forest cover besides subverting rights granted to forest dwellers under Central laws.

Ashok Pankaj, Inclusive Development Through Guaranteed Employment: India's MGNREGA Experiences, Springer, 2023, 313 pp., ₹10,115.00, ISBN 9789811574429 (Hardcover).

The article examines the issue of establishing the borders of the Omsk province with neighboring territories. The main directions of the delimitation processes with Siberian provinces and the Kirghiz (Kazakh) Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic are analyzed: the allocation of certain districts of the Tyumen province under the control of Omsk; the transfer of parts of the Altai and Tomsk provinces to the Omsk province; the transfer of several districts that were part of the Akmolinsk region to the Kirghiz (Kazakh) ASSR; and the dispute over the territorial affiliation of the Ishim and Pavlodar districts by Omsk. The complexity and ambiguity of territorial demarcation resulting from spontaneous changes in Russia's administrative-territorial system during the revolutionary events of 1917, the Civil War, and the initial transformations of the Bolsheviks are demonstrated. It is revealed that the main issue was the formation of the southern border of the Omsk province with the Kirghiz (Kazakh) ASSR, which later became the state border between Russia and Kazakhstan. It is noted that the authorities of the Omsk province systematically defended territorial interests not only of their own province but also of Siberia as a whole, being key players in the region. The conclusion is drawn that thanks to the territorial shifts in southern Western Siberia, a foundation was laid for the formation of stable borders between Siberia and the Kirghiz (Kazakh) ASSR.

Amitabh Rajan, Ethical Dimensions of Administrative Power, SAGE Publications, 2021, 228 pp., ₹550. ISBN 9789391370008 (Paperback).

This article deals with the teaching of medical anthropology and research methodology under the newly reintroduced semester system at Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. It mainly consists of my experience of teaching anthropology under the semester-based education system in its Central Department of Anthropology for postgraduate anthropology students. In addition, it comprises of information acquired from students and colleagues from the Department and other colleges about the very subject. This paper does not provide any guideline for a better course of action for teaching anthropology. Instead, this paper emphasizes the imperativeness of the semester system that facilitates employing student-centred and interactive teaching and encourages elevating their potential through the effective teaching-learning mechanism. It portrays how the typical pedagogical approaches adopted under the semester system can contribute crucially to facilitate students to enhance their skills in critical reading and creative writing.

Anand Chakravarti, Is This 'Azaadi'? Everyday Lives of Agricultural Labourers in a Bihar Village, Tulika Books, 2018, 280 pp., ₹750. Tulika Books, No 44 first floor, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi – 110049. ISBN 978-81-934015-3-8. Hardbound.

Compensatory afforestation means the afforestation of plantations of an equivalent area of non-forest land or of double the area of degraded notified forest to compensate for the loss of forests diverted for development activities. The user of this diverted forest is required to pay its 'net present value' to the forest department for this purpose. On the direction of the Supreme Court, a law has been enacted and rules framed to manage the money collected for afforestation. The contents of this legislation and the manner of its enforcement have, however, led to a severe reduction of the tribals' access to forest resources, forcible plantation on their village commons, pastures and even on patta land, and the relocation of their settlements from forests, thereby violating their rights in land and forests. It has also led to severely eroding their means of livelihood besides creating a perverse incentive for deforestation. This has created a new area of conflict between tribal communities and the state.

Lakshmidhar Mishra, Discovery of Truth and Nothing but Truth: Memoirs of a Civil Servant. New Delhi: Aakar Books, 2017, 318 pp., ₹2,572, ISBN: 9789350024911 (Hardcover).