Citizens for Justice and Peace
Pir Mehboob Shah Fair: Celebration of syncretic traditions CJP Fellow Ripon Sheikh takes us through this journey
26-Dec-2020
CJP Grassroots fellow Ripon Sheikh takes us through this renowned fair in West Bengal’s Patharchapuri where tourists, from all around the world, come together on the death anniversary of Sufi Pir Data Mehboob Shah. He goes on to speak to small business owners who run their stalls in the fair and have suffered a major…
Will the 125-year old Bolpur Poush Mela be held this year? Visva Bharati University first cancelled the fair, then retracted the cancellation
19-Dec-2020
CJP fellowship 2020 researcher Ripon Sheikh, tracks and documents the confusion, around the massive cultural celebration, and the anger that is simmering over its possible cancellation. Poush Mela is regarded as a living heritage of West Bengal, one that has put the culture and vivacity of Shantiniketan in Bolpur on the world map. It celebrates…
Bandna Parab: A festival that celebrates light and life A lesser known festival of lights, celebrated by indigenous communities to mark the changing season and give thanks to the land
05-Dec-2020
Around the same time most parts of the country celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, there are many indigenous communities who celebrate many ancient festivals of their own. Most of these festivals are not yet recognised on the mainstream calendars, even though they are ancient, and are rooted in celebrating the elements, changing seasons, and…
Lockdown has reduced lives of bidi labourers to ashes! Drop in wages leading to extreme financial distress
01-Dec-2020
Ever since the Covid-19 global pandemic struck and led to the country-wide lockdown that began in March 2020, its negative impact on the Indian economy has been catastrophic. Cottage industries of rural India are the worst affected, families running them having been pushed to the brink of penury! Those involved with the cottage industry in West Bengal, especially bidi workers, are today amidst extreme…
The unending plight of migrant workers in Bengal CJP Fellow Ripon Sheikh reports from Birbhum
13-Nov-2020
Ripon Sheikh, a CJP fellow, travels around Birbhum, West Bengal to document the condition of those migrant workers, and their families, who have lost their sources of income amid lockdown, and forced to work on others’ fields, earning way less than they used to. The condition is so grave that kids, as young as nine…
CJP Grassroots Fellowship: Meet Ripon Sheikh who documents rural Bengal CJP aims at enabling young men and women document the world around them
17-Sep-2020
CJP’s fellowships are aimed at young men and women, much like Ripon Sheikh seen in this video, from the communities we work with. Migrant workers, Adivasis, forest workers and the urban poor. The fellowships would enable them to document the world around them, so that they can seek sustainable solutions for problems of their communities.…