GENRE: Voices

Pic: Bharath Rajshekhar I have been told time and again that the cow is holy, and I have believed it until I was witness to this... a shocker, the most disturbing incident. I had been to Chickpet to buy some electrical appliances and was sitting in the shop waiting for my things to be packed. Suddenly, a big cow appeared in front of the shop. The emptiness in its eyes gave me the impression that its stomach might be empty too. I proposed to the shopkeeper that we offer her something to eat, maybe some bananas. I was taken aback when he…

A 16-year-old tribal girl, an aging illiterate social worker in Rajasthan, a 23-year-old physiotherapist  in Delhi, a young journalist in Mumbai, a 50-year-old tourist from Europe, a six-year-old school girl in Bengaluru–what do these females, from different parts of the country, with diverse backgrounds, have in common ? They were all  victims of gruesome rapes that made “news”. One of the first lead stories that I wrote, over three decades ago (1979), was about the infamous Mathura rape case, in which the court released the accused policemen (who had raped Mathura at the police station) on grounds that the 16-year-old…

There was a commotion at the front gate. A woman crying and speaking at the same time. I, then a 1970s high school student, rushed to the living room to look out to see who it was and what was going on.  Just at the same moment as amma rushed out of the kitchen. The woman at the gate was Kamala. Amma rushed to the front door to ask what had happened. In between sobs and convulsive crying, Kamala said, “My anna (older brother) has died and they have brought the body to the village. Is my mother here?” “The…

Citizen Matters co-founder Meera K receiving Manthan award in News Delhi. Pic: Navya P K On the evening of December 4th, Citizen Matters won yet another award. The tally, including reporting awards won by our erstwhile reporters Navya P K, Vaishnavi Vittal and Supriya Khandekar, is now six, in six years. The last five have come in three years. It is an even split now between awards for individual storytelling and for the publication itself. What do these awards mean to me, a journalism entrepreneur and innovator? One way to answer this question is to see what our work has…

  Ammu Joseph, veteran journalist based in Bangalore, highlights one of several contradictions in Bengaluru, on Facebook: "These photos were clicked and shared by a friend, who questioned the manager of the mall about this "public installation" outside, and was told that Marilyn is the fashion icon of New York City! So much for his knowledge of movie stars and fashion icons. But, even if she is/was, what has that got to do with a mall in Bengaluru? Not only the moral police, but the actual police and various other worthies in the city, have been waxing eloquent about "obscenity"…

Pic: Sreerekh VidyadharanPic: Sreerekh VidyadharanPic: Sreerekh Vidyadharan‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');}); Ramamurthy Nagar witnessed a rare occurence on the morning of November 23rd 2014. Parents along with students of Jaigopal Garodia Rashtrotthana Vidyakendra (JGRVK) in collaboration with the BBMP, Ward Corporator and residents of the area, were out on the streets at 7 am; not to protest, but on a Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, with brooms and other equipment in hand. This initiative was not only meant to make a difference in Ramamurthy Nagar, but also to serve as an inspiration to people in other schools and localities to…

It's too early to say that Swachh Bharat is failing. But it's getting late to say what it will take to make it work, and so far there is no sign of those things. 1. Get rid of the broom, and replace it with a pair of buckets—one for wet waste and the other for dry waste. Segregation at source is key to any garbage management plan. The PM's symbolic efforts with the broom did help signal an important focus that India needs, but getting the imagery right going forward will help even more. 2. Pass the Dumping Saaku law.…

Author: Tanmayee Narendra What does it mean to be “educated”? Does education necessarily mean a more heightened awareness about one’s role in society? These are some questions that I was forced to ask myself after I met with John, the manager of the Dry Waste Collection Center (DWCC) near the Jayadeva Flyover. Let me tell you more about John. John comes from a family of scrap dealers. While thoughts of garbage generally trigger images of filth and refuse for most of us, the same object is a source of income for him. John at his Dry Waste Collection Centre. Pic:…

I was surprised to see news reports that the Women's Right Commission (WRC) chief has written to the DGP and the Home Minister asking the State to discourage the Kiss of Love protest, because she felt it was uncivilised. In some ways, it shows how little she understands what her own job is. The WRC is intended to be a progressive body. If all that is required in a commission like this is that it should merely reflect whatever is going on in society, we would not need it at all. Child rights, women's rights, gender rights, dalit rights, minority…

On October 2nd, Prime Minister Modi announced Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Mission Clean India. In his speech, he appealed to Indians to devote 100 hours every year towards the cause of cleanliness. He also stated, “It is our social responsibility as citizens of India to help fulfil Gandhiji's vision of Clean India, by his 150th birth anniversary in 2019.” Since then, the media has been reporting of clean-up drives across the country, involving bigwigs from the industry, celebrities, politicians, NGOs and what not, almost on a daily basis. Why, some politicians even arranged for garbage to be littered, so that they had…