by Mridu Khullar Relph –India- Banav Bibi is not a Bangladeshi. She wants everyone to know this. She shouted it to the policeman who accused her son of being an illegal immigrant, arrested him, and beat him up. She said…
Blog Archives
In the Race to the Commonwealth Games, Delhi’s Wastepickers are Left Behind
Posted in FEATURE ARTICLES, The World
“Fat Activists” Seek Law Banning Weight Discrimination
by Mridu Khullar – India / USA – In December 2008, Binghamton, New York, became one of just six cities in the United States to enact laws protecting against weight discrimination. The others are San Francisco and Santa Cruz (California),…
Posted in FEATURE ARTICLES, The World
Expression: A Newspaper in India Gives Women a Voice
by Mridu Khullar – India – The male vice-principal of a woman’s college in Gwalior, India physically assaults fellow female faculty members and students by grabbing them and throwing them against walls. Kalpana Saxena, 37, publishes accounts of women affected…
Posted in FEATURE ARTICLES, The World
Drama Therapy: Blind Street Workers in India Find a Voice in the Arts
by Mridu Khullar – India / USA – A theatre troupe consisting of unemployed job seekers, hawkers on the streets of Kolkata, India, and people who’ve been told they have no prospects in life, come together each evening to sing,…
In Slumdog Millionaire, Memories of a Bygone Era
by Mridu Khullar – USA/India – A few days ago, after weeks of avoiding it, I finally watched Slumdog Millionaire. The reason I’d put it off for as long as I had wasn’t because as a journalist from India currently…
India’s Garment Industry Steps Up Efforts to Hire People with Disabilities
by Mridu Khullar – India / USA – For five years, Jitender Kumar was unable to find employment. He gave interviews every week, was rejected constantly, and sank into depression as sources of income dwindled and he became increasingly dependent…
Posted in Economy, FEATURE ARTICLES
In India, English-Language TV Stations Face Criticism and Ire for Their Coverage of Mumbai Attacks
by Mridu Khullar – India / USA – With her signature short hair, perky voice, and aggressive journalistic style, Barkha Dutt, 36, ushered in a new age of journalism in India. Compassionate yet firm, her war reporting from Kargil made…
Posted in FEATURE ARTICLES, The World
Dignity: Women in Mumbai Avoid Harassment on the ‘Ladies Special’ Commuter Train
by Mridu Khullar – India – 5:49 pm: The local Western Railway train pulls up at the Churchgate station in Mumbai. People on various platforms rush from one corner to the other, preoccupied with getting to their next destination on…
Posted in FEATURE ARTICLES, The World
The Rise of Medical Tourism: Americans Head to Foreign Shores for Healthcare
by Mridu Khullar – India – According to the National Coalition of Health Care in America, in 2007, total national health expenditures were expected to rise 6.9 percent—twice the rate of inflation. Healthcare spending is 4.3 times the amount spent…
Indian Couples Seek Security in Modern Marriages
by Mridu Khullar – India – Couples in India are finally figuring out that hours of horoscope-matching sessions followed by measures to correct planetary positions make not a good marriage. Urban educated twenty-somethings of today are ditching the priest’s grass…
