This year has been one of dramatic growth at PARI. We have seen our stories picked up by other publications. We have seen problems finding resolution as a result of stories that first appeared on PARI. This year we have started receiving awards for the work done at PARI. A dramatic growth in volunteers, donors, readers.
All of this would not be possible without you. Thank you for believing in us. Thank you for walking along.
As 2016 ends, we’d like to share some of our notable stories from this year.
Now you eat it, now you don’t by Sweta Daga
Wild foods and medicinal plants are disappearing from the forests of Panarwa in Rajasthan.
The last post – and a bridge too far by Arpita Chakrabarty
This report by PARI about a village without a post office resulted in Sera Badoli getting a post office within two days of it getting published.
How to steal a 79,000-crore rupee forest by Chitrangada Choudhury
In seven Keonjhar villages, Adivasi consent is manufactured to turn their forest into an iron ore mine
The sacred waters of a Tanker by P. Sainath
The sacred Ramkunda bathing ghat went dry in April and had been kept alive by pouring water from 60-90 tankers a day into it.
When Shalubai won the chair, but lost the table by Namita Waikar
A Dalit woman brought small yet significant change to Wagholi village of Osmanabad district in Maharashtra.
The long aftermath of hunger by Purusottam Thakur
In 1996, Balmati Naik died of starvation in Barlabaheli village, Odisha, leaving behind her six-year-old orphan, Gundhar. Two decades on, this reporter revisits the village looking for the young man, and traces his continuing story of struggle
The Benz and the Banjara by P. Sainath
Tractor loans at 15.9 per cent trapped Aurangabad farmers like Hirabai in debt. But Mercedes Benz loans there were going for 7 per cent at the same time. Yet, sales of both were seen as rural progress
‘In emergencies we are really stranded’ by Urvashi Sarkar
Falling ill in the Sundarbans is a gamble – with difficult terrain, only a handful of health care centres and few doctors willing to work there, the people turn to mobile medical units or other intermittent and long-distance options – usually at great cost
‘Captain Elder Brother’ and the whirlwind army by P. Sainath
At 94, a forgotten hero of India’s struggle for freedom returns to the scene of his most daring exploit in the anti-British Raj uprising that saw a parallel government established in Satara, Maharashtra, in 1943
Photo-stories at PARI
When Meenakshi beats a pot 3000 times by Aparna Karthikeyan
Meenakshi turns eight kilograms of mud into beautiful music in Manamdurai, Tamil Nadu
Journey through Kumartuli by Sinchita Maji
At the centuries-old potters’ colony in Kolkata, artisans work through the night on the clay idols that they will soon send into the city for Durga Puja
When the cows come home in Parkidih by Arunava Patra and Ujjal Pal
Santals of Purulia district in West Bengal offer thanks to their cows during the ‘go-bnadna’ festival
Small farmer, big heart, miracle bike by Aparna Karthikeyan
Chandra Subramanian is a single mom, cultivator and retailer in Sivagangai district, Tamil Nadu
Notable Video Stories
Jahangir’s story by Sayantoni Palchoudhuri
In north Bihar, embankments built by the government along the turbulent Kosi have created conflict, aggravated floods and caused huge losses to the people living in Ghongepur and other villages
Ima Keithel: every day is women’s day by Anubha Bhonsle & Sunzu Bachaspatimayum
This women’s market is a nerve centre of Imphal, its spirit intact even after the recent earthquake
The dance of the false-legged horse by Aparna Karthikeyan
The top Poikkal Kuthirai dancers of Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, struggle to make a living from their ancient folk art form
Weaves of Maheshwar by Nidhi Kamath and Keya Vaswani
Award winning story of triumph of the revival of weaving in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh.
Mending boats with music by V. Sasikumar
In Alappuzha, Kerala, super-skilled labourers merge repair and rhythms at work
