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Dear Reader,
India abolished bonded labour in 1976 but it is estimated that over 11 million people, largely from marginalised communities, still continue to remain victims of this modern slavery and human trafficking. A nine-month long, four-part, investigation by Article 14 from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana reveals a litany of tragic tales of untold and raw human suffering.
Such ground realities of how significant parts of India’s population are excluded from the larger push for development and rights are manifest on other fronts too.
For instance, despite the giant strides that India has taken in digital connectivity and adoption, what we take for granted in the cities and towns – an internet connection – is still a distant reality for many. The citizens in the hinterlands have to trek several kilometres, for instance, to register their KYC biometrically - a stipulation to access the rations under the PDS scheme. As Main Bhi Bharat reports from the Bejada village from the Sondhwa block in the Alirajpur district in Madhya Pradesh that the trek not only means a whole day of travel to the neighbouring Tehsil, but also leaving their farms and livestock unattended, their only source of livelihood.
So also, the stereotyping of genders, particularly women, has been a bane of our society, which, unfortunately, is also pervasive in our criminal justice system. In a landmark move, the Supreme Court has published a 30-page “Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes”, which the Supreme Court Observer says is a ready-reckoner and guide to dispel “harmful” biases and regressive usages in judicial decision-making and writing.
And, as we marked our 77th Independence Day last week, many of us are likely to have bought the tricolour from a roadside vendor. However, rarely have we paused to think about the lives of those who handed us that flag, and what freedom and the banner mean to them. The Probe chronicles their realities and aspirations.
For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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