Community Correspondents

Neeru Rathod

Neeru Rathod is the 8th child in a family of 11 girls born to a Dalit construction worker in Surendranagar district of Gujarat, one of the most feudal and caste-ridden regions of India. Circumstances were difficult growing up but she found her path in 2006, when Video Volunteers and the NGO Navsarjan selected her to be part of a Community Video Unit. As part of the Community Video Unit, Neeru found her vocation and passion. She became an expert producer and committed video activist, seeking to set right the social issues that she was highlighting and leading hundreds of people in protest. She has conducted hundreds of village video screenings, speaking into a microphone in front of a huge screen late in the evening to thousands of men, shattering their ideas about what a woman and a Dalit can do. Her work has brought water, roads, electricity – sea change to villages in her district. She has also made videos on sensitive issues like the AIDS epidemic and single women in rural India.

Videos from Neeru

Article 17 Right To Education

 
/ June 4, 2014

The Indian Constitution has given equal rights to all its citizens, so that all types of discrimination such as gender, caste and religion are removed.  According to the provisions of the Right to Education (RTE) 2010 all children have rights for equal treatment.  However despite this, Primary school children at...

Abysmal Infrastructure in the School

 
/ April 2, 2014

Community Correspondent Neeru Rathod brings another video from Gujarat’s Sayla Block in Surendranagar District. This primary school has classes from the first to the eighth grade and caters to students from all over the Block. When Neeru reached here to film, she was stunned by the abysmal infrastructure in the...

A Half-Hearted Attempt at Education

 
/ April 1, 2014

Our Community Correspondents have been busy travelling around their villages and blocks documenting the ground level realities of education in India. By highlighting the shortcomings of the system and by getting communities involved in the process, we hope that the future students of India are able to get the education...

Moharram In Gujarat Forges Strong Bonds

 
/ March 28, 2014

The collective Indian conscience often remembers Gujarat only for the communal tensions that simmer and often explode beyond control. What gets forgotten is the fact that historically, like all port areas, it has been a place where diverse cultures, religions and ways of life have thrived together, drawing on one...

Are These Kids Getting the Computer Classes they Were Promised?

 
/ February 4, 2014

In 2013 as the Gujarat Government unveiled its latest budget, the Finance Minister Mr Patel revealed plans that had Gujarat’s youth at the heart of things. He said: “We intend to launch a massive campaign to prepare skilled manpower in line with the requirements of the international trends and thus...

“Children Can ‘Pollute’ a Temple | ARTICLE 17

 
/ December 12, 2013

Children from this village can’t enter the local shrine because the upper caste think, they will pollute it.

3 dalit youth killed by police : Another Godhra in its making

 
/ December 12, 2013

3 Dalit youth were killed during carnival festival in Thangarh, Gujrat by police authorities. The reason being a small fight between  Dalit youth and people belonging to the upper caste.  After this incident, the police Sub-Inspector K.P.Jadeja made an appearance with some of his juniors in the force. Without provocation,...

Polluting touch: Children barred entry to temple

 
/ December 12, 2013

Children from this village can’t enter the local shrine because the upper caste think, they will pollute it. The children explain to Community Correspondent, Neeru Rathod how they are not permitted entry into the temple and also share instances of how the children belonging to upper castes sprinkle water on...