Society

Rumours of child kidnappings on the internet rise time and time again. They are easy fodder on social media and messaging applications, featuring audiovisual media or text warning of child kidnappings at mass. With content that is often alarming, depicting a scary tale of children in danger, they prey on the concerns of parents and teachers. Mumbai is not immune to this. This past September, viral messages and social media posts of child kidnappings rumours led to an atmosphere of fear and suspicion in many pockets of the city, including Kanjurmarg, Ghatkopar, Andheri, Jogeshwari, etc. In one instance, two suspected…

As we look forward to observing World Disability Day on December 3rd, it is pertinent to question whether Bengaluru is satisfactorily accessible, in terms of public spaces, buildings, mobility, public transport, for persons with disabilities or if there is a lot left to be desired. “The most difficult thing is accessibility to resources and information for people living with disabilities,” says Parinitha P, a resident of Bengaluru and a Person with Disability (PwD). Disabled-friendly infrastructure - only on paper The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWDA) notified the Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier Free Built Environment for…

Every woman in India has felt unsafe while accessing public spaces. Even though Mumbai is considered relatively safer for women when compared to other metropolitan cities, incidents of sexual violence are not uncommon in the city. To address women's safety in Mumbai, Citizen Matters Mumbai held an hour-long virtual discussion with researchers, legal experts, and activists. The discussion first shed light on the acts of violence that women and other vulnerable genders are subjected to daily and then turned towards the question of how they can be prevented. Speaking about her experience while researching for her book Why Loiter: Women &…

Public libraries, often referred to as the 'people’s university', form an integral part of the social framework. They are not just institutions for borrowing books, but also providers of information, knowledge and education, making them the social nerve of any locality. In Karnataka, public libraries are governed by the Karnataka Public Libraries Act, 1965. The lack of a legislative review over the years has led to problems with the availability and accessibility of public libraries for all sections of society. The global pandemic has given rise to a new set of challenges that libraries are now facing, exhibiting their inability…

For nearly a decade, Kamatchi* harboured dreams of becoming a District Collector. She was regular at school and did not miss any classes. She was certain that once she achieved her dreams she would be able to allocate new houses for the residents of Kannappar Thidal, where she lived with her family. But the increasing instances of child marriages in Chennai, especially in its resettlement colonies, have shattered the dreams of many like Kamatchi. "We have been here all our lives near the Ripon Building where many IAS officers work. I wanted to enter that building only as an IAS…

Language. One simple word that hosts so many worlds.  The spoken word (and its written version) form the basis of human social interaction from the start of civilization. Linguistic anthropology is a fascinating study of why we speak the way we do. Every language has a place of origin from where it travels the world, adding to the community treasury of speech wherever we choose to make our lives. So the Hindi word “loot” could make it to the English language and the Tamil word “kolaveri” was added to our national lexicon.  But while a multilingual society (like Bengaluru where…

A traffic policewoman in Chennai is no less than Wonder Woman, battling the city's heat, traffic and pollution with great strength; and when you violate traffic rules, she wields her lasso to catch you. "A little less than 1% of the traffic police force is made up of women," says S Rajendiran, Joint Commissioner of Traffic Police (South). "Despite the small number, the force is very motivated and competent in what they do." We catch up with R Bagavathi, a woman traffic police constable (PC) in Chennai, to discuss her journey as a traffic woman PC in a role which…

I could barely contain my excitement as I stood looking at the Biswa Bangla painting ‘Making of the Goddess’ at the airport. It was Panchami and I was finally in Kolkata to be a part of ‘Pujo,’ which is synonymous with Durga Puja for anyone from Bengal. I had read somewhere that there were around 2500-3000 pandals in Kolkata alone this year and I wanted to see at least 1% of them if not more. After all, Durga Puja in Kolkata had been recently declared by the UNESCO to be on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of…

In September 2022, a lawyer, while traveling to work, was molested inside a local train. She shared her ordeal on Twitter, in a detailed thread that outlined not only the incident but her experience as she tried to report it to the police immediately after the incident. At the time of posting, police negligence towards her case pushed her to take to social media. Earlier in 2022, police data revealed that there was a sharp rise in sexual assault cases in the city in the last five years. Crime against women rose from 1,194 (reported) cases in 2017 to 1,541…

George Town in Chennai encompasses NSC Bose Road and many bylanes that bustle with activity at all times. It is a wholesale market where businesses and individuals buy goods in bulk for cheap. The narrow lanes and many shops make navigation of these roads very difficult. While much has changed about the area over the years, the tricycle carts used by cart pullers to transport goods have remained constant. In the din, from dawn to dusk, one can spot men on their tricycles, moving goods to and from the market. They work close to 12-14 hours a day. The cart…