Dear Reader,
Journalists and activists have been under the cosh in recent times, with threats, detentions and cases -- mostly for taking up public causes, often in defiance of local governments and leaders.
Article 14 reports from Sidhi in north-eastern Madhya Pradesh, on the detention of ten men, including a journalist, who were made to strip, ostensibly because they dared to question a local legislator of the ruling party. This follows a pattern in the state, which ranks only behind Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh when it comes to attacks on journalists.
Institutional care is critical to reducing maternal mortality and bolstering the health of both the mother and the child. However, a ground report from Uttar Pradesh by Mojo Story shockingly finds that blatantly perpetuated stigma and discrimination based on religion have deprived pregnant women of basic care and dignity in state-run medical facilities.
The India Forum brings you the story of India’s first Primary Health Centre (PHC), established in Najafgarh, in West Delhi, in 1949. The model for the role of the ‘public health nurse’, developed at the PHC – one, getting the citizens and the community to the health centre and two, documenting their health status and access – has stood the test of time.
And, in an impact story, seven years after the Andhra Pradesh Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Special Task Force (RSASTF) killed 20 men from Tamil Nadu in an “encounter” in the Seshachalam forest, for their alleged involvement in smuggling red sanders, The News Minute brings the anguish of their families, who still await justice. Following the coverage, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin responded and promised them legal assistance.
For more such stories from the grantees, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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