Climate change adds to impoverished athletes’ stress
In rural India, it can become impossible to train because of catastrophic floods or other natural disasters. This causes anxiety for young people who see sport as a way out of poverty.
Stories by: Sanket Jain
Confronting India’s high rate of ‘missing’ births
Having girl foetuses aborted because families prefer boys is a practice that remains worryingly common. It takes years of patience and work to persuade communities otherwise.
India’s ‘barefoot counsellors’ make life bearable
For impoverished women who are abused and depressed, the care of untrained mental health workers presents the only possibility of getting some relief from their despair.
Saving mothers and babies is a thankless task
In rural India, maternal healthcare falls to women workers who have the barest minimum of resources. And while the families of those they save are thankful, the government barely acknowledges them.
India’s farmers in a vicious cycle of devastation
Floods have wiped out some small farmers’ crops more than once, forcing them to use fertiliser to boost growth and recoup costs. But the long-term effects are even more costly.
India’s village fair sellers are struggling
Those who travel the country selling their wares have been unable to earn during Covid lockdowns. Stuck at home, they’ve become mired in debt and their children have suffered a further disadvantage.
Climate change is thwarting education in India
More and more young people are being forced into manual labour to help their families survive the financial impacts of floods and other natural disasters.
Narendra Modi’s ‘false’ farm promises
India’s prime minister made big assurances to farmers five years ago, but his government has not delivered and has now been forced to backtrack on its contentious farm laws.
Learning to live with nature is a balancing act
This second of a two-part series on conservation in India takes a look at the ordinary people who work tirelessly to reduce conflict between humans and a wide variety of animals.
Volunteers save thousands of human and animal lives
In the first of a two-part series on conservation in India, the spotlight falls on snake rescuers who teach communities to live and let live as far as these reptiles are concerned.
The inventor changing the lives of Indian farmers
A young Indian’s innovative tools, ingeniously made from recycled and scrap materials, ease workers’ tasks, saving them time, money and energy.
The grim reality for India’s rural PhD students
Floods and lockdowns have forced these students into multiple often menial jobs, with closed libraries and universities further affecting their ability to conduct research and meet supervisors.
Photo Essay | India’s devastating floods
Farmers and agricultural workers in Maharashtra state are homeless, landless and wiped out financially as they continue to struggle with Covid-19.
India’s health workers are underpaid and overworked
The women who liaise between village residents and the public health system are on the brink of collapse, working long hours for little pay to manage Covid-19 on top of their regular duties.
The rural women keeping Covid-19 at bay in India
The devastating second wave of Covid-19 in India could have been deadlier if not for women frontline healthcare workers in rural areas who face many challenges while performing essential tasks.
‘There’s something that has gone completely wrong’
In this final of a two-part series on Narayan Gaikwad, the social justice activist tells of life under Covid, the recent farmers’ protests and what it takes to be a revolutionary.
Answer the siren call and make the elites fear it
This first in a two-part series tells the story of how Narayan Gaikwad, a crusader for social justice in rural parts of India, became a leading activist for the rights of farm workers.
Photo Essay | A life measured in sugar cane
Migrant labourers in India’s Maharashtra state produce millions of tonnes of sugar through their back-breaking work, but they earn just enough to trap them in debt.