Charkha, Delhi : Newsletter for July 2005

Dear Friends,

One of the basic objectives of the Charkha Vikas Samvad has been to bring forth for our Charkha friends and family the voices from the grassroots that are unable to reach them. These are the marginalised and the rural poor, who need to be heard and to communicate with the world outside. In this issue, we focus on the Charkha Feature Service, which has been our strength and inspiration for the past ten years.

It was our Founder, Sanjoy Ghoses vision to use the medium of writing for highlighting the issues of the rural poor. The articles that we receive in the Feature Service are more than just about the hardships of rural India. These articles are the reflections of positive change for these communities. Being bilingual, we are able to reach out to a large section of the country, that is, to both Hindi- and English-speaking groups.

Today Charkha has evolved by using an appropriate mix of communication tools such as the print, the audio-visual, the community radio and the traditional media. Each channel of communication supports and strengthens the Feature Service, in and through the issues that they highlight, and the impact that each affects.

All Charkha activities are linked inherently with the Feature Service. Thus while the Charkha-Sanjoy Ghose Fellowship for Peace & Development reaches out to the trauma-ridden lives of Jammu & Kashmir, the workshops and media interfaces bring the national and regional media persons and rural writers on a common platform.

Charkha has been much encouraged, this year, with the support of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and the Bryan Guinness Charitable Trust, in strengthening the Charkha Feature Service. The latter has been the bedrock over the past ten years, and with the support of other forms of communication, we hope to reach new heights in the next ten years.

Indrani Dey

Email - charkha@bol.net.in