Activism

These women from Self Help Groups in Orissa have solved the problem of open defecation in a very interesting way. They not only started patrolling the streets but also planted the holy "Tulsi" plant to stop people from defecating in the open. Meet the amazing whistle blowers and their story of making their block completely "swachh".

When he faced harassment by a corrupt and arrogant ticket checker in a local train in Mumbai, instead of accepting the injustice in the interest of time or fear of reprisal, he decided to use the powers vested in him by the laws of the nation and took the challenge head on. Here's his first-hand account of what transpired, how he dealt with it, why he did it and how we can all stand up for our rights too.

Right to Information gives a lot of power to a person but most of us don't know how to use this tool. Government has now launched an online course to give a hands-on experience of RTI. The course will help you understand the tool and will also give you a practical exposure of the same.

Meera Sanyal & Medha Patkar are Aam Aadmi Party candidates for the Mumbai elections. They are two of the 57 women candidates fielded by AAP. They come from completely different backgrounds, have contrasting visions and yet - have a common cause!

Read about the incredible life and struggle of human rights activist Irom Sharmila whose hunger strike against the controversial AFSPA in Manipur continues even after 13 years of self-sacrifice and hardships!

Ensuring success of the RTE inclusion policy requires concerted efforts by all of us. Here is an organization that is working to spread awareness about the process and helping more deserving candidates from Economically Weaker Sections of the society get their seats in private schools. With only 2 days left for the current admission cycle to close, if you know of any such deserving students, here's what you can do!

Watch this video and see how local residents and government officials came together to transform a garbage dump into a beautiful public park!

Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP), a union of scrap collectors started by Dr Baba Adhav in 1993, has now become a force much larger than just a collection of waste pickers, mostly women. It serves as a platform for voicing grievances and as a medium for pushing developmental programmes to this highly marginalised segment of the society. From financial support, education and insurance facilities to intangibles like dignity of labour and quality of life, read how a collective can change lives.

Savitribai Phule may not be as famous as Mahatma Gandhi or Swami Vivekananda. But her impact on the liberation of the Indian woman has been no less spectacular or significant. One of the earliest crusaders of education for girls, and dignity for the most vulnerable sections of society - dalits, women and widows, Savitribai broke all the traditional shackles of 19th century India to herald a new age of thinking. She can be legitimately hailed as the mother of Indian Feminism. Read about her remarkable life of courage and initiative.

Kaas is Maharashtra’s own Valley of Flowers. But unlike its namesake in the Himalayas which is accessible only after an arduous trek, Kaas is at an easily motorable distance from Mumbai and other places. It is this easy accessibility that’s the bane of Kaas. And it is in this context that the conservation efforts of a few dedicated people become extremely significant.