May 2016
Since the Delhi rape in 2012, has anything changed for women in India?
Almost four years since the country was shaken by protests after the brutal rape and murder of Jyoti Singh Pandey in 2012, what has changed for young women in India? According to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there was a 9% increase in crimes against...
A Dalit man succumbed to injuries sustained in caste-violence in Gujarat
On an average, 47 Dalits were killed every year in Gujarat between 2010 and 2014. In the same years, over 9588 cases of caste-based atrocities were reported by Dalits in the state. These numbers, however, are the tip of the iceberg as many more cases of caste atrocities go unreported....
80 families of Kolkata suburb make do with two toilets
According to the UN, sanitation – access to, and use of, excreta and wastewater facilities and services such as clean toilets is a basic human right. However, the Bhagabati Chatterjee street, Belgharia, a suburb of Kolkata has just two toilets that are used by more than eighty families of the...
Bad roads trouble residents of Darjeeling despite sanction of Rs. 96 lakh
The dilapidated condition of roads in Darjeeling district has disrupted normal life of thousands of people who live Mirik district. The long stretch of 8 km of metal road is considered a vital one for thousands of commuters who live between Katari banbasti and Belgacchi tea garden. Thousands of villagers...
Women fight to protect ancient land in Jharkhand
The ancient natives of Santhal Pargana, who reside in Jharkhand, have been deeply associated with their land. The land is their only identity – which they have defended with their lives since the times of British. Their never-give-up spirit was honoured by the British who passed the Santhal Pargana Tenancy...
Five Kashmiri women write about mass-rape that happened twenty years ago in Kashmir
“Do you remember Kunan Poshpora? a book by five young Kashmiri women Essar Batool, Ifrah Butt, Samreena Mushtaq, Munaza Rashid and Natasha Rather investigates the fateful night of mass-rape of over 80 women by the Army in the villages of Kunan and Poshpora in 1991. The book published by Zubaan...
Forest officials falsely arresting firewood collectors
“We do not know laws. We are not educated, but we have lived near this jungle and in this village for years,” says Chandrabhushan Mahato who was arrested by forest rangers for collecting firewood. In Dumri village of West Champaran, Bihar, most of the residents belong to the Scheduled castes...
NREGA- The failing lifeline of Rural Employment
“Give us work and we will work”. “They give the work to contractors and we all just sit here.” “I have worked for 27-28 days but haven’t yet received my wages.” “If we have received NREGA wages on time, we could have gotten the treatment.” NREGA has been the world’s...