Healing Wounds, Empowering Voices

A deeply distressing incident from rural Jharkhand has once again highlighted the harsh realities of infrastructural neglect and the vulnerability of marginalized communities. The tragic death of 42-year-old Nanika Hembram in East Singhbhum district is not just an isolated accident—it reflects systemic gaps that demand urgent attention. The Incident On the night of 16 September 2025 , Nanika Hembram, a resident of Dainmari village in the Ghatsila subdivision of Jamshedpur, stepped out of her home around 9 PM. Like many in rural India, she was compelled to go बाहर (outdoors) due to lack of adequate sanitation facilities. In the darkness, she unknowingly came into contact with an 11,000-volt live electric wire . The high-voltage shock caused severe burns. Villagers rushed her to MGM Hospital, but despite medical efforts, she succumbed to her injuries during treatment. A Preventable Tragedy This incident raises serious concerns: Why was a live high-voltage wire exposed in a residential a...

  Kashi is not just a city—it is the living heartbeat of India’s civilizational soul. For centuries, it has been a space where diverse traditions—Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, and Islamic—have coexisted, interacted, and enriched each other. It is the land shaped by voices like Kabir, Ravidas, Premchand, and Bismillah Khan—voices that speak of harmony, dignity, and shared humanity. My book  Kashi  is an attempt to tell a people’s history of this timeless city—one that goes beyond its sacred image to reveal its layered realities. It brings forward the unheard voices: • Sanitation workers risking their lives in sewers • Widows abandoned in fragile ashrams • Dalits, Muslims, and weavers who sustain the city yet remain invisible • Women—especially Dalit and Musahar mothers—who carry the burden of caste, class, and gender with extraordinary resilience It also questions how faith is being commodified and how heritage is being turned into spectacle, often at the cost of the very c...

  From:   < nhrc.india@nic.in > Date: Fri, Mar 20, 2026, 9:05 PM Subject: Action Taken Report Called for(ATR) -25682/24/21/2025 To: < spdoa-up@nic.in >, < pvchr.adv@gmail.com > NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MANAV ADHIKAR BHAWAN BLOCK-C, GPO COMPLEX, INA, NEW DELHI- 110023 Fax No.: 011-24651332    Website:  www.nhrc.nic.in (Law Division) Case No.- 25682/24/21/2025 Date : 20/03/2026   To, THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE SP Office, Hospital Rd, Saket Nagar, Deoria, Uttar Pradesh DEORIA UTTAR PRADESH 274807 Email-  spdoa-up@nic.in   Sub : Complaint/ Intimation from LENIN RAGHUVANSHI SA 4/2A DAULATPUR, VARANASI VARANASI , UTTAR PRADESH 221002 Email-  pvchr.adv@gmail.com  , Mob No- 9935599331 Subject:  Action Taken Report Called for(ATR) -25682/24/21/2025.   Sir/ Madam,           The complaint/ intimation dated 01/12/2025, was placed before the Commission on 20/03/20...

  From:   < nhrc.india@nic.in > Date: Wed, Mar 18, 2026 at 4:33 PM Subject: Concluded and No Further Action Required(CLD) -2137/24/7/2024 To: < cs-uttarpradesh@nic.in >, < csup@nic.in >, < pvchr.adv@gmail.com > NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MANAV ADHIKAR BHAWAN BLOCK-C, GPO COMPLEX, INA, NEW DELHI- 110023 Fax No.: 011-24651332    Website:  www.nhrc.nic.in (Law Division) Case No.- 2137/24/7/2024 Date : 18/03/2026   To, THE CHIEF SECRETARY GOVT. OF UTTAR PRADESH LUCKNOW UTTAR PRADESH Email-  cs-uttarpradesh@nic.in , csup@ nic.in LENIN RAGHUVNASHI SA4/2A DAULATPUR VARANASI VARANASI , UTTAR PRADESH 221002 Email-  pvchr.adv@gmail.com  , Mob No- 9935599331 Subject:  Concluded and No Further Action Required(CLD) -2137/24/7/2024.   Sir/ Madam,        With reference to your complaint/ intimation dated 05/02/2024. I am directed to say that the matter was considered by the Commissio...

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken cognizance of a serious allegation of custodial torture and caste-based humiliation involving police personnel in Kalyanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh . Acting on a complaint filed by human rights defender Lenin Raghuvanshi , the Commission has directed the Commissioner of Police, Kanpur Nagar to submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) within four weeks . Background of the Case According to the complaint submitted to NHRC on 5 November 2025 , a 25-year-old Scheduled Caste e-rickshaw driver from Kanpur was allegedly subjected to brutal treatment by police personnel after a minor dispute with a neighbor. The complaint alleges that: The victim was detained by police officials from Kalyanpur police station . He was beaten brutally by police personnel. The officers allegedly used casteist slurs against him. In an act of extreme humiliation, the victim was allegedly forced to drink water from a shoe . Police personnel alle...

  The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), New Delhi, has taken cognizance of a serious allegation of custodial violence against a 17-year-old minor, Ayush, in Kotwa village under Lohta police station, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The Commission has formally issued notice and called for an Action Taken Report (ATR) from the Commissioner of Police, Varanasi, within four weeks. This action follows a complaint filed on 22 September 2025 by Lenin Raghuvanshi, human rights defender and representative of the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), highlighting abuse of power and violation of human rights by police personnel. Incident Details According to the complaint and media reports published on 20 September 2025, the minor Ayush had gone to pick up his sister from school on 19 September 2025. During his return, he was stopped by Constable Sushil Shukla and another police personnel from Kotwa police outpost. Despite Ayush clearly identifying the girl as his sister, ...