Positive Externalities: Lessons from a Participatory Workshop on Heat and Mental Health
Anecdotes can spark new research Our interest in heat and its impact on mental health has been shaped by our belief in the power of storytelling and collaborative inquiry as part of evidence-building. This interest partly emerged from our previous project that focused on the lives of women who work in public spaces. During the […]
The Dailiness of Violence
There is a specific way in which we react to a gruesome sexual assault in India. From Nirbhaya to the recent Kolkata case, we come out in protest against the victimization of women, and our outrage, anger, and arguments are about justice, crime, and punishment. We want a solution from the State. We want to […]
A Bus Journey
Travelling by public transport, especially BMTC buses is something that I have been doing for a long time – about 8 years now. I take one of the traditional bus routes in Bangalore (Mysore Road) which has cultural and historical significance [1] and thus embarking on this bus journey is an adventure that encloses a […]
Fighting the Good Fight: My Journey as a Feminist Researcher
“The heart of justice is truth telling, seeing ourselves and the world the way it is rather than the way we want it to be. More than ever before we, as a society, need to renew a commitment to truth telling.” bell hooks This month of March is quite significant for many of us in […]
Union Budget and the health of Democracy
I am writing this note after listening to the Finance Minister’s speech, which was accompanied by the thumping of the ruling party on the floor. After listening to the very carefully crafted rhetoric that was put before the citizenry, I (as a citizen of this country) want to present my position vis-à-vis the much-emphasised spending […]
Remembering Nehru
Nehru’s death anniversary – May 27. I recall going, like so many others, to Teen Murty. An opportunity to reflect on Nehru’s achievements and failures. Acknowledging several failures, I see his overall contributions as positive, importantly positive. Today, ‘Nehru ke Aulaad’ has become an abuse. This is tragic. He is accused of awarding himself the […]
The question of difference (Part three of three): Poverty of Imagination
Feminist or a Womanist? . . . Those in the middle get caught in the cross—fire away at the other side. If you are not for us, then you must be against us. If you are not for us, then you must be against us. People get scared enough, they pick a team. Be it […]
The question of difference (Part two of three): Meaning of difference
Sleeping, turning in turn like planets Sleeping, turning in turn like planets rotating in their midnight meadow: a touch is enough to let us know we’re not alone in the universe, even in sleep: the dream-ghosts of two worlds walking their ghost-towns, almost address each other. I’ve wakened to your muttered words spoken light- or […]
The question of difference (Part one of three): Two stories
Postcard from God – I Yes, I do feel like a visitor, a tourist in this world that I once made. I rarely talk, except to ask the way, distrusting my interpreters, tired out by the babble of what they do not say. I walk around through battered streets, distinctly lost, looking for landmarks from […]
How has Beti Bachao Beti Padhao fared in five years?
One of the flagship programmes of the Narendra Modi Government that has created a lot of buzz is Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. However, the scheme has fared well neither in its design nor in its implementation. The scheme majorly runs in two components; mass media communication and multi-sectoral intervention. I will be commenting critically on […]