Society, Culture and Peace

Enhancing socio-cultural well-being, ensuring justice and equity

Featured here are initiatives to enhance social and cultural aspects of human life: the revival and progressive use of visual, performing, and other arts, of the myriad crafts of the country, of threatened or submerged languages, of food and cuisine diversity, and other such cultural traits and processes. They also cover the various struggles and constructive movements to achieve social justice, to reduce inequalities and inequities of various kinds including caste, class, gender, ethnicity, and religion, and to create dignity in living for those currently oppressed and exploited. Finally, they include movements to generate ethical living and thinking, and spread values such as simplicity, honesty, frugality, and tolerance.

जनसाधारण के उभरते विकल्प और उसका सपना (In Hindi)

विकल्प संगम, एक राष्ट्रीय स्तर का मंच है, जिसमें पर्यावरण, सामाजिक, आर्थिक, सांस्कृतिक और स्वशासन संबंधी मुद्दों पर काम करने वाले स्थानीय समुदायों, सामाजिक आंदोलनों और कई गैर सरकारी संगठन जुड़े हैं।

Vikalp Sangam (विकल्प संगम): A Confluence of Alternatives: Film

It covers some of the events of the process – confluences, documentation, outreach, collaborations, artwork and more – and some key voices of people involved.

Reclaiming resistance in an age of surveillance and authoritarianism

The criminalisation of dissent highlights the urgent need to reimagine resistance in a world dominated by surveillance capitalism and authoritarian control.

Regenerating the flow of life

An invitation to imagine a vision of South Asia that moves beyond political boundaries and towards biocultural regionalism, taking into account crucial natural, cultural, and economic flows.

The women fighting for the endangered storks of Assam

More than 100,000 women in the villages of Assam have become a driving force behind a grassroots effort to conserve an endangered species of stork, which was once viewed as a bad omen.

Thirty years of resistance

The National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), a coalition of organisations across India, has been actively resisting injustices, defending rights, and building alliances over the last 30 years.

Weaving traditions: how the women weavers of Adichilthotti sustain their craft

The initiative exemplifies the values of meaningful work and livelihoods for the women, as well as sustaining their close relationship with the forests surrounding them.

Escalating heat, boiling questions

As extreme heat events become more frequent and intense, it is vital that climate change adaptation measures act at the structural and local level, supporting communities to develop innovative, localised coping mechanisms to climate impacts.

In rural India, kaleidoscopic saris protect precious crops

Villagers in Ramgad upcycle their old saris as an affordable and sustainable material to protect their crops from animals during winter. Photographer Indrajit Khambe documents these vibrant saris.