Read Of The Week (June 2 to June 8)

For more than three decades, Bela Bhatia’s work and concerns have brought her face-to-face with the harsh nature of people’s lives in India’s ‘forgotten country’— the hamlets, villages and slums — and the oppressive forces that rule and ruin the lives of Dalits, Adivasis, bonded labourers, women and other oppressed groups. She has also witnessed how their everyday lives are pockmarked with violence and brutality.

India’s Forgotten Country captures Bela’s early years as an activist in rural Gujarat, her research on the Naxalite movement, her investigations of violations of democratic rights in different regions, and her recent years dealing with the ongoing conflict between the state and Maoists in Bastar. The essays build on first-hand investigations conducted in states ranging from Bihar and Telangana to Rajasthan and Nagaland, besides Kashmir. These essays are stories of life, death and despair, but also serve as inspiring accounts of resistance, resilience, courage and hope.

Bela Bhatia lives in Bastar, a predominantly tribal area of south Chhattisgarh, and works as an independent human rights lawyer, researcher and writer. She also spent two years doing peace and human rights work in Iraq and Palestine and has authored books on the subject.