Why A Dalit Woman Is Demanding A Cremation Ground For Dalits In Her Village

In rural Maharashtra, landless Dalit families often struggle to find space to cremate their dead. Pramila Zombade wants that to change


Gender Based Violence Among Adivasis Comes From Long Years Of Paternalist, Upper Caste Administration

‘Modern’ institutions like schools, colleges, hospitals, media and the district and state administrations have played a big role in shaping the gender dynamics among Adivasis


Love Should Be A Radical Tool Of Rebellion Against Caste

A trainer who works with marginalised youth groups believes that Dalit women in intercaste relationships do not get the respect they deserve


Godna: The Resistance Art Form Of Madhubani’s Dalit Dusadh Women

Godna, the fine art of tattoo painting, is practised by Dalit Dusadh women. Its approach, raw material, and themes are nothing like the more popular Mithila artwork


Jaharveer Mela In Mathura Is An Assertion of Dalit Faith, Cultural Identity

The Jaharveer festival is an important event in the life of Mathura’s Valmikis, marking their distinct culture and identity


Dalit Lacemakers Of Narsapuram: How They Found Dignity And Livelihood In 19th Century

A craft brought by the missionaries changed the lives of Dalit women in multiple ways before it became the domain of a dominant caste


The Subtle Brutal Flavours of Casteism In My Family Kitchen

In an intercaste marriage, patriarchy and caste privilege decide food practices


Dalit History Month: Writing Our Own Histories

Dalit histories are diverse and it is important to record and remember everything we can until they become mainstream.


‘Over 80% Of Nomadic Homes Have No Toilets, 70% None Near Them’

With no attention paid to their sanitation needs, India’s nomadic communities are forced to either defecate in the open or struggle for access to unsafe and […]


Why India’s Nomadic Tribes Must Have Access To Toilets And Dignity

“You are talking about money for ration. Forget hundreds of rupees for food, we don’t have Rs 10 to give to the toilet attendant for our […]


How Caste Pride Is Driving The Spate Of Child Marriages In TN

In the evening hours of the last week of May, I was getting ready to attend a political meeting when my phone buzzed. It was Poorvaja*, […]


‘Where Can They Burn Their Pads?’ Caste And Access To Menstrual Products

Lack of information on and access to hygienic practices adversely affects girls and women, especially from marginalized castes and tribes. Only 37% women across India reported […]


A Dalit Women’s Union Wrests a First-Ever Private Pact Ensuring Gender Safety At Work

After a year-long campaign by a Dalit women’s union in Tamil Nadu, the multinational fast-fashion brand H&M and its Tamil Nadu-based supplier, Eastman Exports Global Clothing […]


Dalit Survivors Of Sexual Violence Deal With Blocks To Justice At Every Step

[This article contains descriptions of sexual and physical violence, which might trigger unwelcome and distressing memories or thoughts. We advise readers to use their discretion before […]


Why UP’s Crime Records Fail To Report Full Extent Of Crimes Against Dalit Women

[This article contains descriptions of sexual and physical violence, which might trigger unwelcome and distressing memories or thoughts. We advise readers to use their discretion before […]


‘We Live, Work In Filth And Are Treated Like Filth:’ Punjab’s Dalit Women Caught In Cycle Of Bonded Work

Tej Kaur, a Dalit Sikh , has been cleaning and collecting cow dung for 30 years. Her walk is steady but the strain and struggle of working […]


‘We Are Harassed, Beaten’: Adivasi Women Who Demand Forest Land Rights In Gujarat

“Ye pitai khayi hui auratein hain (These are the women who’ve got beaten up).” That is how we are introduced to Nandaben Nayak, Navliben Nayak and […]


Isolated, Bindu Ammini Fights A Lone Battle Against Orthodoxy

“Pinnottilla (won’t backtrack)”. That message in Malayalam on Bindu Ammini’s WhatsApp profile summarises her life so far. The 43-year-old Dalit activist and lecturer of law has […]


“If something happens to me, Hindutva outfits responsible”: A Dalit Woman Journalist Receives Death Threats

“You will suffer the same fate as Gauri Lankesh,”  Meena Kotwal, a Dalit woman journalist and founder of the media platform The Mooknayak ,was told over […]


Dalit and Adivasi Students’ Futures At Stake As Scholarship Schemes Cut

Sujata Lilaka (21), a final year nursing student at YMT Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital in Kharghar in Panvel district of Maharashtra, collapsed on her way […]


Adivasi Women Bear The Brunt Of Slow Community Forest Rights Approvals In Gujarat

It has been years since  the women of Bilmarh, a  village on a small hillock some 25 km from Ahwa, the district headquarters of Dang district, […]


Dalit Women Wait To Till Their Lands In Gujarat

“We were happy — we wouldn’t have to work in others’ fields anymore. We were going to be farmers,” says Daksha Ben Babu Bhai Parmar, a […]


Central Government Disbands Scheme For Dalit And Adivasi Girls’ Education

The Union government has discontinued the National Scheme for Incentive to Girl Child for Secondary Education (NSIGSE)  a central government scheme aimed to incentivise education among […]


Dalit And Adivasi Women Leaders Secure Community Rights

Surta Bairwa (33), the former Dalit Sarpanch of  Srirampura Panchayat in Rajasthan’s Tonk district had enough of the centuries old dominance of the upper caste Gurjars. […]


Women From The Bedia Community In Morena (MP) Suffer Disproportionately As Their Work Halts

The duration of lockdown has proven difficult for everyone, but it has been more challenging for those who belong to the marginalized sections of the society, […]