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Migration Narratives: The SHRAM Blog

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The Drowned and the Saved

By Pramod K Nayar* How do refugees feature in contemporary rhetoric? In the face of suffering the only way to keep borders closed, as Europe is beginning to discover, is to turn one’s face away. The appeal constituted by the recent photograph of a drowned toddler functions as a counter to the dystopian imaginary that […]

Travelling terms: The semantics of migration discourse

  The world has been forced to take notice of the plight of migrants stranded in the Mediterranean and Andaman Seas. Al Jazeera recently announced its decision to stop using the word ‘migrant’ in its reportage of the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean. They insist that “The umbrella term migrant is no longer fit for […]

Legal literacy camp: PEPUS

Last month, PEPUS organised a legal literacy camp for migrant workers at Patti Pervejabad, Kaushambi District, Uttar Pradesh. Due to the lack of basic legal knowledge, migrant workers are unable to fight for justice. In order to educate workers about different legal safeguards provisioned by the Constitution and by law, a legal literacy camp was organised, […]

Six months at PEPUS: A photo-essay

A visual snapshot of PEPUS (Paryavaran Evam Prodyogiki Utthan Samiti) and their interventions in the last six months. This photo-narrative presents an insight into the communities PEPUS works with, and the day-to-day interventions such organisations undertake.

Unpacking the black box of skilling

Skill development in India has become a key focus area for the new government. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship was created in 2014, and in July the Prime Minister launched the Skill India mission, which is targeting 40 crore workers by 2022. However the massive drive to expand vocational training has come into criticism from […]

Violence, exploitation and lives lost: Parda case study

Parda shares the story of the death of a migrant worker at a brick kiln from Nuapada. Such narratives of vulnerability must serve as impetus for proper inquiry into working conditions and redressal mechanisms. Names have been changed to protect identities.  

Agrasar Bachpan: Prerit Rana

Prerit Rana, CEO and co-founder of Agrasar shares the story of how Agrasar Bachpan, their latest initiative, came into being. Agrasar is located in 1173, Sector-45, Gurgaon, Haryana, and works with education, employability, and migration.   

Interrogating stereotypes about migrant populations

Yesterday, DNA reported that the Health Minister of Kerala suggested that migrant workers from across the country bring new diseased to the state, and for this reason “as part of ‘Safe Kerala’ campaign, nearly 25 lakh work force from other states, staying in different labour camps, would be screened”. The Indian Express published a report […]

Migrant labourers rescued in Telangana: A case for source-destination linkages

Coordinated efforts on the part of SHRAM Partners Yugantar and DSS, and Human Rights Law Network and the Labour Department of Telangana resulted in speedy action towards the rescue of seventeen migrant labourers. Source-destination linkages and coordination played a vital role in enabling this effort. 

Women at Work: An insight into the workspace of a ‘gajra’ vendor in Mumbai

This piece draws from informal interviews with a ‘gajra’ vendor in a residential colony in Mumbai. Jharna* is 46 years old, and has been vending flowers in the same spot since the year 2000.