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 […]
Author Archive
The Drowned and the Saved
Radhika M. Chakraborty on September 21st, 2015
Posted in Refugees 
Tags: drowned toddler, dystopia, iconography, migrant, migrant crisis, photgraph, refugee, Syria, utopia 
No Comments »Travelling terms: The semantics of migration discourse
Radhika M. Chakraborty on September 3rd, 2015
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 […]
Posted in Migrant Rights Tags: Al Jazeera, European migration, migrant, migrant crisis, refugee, xenophobia No Comments »Legal literacy camp: PEPUS
Radhika M. Chakraborty on August 25th, 2015
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
Radhika M. Chakraborty on August 17th, 2015
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
Radhika M. Chakraborty on August 13th, 2015
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
Radhika M. Chakraborty on July 15th, 2015
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
Radhika M. Chakraborty on July 14th, 2015
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
Radhika M. Chakraborty on July 10th, 2015
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 […]
Posted in Health, Migrant Rights Tags: health camps, Kerala, livelihood, migrant labour, Migrant Rights 1 Comment »Migrant labourers rescued in Telangana: A case for source-destination linkages
Radhika M. Chakraborty on July 9th, 2015
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
Radhika M. Chakraborty on June 26th, 2015
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.
