Dear Reader,
The ‘World Mental Health Day’ was marked on October 10. The disruptions the pandemic brought in its wake has taken a severe toll on mental health, which has become an invisible and unaddressed scourge of our times. It is particularly rampant amongst the Indian youth. A Lancet study found that 1-in-7 Indians under the age of 25 are affected by this malady.
Mojo Story discusses the issues of mental affliction among the youth with a panel of young persons who have not only been at the forefront of raising awareness on mental health but have themselves battled and managed depression and anxiety disorders.
Feminism in India looks at the issue from another aspect, the challenges faced by a caregiver of patients with mental health issues – a role largely invisibilised in the current narrative of mental health. According to a Nimhans survey, nearly 150 million Indians need active intervention in their struggles with mental illness, but only around 30 million people find access to it.
Last week, two journalists - Maria Ressa from the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov from Russia- were awarded the coveted Nobel Peace Prize. ThePrint delves into the work of the duo and explains why they need to be celebrated as they are the ‘bravest of the brave’ in taking on very authoritarian systems, where their own lives were on the line.
The Caravan brings an eyewitness account of the sequence of events that led to the carnage in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3 and confirms that it was indeed the car belonging to Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni, that ploughed into the crowd, killing local journalist Raman Kashyap, amongst others.
India faces severe shortage of coal; and power cuts and blackouts loom. A large number of India’s 135 coal-fired power plants are left with only a few days of coal stocks. Down To Earth examines why this has come to such a pass.
For these and more stories from the grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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