Degree Prasad Chouhan is a brave defender of the marginalized in the troubled state of Chhattisgarh.
“TO BE VICTORIOUS is colloquially called receiving a ‘degree’. When I was born, it was a moment of great joy for my family. My grandmother was the first to call me Degree. It stuck, somehow, and that’s the story behind my name!” laughs Degree Prasad Chouhan, 39, among the few remaining human-rights defenders of Dalit, Bahujan and Adivasi rights in the state of Chhattisgarh.
Based in Raigarh, and working for marginalized communities who are often denied their fundamental rights, Chouhan has been targeted both by state and non-state actors. In August last year, a letter, purportedly written by Sudha Bharadwaj, national secretary of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Chhattisgarh, surfaced, naming, among others, “comrade Degree Prasad Chouhan, who was sent into the interiors by me, has returned … completing the … operation.” This, to him, is a clear attempt to link him to the incident of violence between Dalits and upper-caste Peshawas in Bhima Koregaon in 2018. Bharadwaj, through her lawyer, has rubbished these allegations since.
この記事は Reader's Digest India の April 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Reader's Digest India の April 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi
Pushpesh Pant, one of India’s pre-eminent food writers, is back with a comprehensive food history of the capital.
Who Wants Coffee?
It’s bitter—but beloved around the world
Prevent The Pain Of Shingles
You don't have to suffer, as long as you take two important steps
The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart
Dozens of diets are touted as ‘best’, but it’s easy to lose track of the fact that healthy eating needs to be about overall wellness, not just weight loss.
ME & MY SHELF
Journalist Sopan Joshi has worked in a science and environment framework for nearly three decades. His book Mangifera indica: A Biography of the Mango (Aleph Book Company) synthesizes the sensory appeal of India's favourite fruit with its elaborate cultural roots and natural history. He writes in English and Hindi.
SWITCHED
In 1962, nurses at a small Canadian hospital sent home two women with the wrong babies. Then, 50 years later, their children discovered the shocking mistake.
ECHOES OF THE PAST
A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT BARABAR CAVES IN BIHAR REVEALS A SURPRISING CONNECTION TO A LITERARY CLASSIC
Fathers of the Bride
A young woman finds a unique way to honour the many men who helped her survive her childhood
Fiction's Foresight
British-Bangladeshi author Manzu Islam's works reveal startling parallels to recent political upheavals in Bangladesh, begging the question: Besides helping us make sense of our world, can stories also offer a glimpse into the future?
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
The Divine Defence Picture this: A tractor in Rajasthan‘s Banswara district,a group of loan agents closing in to seize it and the defaulting farmer and his family standing by.
