Is India Losing It’s Alternative Voice?

Is India Losing It’s Alternative Voice?

There are almost 30 lakh non-profit organizations registered in India, although only around 1.3 lakh of these non-profits organizations have registered under NGO Darpan, which is one NGO for every 4000 people.

Gender Training And A Progressive Village

Gender Training And A Progressive Village

Gender training sessions are used to bring behavioural change among individuals, collectives or organizations towards:1. Gender equality: Equal rights, resources and opportunities for all genders2. Gender sensitivity: Awareness about gender roles in our life3. Gender...

Samras Gram Yojna : An Experiment In Governance

Samras Gram Yojna : An Experiment In Governance

Gujarat recently conducted their Panchayat and Local Bodies’ elections in December 2021. During this time, one phrase that I heard numerous times was, ‘Samaras Panchayat’. It intrigued me because I heard it in the context of how state government promotes it but there...

Yeh Bahut Mehenga Hai

"Why should I pay THAT MUCH when I can buy something exactly like it at _______ for half the price?!" (one may fill the blank with the name of any High Street shop)  More than a century ago, English artist and activist William Morris argued that "nothing should...

Ethics Of Teaching

Picture only for representation purpose (Clicked by Itishree, a 2018 fellow) Think about your favourite teacher. They can be your primary school teacher or your college faculty but all of us have had at least one “favourite” teacher who had a profound effect on our...

Lessons In Development: Then And Now

Lessons In Development: Then And Now

On the second day in my current home, Khandar, a tehsil in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, my idea of development took a major hit. After spending the day under hot sun, it started pouring heavily and the area was filled with water. Since the majority of the inroads I have...

You Feel disgusted? You leave!

You Feel disgusted? You leave!

A long line of women, carrying their babies in slings across their chests, balancing eggs and channa on their heads, is a common sight as we travel in our jeep at Swasthya Swaraj from our head office in Bhawanipatna to the villages. Children are always tied close to...

Collectives And Public Health

Collectives And Public Health

The ongoing pandemic has emphasized the importance of creating a robust public health system. In Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh the shortcomings of the health infrastructure in these trying times were visible not only in the infrastructural inadequacy, but were also...

Who Bears The Brunt Of Borrowing Money?

Who Bears The Brunt Of Borrowing Money?

A gender lens to understand credit in rural India Microcredit = Lending to women in groups I remember making sense of microfinance using this simple equation the first time I read about the concept of lending to the poor. Somehow, it did make a lot of sense and it...

Did Covid-19 ‘Other’ The ASHAs From Their Own?

Did Covid-19 ‘Other’ The ASHAs From Their Own?

ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) have been instrumental in managing the pandemic across the country. They carried out several responsibilities in the past year - identifying people showing symptoms of Corona, linking them to quarantine facilities or ensuring...

Where The SC Discriminates

Where The SC Discriminates

Kalahandi, Odisha, is a name that is almost ever-present in the books of development as a district in India that is so socially, economically and politically backward that there still exist ‘hunger-deaths’ and schools with no teachers. Swasthya Swaraj, a primary...

One Strand At A Time [A Photo Story]

One Strand At A Time [A Photo Story]

Having spent a major part of my fellowship in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, it was impossible to not showcase the art-form that makes the place so special - Maheshwari sarees. The sarees and fabrics are registered for Geographical Indication, a certification that the...

Bridging The Digital Gap In Rural India

Financial inclusion, in today's day and age is not what it was a decade or two ago, when having a bank account was the starting point. Today, 'digital' is a key piece in the puzzle of financial inclusion, specially for low income communities. India is set to have 820...

Constructivist Approach To Teaching

Constructivist Approach To Teaching

Picture by Divya Sharma, a 2019 fellow Instance 1 5 year old Anush weeping: Maa I am not going to school anymore Mother: But why my love? (The mother had an impression that Anush will easily adjust to school based on the first day observations when he was playing in...