Voices from Kandhamal: The life-shattering impact of communal violence on women

Voices from Kandhamal: The life-shattering impact of communal violence on women
(Saturday, 6 September 2014 - 1:50pm IST | Agency: DNA by Swarna Rajagopalan)

Studies like this, that patiently and quietly write down exactly what real people experience and how they cope, ground us in that work. The outreach and the solutions we devise come more from empathy and understanding, and less from our theoretical or polemical positions on a particular problem. Therefore, reports like this one need to be supported—especially financially, but also in terms of access and outreach. Listening attentively is the responsibility of a compassionate citizenship, and also the first step towards real justice.

To start with, do take the time to read this 103-page report: http://works.bepress.com/saumyauma/40/

(Swarna Rajagopalan is a political scientist based in Chennai. She is grateful to Saumya Uma for permission to write about this important report).