The Forest Rights Act (FRA) along with the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Actis a cornerstone of Indian grassroots democracy. They give forest dwelling communities and individuals a final say with regards to land use. When it came into power in 2006, forest dwelling communities who had fought hard to...
Babasaheb is angry. As I look up at a large photo of his on the wall in front of me; his thick, black eyebrows are knitted together, eyes scowling through spectacles. I can almost feel the disappointment that fills the air. Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, the principal architect of the Indian...
It’s been another great year for Video Volunteers on our quest to make sustainable local media a reality. We are proud to present Video Volunteers’ achievements for the year Apr’13 – Mar’14. Get a glimpse of our journey by reading our annual report.
Untouchability. You may think that this horrendous practice has disappeared in 21st century India, an India that is running towards socio-economic development; you may think that caste identities no longer govern people’s lives. Look around you, caste based discrimination carries on in the most insidious ways possible—in matrimonial ads; when...
We did it! We met our goal of making sure that 50% of our Community Correspondents, grassroots video journalists, are women. Over the last year some fantastic, stereotype defying, crazy, passionate, dramatic women have joined our network of 200+ Community Correspondents. One left her abusive husband; another takes her husband...
A year ago tens of thousands came out in protest on the streets in India. Angry, hurt and exhausted that it had happened again, another girl had lost her life to a sexual assault of the most brutal kind. The collective Indian memory remembers her as Nirbhaya, the fearless one—perhaps...
Community Correspondent Sajad Rasool has brought us many stories from Kashmir. They tell us a very different story of the ongoing crisis, a perspective seldom reflected in mainstream media and by policy makers. For Human Rights Day, he has written the following piece to explain the magnitude of the violations...
What do a teacher, cultural activist and human rights worker have in common? They can all be branded anti-state elements and be jailed. Just like the people whose testimonies you will watch in the below videos. “I was just a teacher trying to educate tribal children in our area. Why...
