Society

KR market metro station is more than a transit hub in Bengaluru today, as it stands at the heart of a project that showcases the city's 500-year urban history. The Banni Nodi (come, see) series, a wayfinding and place-making project, set up in the metro station and at the Old Fort district, depicts the history of the Fort as well as the city's spatial-cultural evolution. The project has been designed and executed by Sensing Local and Native Place, and supported by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).  Archival paintings, maps and texts,…

As technology has advanced, cyber abuse and crime has also increased. Women and children are particularly vulnerable, as we have seen in our earlier reports on deepfake videos and image-based abuse. In an interview with Citizen Matters, cyber psychologist, Nirali Bhatia, talks about the psychological impact on people who have been deceived on the internet and the support system they need. Excerpts from the conversation: What should a person do, if and when they have fallen prey to a deep fake scam or image abuse? We need to understand and tell ourselves it is fake; that itself should help us…

In July 2024, the Bengaluru Film Forum, in collaboration with Goethe Institute, commemorated the birth anniversary of the Indo-German filmmaker Harun Farocki, with a three-day festival. Harun Farocki was a celebrated filmmaker with an expansive body of work. With a career spanning over five decades, Farocki made intellectually stimulating thematic films on labour, war, and cityscapes in modern, post-industrial environments. His filmmaking style ranged from "fly on the wall" to "observational" to "direct." The festival showcased over 15 of his films, many from Goethe's film archives and a few directly sourced from the Harun Farocki estate in Germany. This is indeed…

The surge in student suicides in India has reached an alarming level, with counsellors describing it as an epidemic. Between 2019 and 2021, 35,000 young lives were tragically lost to suicide, as revealed in Parliament. The numbers paint a grim picture, escalating from 10,335 in 2019 to 12,526 in 2020, reaching 13,089 in 2021.  The 2022 NCRB report recorded a total of 13,044 student suicides and stated that over the last decade (2013-22), a total of 103,961 student suicides were recorded. This was a 64% increase compared to the prior decade (2003-12). A report, Student Suicides: An Epidemic Sweeping India,…

As a very young working professional at my first job, I was once required to take a long leave to be care-giver to two family members. A much older male colleague, knowing my situation, started calling me every day, making me feel highly uncomfortable. Each time the landline rang, my heart would thud in my chest, and my legs would get wobbly. I had no one to turn to, to ask for help or advice. Finally, gathering all the courage I could muster, and summoning my sternest voice, I told him I did not want to talk to him. In my…

Recent incidents of stray dog attacks have raised concerns about the safety of the elderly and children. On August 28th, a 76-year-old woman allegedly died in a ferocious stray dog attack in Jalahalli.  In another incident last month, a 40-year-old woman in Banaswadi was bitten by a stray dog. The video of this incident went viral on social media. As reported in the media, BBMP East Zone Assistant Director of Animal Husbandry) Mallapa Bhajantri said that they received information about the dog bite from another resident of Banaswadi, but have no details about the injured woman.  The Assistant Director also…

Recently, a social media post revealed the shocking experience of a woman, who found a mobile phone hidden in the waste bin in the washroom of one of the Bengaluru outlets of a popular cafe chain. The phone camera was reportedly pointed towards the toilet seat and was recording video. The cafe states that the staffer who planted the phone was terminated and legal action was initiated against him. In another, more recent incident, a hidden camera was found in the women’s washroom of a college in Andhra Pradesh. The videos recorded via it were allegedly circulated among male students…

In May this year, the 'deepfake' controversy took a grim turn and hit closer home, when AI-generated morphed photos of a class 9 student from a prominent public school in Bengaluru, was circulated on an Instagram account. The parents lodged a complaint with the cyber crime cell. This incident raised concerns about the growing threat and damaging effects of deepfakes, particularly revenge porn, on young adults. "Even as there were fears about deepfakes being used to subvert elections, it didn't pan out that way. Of greater concern is that 95-96% of deepfakes are used for pornography," says Jaspreet Bindra, founder…

Two years ago, the Tamil Nadu government published a glossary for addressing the LGBTQIA+  community. The development occurred in large part because of the advocacy by queer and trans groups. Since its release, the glossary has shown how language plays a crucial role in the broader struggle for visibility and equality for these communities. Orinam, an LGBTQIA+ support and activist group, has been curating queer and trans Tamil terms for years. They collaborated with Queer Chennai Chronicles and The News Minute to create the official state terminology. The glossary, which contains both Tamil and English words, not just promotes inclusive…

Everyone in Mumbai or even outside, is familiar with the name Dharavi and they associate it with one of Asia's largest informal settlements. However, not many are aware of Dharavi Island, located at the mouth of Vasai Creek, far from Sion's informal settlements. On simply wandering around Dharavi Island, I started taking photos of Uttan, one of the five villages that comprise the island. I came across Uttan in November 2020, when I first ventured into photographing the city. During that time local trains were not available for citizens due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so, I had to find…