HUMAN RIGHTS

Take a drive from Dehradun’s iconic Forest Research Institute (FRI) towards the city centre, the Clock Tower, and you will observe a clogged, toxic and dead Bindal river. Much of the uncollected waste from the city finds its way here. Next to the river are almost 30,000 slum dwellings harbouring a population of 1.25 lakh people. It is also a home to around 100 to 150 waste picker families. Apart from Bindal, large numbers of waste picker families live in the slums of Kanwali, Lakkhibagh, Premnagar and Kargi. Enter Bindal slum and one can see many homeless children carrying waste…

C Akhila(name changed), a 12-year-old Muslim girl was forced into marriage by her family, six months ago. Her mother, who is going through a prolonged illness, persuaded her to get married to a 24-year-old man. The persuasion got violent when Akhila asked the groom to call off the wedding. “The girl threatened to complain to Childline if the wedding was not called off. Her family had hit her black and blue for doing so,” said Suganthi from Arunodhaya trust. If you think child marriages are confined to rural areas, Akhila’s incident that happened in Chennai proves you are wrong. Tales…

What does it mean to be a doctor? To have a doctor in your family? For most people in the mainstream of India it is a matter of pride, a status symbol. Maybe a way to earn a lot of money. And of course a way to heal people, at a big hospital in a big city. Maybe open a clinic of your own. Maybe open a hospital of your own (if your parents can afford it). Most doctors in the mainstream prefer not to treat their own family members for various reasons. I have a doctor in my family.…

Dr K Jayakumar of Congress defeated the incumbent and two-time MP P Venugopal of the ADMK. The other challenger in the fray was Makkal Needhi Maiam’s M Logarangan. Thiruvallur shares its border with Andhra Pradesh and has a  sizeable Telugu population in the constituency. With a mix of urban and rural localities, Thiruvallur has an average literacy rate of 83 percent. Thiruvallur Parliamentary constituency is comprised of six assembly constituencies — Madhavaram, Poonamallee, Avadi, Ponneri, Gummidipoondi and Thiruvallur. Thiruvallur was carved out as a separate constituency in 2008 after delimitation. A total of 20 candidates are contesting from various political…

The #MeToo movement in India gathered momentum in the south when playback singer Chinmayi Sripada exposed popular Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu for sexually harassing her during a show and threatened to end her career after she did not give in to his overtures. A dubbing artist too, Chinmayi was  expelled from South Indian Cine and Television Artistes and Dubbing Artistes Union following her allegations against Vairamuthu. She disclosed that she was slut shamed  and there was also a concerted effort to destroy her career in the film industry. More recently, the Justice S.A. Bobde in-house committee has given the Chief Justice…

Chennai Central results on May 23 saw the DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran emerging the winner. He beat his nearest rivals Sam Paul (PMK) and Kameela Nasser (MNM) with a comfortable margin. Chennai Central is a diverse constituency with a wide cross-section of voters belonging to all socio-economic classes. There is cultural diversity as well - a sizeable Hindi and Urdu speaking population, apart from Telugus and Malayalis.  It has a significant Muslim population - over 2 lakhs - in Chepauk – Triplicane and Egmore assembly constituencies. Chennai Central Parliamentary constituency is comprised of six assembly constituencies — Villivakkam, Egmore (SC), Harbour,…

Dr Kalanidhi Veeraswamy of the DMK has won from North Chennai. He is the son of veteran DMK leader and former state minister Arcot Veeraswamy. A doctor and graduate of Stanley Medical College, this is Kalanidhi’s political debut. Citizen Matters had interviewed Dr Kalanidhi during the election campaign in April. Here he talks about his plans for improving North Chennai, from closing the Kodangaiyur dump yard to decongestion, from creation of jobs to infrastructure for fisherfolk. What are the problems that people put forth to you over the course of your campaign? The information we got from assembly constituencies and…

Saritha M, a 26-year-old from Kodungaiyur suffered from skin infections for as long as she could remember. Multiple visits to hospitals would bring temporary respite, but permanent recovery remained elusive. "Two years ago, I shifted from Kodungaiyur after my marriage. Soon afterward, my skin infection was completely cured," said Saritha, concluding that the polluted groundwater in her locality was the reason behind the infections. "My doctor is certain that the infection had been caused by dangerous chemicals in the water. Even today, if I stay at my mother's house for more than ten days, the infection reappears. It takes a…

Cyclone Fani blew in and out of Orissa nearly two weeks back. But relief and rehabilitation of lakhs of affected people in Puri, Cuttack and Bhubaneshwar is yet to pick up pace. Pitching in, mainly in Bhubaneshwar, with the aim of getting local communities involved in the restoration works is Civil Society Responds to Fani (CSRF), an initiative by a group of state-based not-for-profit organisations. While the state and central government’s disaster response teams are busy clearing roads and rebuilding the electricity and other infrastructure networks, CSRF volunteers are trying to mobilise residents to participate in the work being done…

Translated by Sandhya Raju சென்னையில் மென்பொருள் பொறியாளராக வேலைக்கு வரும் முன், மேகலா குமாரியின் வாழ்க்கைத்தரம் சவால்கள் நிறைந்ததாகவே இருந்தது.  ஏழ்மையான குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்த இவர், தனது படிப்பை தொடர இளம் வயதிலேயே பகுதி நேர வேலைக்கு செல்லும் நிர்பந்த்ததில் இருந்தார்.  சமூக சான்றிதழ் பற்றி அவர்  அறிந்திருந்தால் கடினமான சூழலில் வளர நேர்ந்திருக்காது. "என்னிடம் சமூக சான்றிதழ் இருந்திருந்தால், கல்வி கட்டணத்தில் சலுகை கிடைத்திருக்கும், இலவச சீருடை, புத்தகப்பை கூட கிடைத்திருக்கும்" என்று கூறும் மேகலா தன் பட்டப்படிப்பு போது தான் சாதி சான்றிதழை பெற்றிருக்கிறார். மேகலா போன்று ஆயிரக்கணக்கானோர் சமூக சான்றிதழின் முக்கியத்துவத்தை பற்றி இன்னும் அறியாமல் தான் இருக்கிறார்கள். மிகவும் பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட, பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட சமூகத்தை சேர்ந்தவர்கள், பழங்குடி இனத்தவர்கள் ஆகியவர்கள் அரசின் சலுகைகளை பெற சமூக சான்றிதழ் எனப்படும் சாதி சான்றிதழ் மிகவும் அவசியம். மத்திய மற்றும் மாநில அரசுகளில் இப்பிரிவனர்களுக்காக ஒதுக்கப்பட்டுள்ள வேலை வாய்ப்பினை…