Citizens for Justice and Peace
Lockdown impact: Lungi weavers left in the lurch Part-6 of our on-going series based on CJP's Purvanchal fact-finding mission examining the decline of the traditional weaving industry
01-Sep-2021
CJP’s fact-finding team studying the impact of the Lockdown on weavers in Uttar Pradesh’s Purvanchal region, found itself in Shahpur, Azamgarh in November 2020. Here, we came across Ahmed Ansari, who weaves and sells lungis or traditional waist cloth. He told us how the increasing cost of raw materials and electricity charges as well as…
Increase in child marriages, a side effect of Lockdown? Avenues for education and employment shut, child marriage on the rise in West Bengal’s poorest areas
19-Aug-2021
It is well known that there has been a huge imbalance in access to digital education during the Covid-19 Lockdown. However, there has been another sinister fallout that is yet to create the outrage it should have, across India… the increase in cases of child marriages. According to the Department of Women and Child Welfare,…
“Even if I don’t get to eat in the village, I will die in peace here” Migrant workers who returned home and took to small-time farming, unable to sustain the families
14-Aug-2021
“There is not a single paisa in my hand,” is something I have heard often when talking to people living in rural Bengal. However, it shook me when Samil Sheikh, a labourer who had returned home from Ranchi told me he had “tied a towel” on his stomach to curb his hunger pangs. “The young…
CJP comes to the aid of suicide survivor-turned-detention camp inmate Fazar Ali had jumped into the Brahmaputra, and the cops arrested him from the hospital!
09-Aug-2021
The tragic story of Fazar Ali might have a happy ending. The distraught man, unable to cope with the trauma of being declared foreigner, had attempted suicide by jumping into the Brahmaputra. But though he was rescued, police nabbed him from the hospital. Now, CJP is helping him secure conditional bail in line with judgments…
CJP Impact: Churki Hansda goes from being called “Dayan” to “Di” Once accused of being a witch, this Covid Warrior is now an icon in Birbhum
05-Aug-2021
Remember Churki Hansda? Her inspirational story, published on the CJP website, has created waves across West Bengal. People are amazed that Churki Hansda, a Covid Warrior known for rushing oxygen concentrators, cylinders and medicines to the most deprived homes, herself had to struggle to survive a life of hardship. Many were shocked to find out…
Floods washing away the future for many in West Bengal Farmers working on small plots suffer most, as they also miss out on government’s relief packages
04-Aug-2021
If you thought that surviving the dual onslaught of Covid-19 and cyclone Amphan was a feat, residents of several districts of South Bengal, now have floods to deal with. Though, floods are so regular here, that anything short of devastation, doesn’t even ring alarm bells as loud as it should, anymore. Due to the incessant…
HC order empowers Van Gujjars during Covid-19 The community was finally allowed to enter the meadows of Uttarkashi
03-Aug-2021
The course the Covid-19 pandemic will now take, remains as unpredictable as ever. One the one hand, there is talk of a slowdown of the spread of the disease, one the other, there are also reports of an imminent arrival of the third wave if protocol is not adhered to. However, one cannot ignore the…
What happens when a ‘school’ drives to the students? Many children in rural Bengal are deprived of online education, but an initiative has begun to show the way
28-Jul-2021
The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a massive toll on education, especially for children from less privileged backgrounds. In this story we take a look at how a school on wheels is attempting to solve the problem in villages in West Bengal. As the Covid-19 pandemic raged, around 1.5 million schools in India were shut, disrupting…
Small town barbers trimming their own needs to survive Lockdowns may be lifting, however customers are yet to return to the local saloons
27-Jul-2021
The neighbourhood barber shops were more than a place to seek regular grooming, these ‘saloons’ as they are popularly called were more like a club. For instance, the men’s saloons were the one place where the entire neighbourhood’s gossip was discussed. Yes, men gossip, especially when at the barber. And the said barber would all…
Who is Erendro Leichombam? The jailed Manipur based political activist faces sedition and NSA charges
15-Jul-2021
Erendro Leichombam is a 40-year-old political activist who reportedly holds a postgraduate degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, and is a former associate of civil rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila. Leichombam has been lodged in the Sajjwa jail since May 13, 2021, along with journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhem for a Facebook post condoling the…