Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi Appointed for the Third Time to the District-Level Vigilance Committee, Varanasi
A milestone built on decades of struggle for food security and rights-based governance
People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) is proud to announce that Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi has been appointed for the third time as a member of the District-Level Vigilance Committee, Varanasi, constituted under the National Food Security Rules, 2015.
This recognition by the district administration is not just an institutional appointment—it is a celebration of a long, committed, and often difficult journey undertaken by PVCHR and Dr. Raghuvanshi to ensure food, dignity, and justice for the most marginalized, many years before the Food Security Act came into existence.
A History of Struggle: PVCHR and the Fight for Food Security
Long before the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 was even conceptualized, PVCHR was deeply engaged in defending the Right to Food for vulnerable communities in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
1. Pre–Food Security Act Groundwork
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, PVCHR documented a series of cases related to:
Starvation deaths
Acute malnutrition among Dalit, Musahar, and OBC communities
Discrimination in the public distribution system (PDS)
Leakages, corruption, and denial of food rations
Exploitation of bonded laborers and agrarian workers facing chronic hunger
These interventions brought national attention to the crisis in rural Varanasi, Sonbhadra, Chandauli, and nearby districts—long before food security became a mainstream policy concern.
2. Involvement in the Right to Food Campaign
PVCHR and Dr. Raghuvanshi actively participated in the India-wide Right to Food Campaign, which played a major role in pushing food security into the national policy agenda.
PVCHR:
Submitted detailed fact-finding reports to the campaign
Mobilized affected communities
Advocated for universal food entitlements
Collaborated with national networks, academics, and human rights defenders
Pressured the administration to adopt transparency and accountability mechanisms
These efforts strengthened the grassroots evidence base that ultimately contributed to the creation of the NFSA.
3. Legal Interventions and Peoples’ Testimonies
PVCHR pioneered:
Testimonial therapy with victims of hunger and state neglect
Public hearings and Jan Sunwais on PDS corruption
Continuous engagement with NHRC, SHRC, and district authorities
Documentation of structural inequalities that perpetuate hunger
These interventions helped transform individual suffering into systemic advocacy.
Three-Time Appointment: A Testament to Consistent Advocacy
Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi’s repeated nomination to the District-Level Vigilance Committee is a recognition of:
His role as a bridge between communities and the administration
His persistent advocacy for rights-based governance
His commitment to ensuring that marginalized families receive their legal entitlements
PVCHR’s long-term struggle for accountability in food distribution systems
The Vigilance Committee monitors:
PDS operations
Quality and timely distribution of subsidized grains
Transparency measures
Grievance redressal mechanisms
Dr. Raghuvanshi’s presence ensures that the voices of the poor remain central to these processes.
A Proud Moment for PVCHR
For PVCHR, this third-time appointment is more than a personal achievement—it is a moment of pride for the entire peoples’ movement that has fought relentlessly for decades to uphold the Right to Food as a fundamental human right.
This milestone reaffirms:
The importance of civil society engagement in democratic oversight
The power of community-centered activism
The impact of sustained, evidence-based human rights work
The Journey Ahead
As Dr. Raghuvanshi begins his third term, PVCHR remains committed to:
Strengthening district-level accountability
Monitoring PDS functioning using survivor-centered approaches
Advocating for hunger-free communities
Expanding the fight against exclusion, discrimination, and corruption
The struggle for dignity continues—and this appointment strengthens our resolve.
Together, we move forward toward a hunger-free, just, and inclusive society.
NHRC Acts on Petition Highlighting Violation of Breastfeeding Rights of Musahar Women in Varanasi’s Brick Kilns
By Lenin Raghuvanshi
The struggle of marginalised women often remains unheard—especially when those voices belong to Musahar women working under exploitative conditions in brick kilns. On 8 August 2025, I submitted an urgent petition to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking its immediate intervention to safeguard the right to breastfeed and ensure basic maternal and child healthcare for Musahar women working in brick kilns across Varanasi district.
On 27 November 2025, the NHRC took cognisance of the complaint and formally directed the Principal Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Uttar Pradesh, to take action within 8 weeks, associating the complainant and keeping them informed.
This direction marks a crucial step toward the protection of the most marginalised mothers and children.
Why This Petition Was Filed
Musahar women employed in brick kilns face inhumane and restrictive labour conditions. Many are forced to return to strenuous work within hours of childbirth, leaving them little or no time to breastfeed or rest.
A field investigation revealed stark realities:
Key Findings
Over 335 Musahar families work in brick kilns across Harahua, Badagaon, Pindara, and Arajiline blocks.
103 pregnant women and over 300 children under five lack access to Anganwadi services, PHCs, or immunisation.
Mothers are denied time, rest, and dignity, often returning to labour shortly after childbirth.
In 2022, only 9 infants received colostrum; by 2024 this number improved to 38, yet much more is needed.
Cases of malnutrition, anaemia, and early childcare neglect are widespread.
These violations clearly undermine the right to breastfeed, recognised globally as a fundamental human right essential for a child’s survival and development.
Best Practice: The JanMitra Nyas – CRY Model
In collaboration with CRY – Child Rights and You, and under the leadership of Shruti Nagvanshi, JanMitra Nyas implemented a replicable, rights-based intervention model focusing on the most vulnerable.
Major Components:
Community Mobilisation & Behaviour Change Communication
Counselling mothers on nutrition, breastfeeding, and health rights.
Service Linkages During Migration
Migrant families connected with VHNDs and PHCs near kiln sites.
Collaboration with Brick Kiln Owners
Securing rest time and breastfeeding spaces for pregnant and lactating women.
Access to Nutrition via Anganwadi Centres
Ensuring distribution of Take-Home Ration (THR).
Capacity Building of ANMs & AWWs
Strengthening local health delivery systems.
Tangible Outcomes (2022–2024):
Institutional deliveries rose from 54% to 65%
Colostrum feeding quadrupled
Child immunisation tripled
Infant mortality declined by 50%
Zero child deaths reported in 2024
This model presents a powerful example for improving maternal-child health in unorganised labour sectors.
What the Petition Requested from NHRC
The petition urged NHRC to:
Conduct a suo-motu investigation and field visit to brick kiln regions of Varanasi.
Issue directives to the State for:
Protecting breastfeeding rights and ensuring rest spaces.
Providing mobile health units and immunisation services.
Enforcing labour standards under the Maternity Benefit Act.
Recognise and replicate the JanMitra Nyas–CRY model nationwide.
Direct the NCW and NCPCR to monitor rights violations.
Recommend compensation and redress for families who lost children due to systemic neglect.
NHRC’s Response
The NHRC registered the complaint (Case No. 23695/24/72/2025-WC) and instructed the Uttar Pradesh Health Department to take appropriate action within 8 weeks, ensuring the complainant is informed.
This official action is a significant validation of the systemic injustices endured by Musahar mothers and an important step toward restoring their rights.
Conclusion: A Call for Justice and Human Dignity
Women like Kajal, who said, “Brick-making can wait, but my baby cannot,” remind us that breastfeeding is not a privilege—it is a fundamental human right.
Musahar women are not demanding charity.
They are demanding dignity, protection, and justice.
The NHRC’s intervention gives hope that their voices will not be silenced, and that India’s brick kiln sector will soon adopt humane, rights-based practices for all working mothers.
THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY Department of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh UTTAR PRADESH UTTAR PRADESH Email- psecup.health@gmail.com
Sir/ Madam,
The complaint/ intimation dated 08/08/2025, received from DR. LENIN RAGHUVANSHI in respect of KAJAL AND OTHER WOMEN, was placed before the Commission on 27/11/2025. Upon perusing the same, the Commission directed as follows:
This complaint be transmitted to the concerned authority for such action as deemed appropriate. The authority concerned is directed to take appropriate action within 8 weeks associating the complainant/victim and to inform him/her of the action taken in the matter.
2. Accordingly, I am attaching scanned copy of the complaint/ intimation for necessary action as per the directions of the Commission.
Complainant Details: Case No. 23695/24/72/2025-WC DR. LENIN RAGHUVANSHI PEOPLES VIGILANCE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS (PVCHR, SA 4/2 A, DAULATPUR, VARANASI , UTTAR PRADESH 221002
Kashi, Youth, and the Future of India’s Cultural Democracy: Reflections from I.I.M.U.N. Gorakhpur 2025
Yesterday’s experience at I.I.M.U.N. Gorakhpur 2025 was truly uplifting. Speaking to hundreds of young delegates about dialogue, cultural roots, justice, and compassionate leadership filled me with hope for India’s future.
From the beautifully curated inaugural programme to the inspiring cultural performances, the conference reflected discipline, dignity, and a deep respect for India’s civilisational values.
I also had the privilege of a warm, insightful meeting with Narendra Kumar Ji and Vikas Srivastava Ji, two devoted champions of Bhojpuri language and culture.
Together, we discussed:
✨ strengthening Bhojpuri identity
✨ youth-led cultural initiatives
✨ programmes for Bhojpuri literature & theatre
✨ documenting folk traditions and migration histories
✨ collaborations for a vibrant and inclusive cultural renaissance
We also reflected on my upcoming book “Kashi” and explored ways to highlight Bhojpuri cultural heritage within it.
Another beautiful part of the day was our discussion on the Mirza Ghalib Global Literature Club, a space envisioned to bring together world literature, Indian multilingual traditions, and young creative minds.
As I wrote in the OPED — culture, compassion, and conversation are the pillars on which India’s future must rest.
📸 In this moment, I stand with the spirit of Kashi in my heart — carrying its light, its courage, and its civilisational wisdom to the young leaders of I.I.M.U.N. Gorakhpur 2025.
PVCHR is proud to share that Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, founder of the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) and a prominent human rights defender, has been featured at I.I.M.U.N. Gorakhpur 2025—one of India’s leading platforms for youth leadership and global citizenship.
The recognition celebrates his decades-long work in advancing the rights of marginalized communities, promoting democratic values, and strengthening the culture of non-violence. Dr. Raghuvanshi’s presence at I.I.M.U.N. reflects PVCHR’s continued commitment to nurturing young changemakers and building a society rooted in dignity, justice, and equality.
Human Dignity at the Center of Justice
Throughout his journey, Dr. Raghuvanshi has emphasized a simple yet transformative idea:
“Human dignity must stand at the center of justice.”
This principle guides PVCHR’s work in ending caste-based discrimination, empowering survivors of torture, supporting women’s rights, protecting minority communities, and promoting participatory democracy. His engagement with young leaders at I.I.M.U.N. highlights the importance of listening to youth voices and involving them in the struggle for human rights.
Connecting with the Next Generation of Leaders
I.I.M.U.N. brings together students from across the country to discuss global issues, debate solutions, and experience leadership in action. Dr. Raghuvanshi’s participation offers students the opportunity to learn from ground realities—stories of resilience, transformation, and collective courage that define PVCHR’s mission.
By sharing insights from the field, he encourages students to become active participants in nation-building and defenders of human dignity.
An Invitation to Support and Engage
We invite PVCHR supporters, human rights advocates, and young leaders to join us in celebrating this milestone.
You can view and engage with the feature on Instagram:
Your support helps amplify the message of equality, compassion, and justice.
Moving Forward Together
PVCHR congratulates Dr. Raghuvanshi on this honor and looks forward to continuing our shared work toward a society free from discrimination, violence, and inequality.
Together, we strive to create a world where every person—regardless of origin or identity—lives with dignity and respect.
🎬 DALIMSS Sunbeam Hosts the 1st International Children’s Film Festival: A Celebration of Young Creativity and Global Learning
DALIMSS Sunbeam Global School, Ramkatora, Varanasi, lit up with colours, creativity, and cinematic excitement on 15th November 2025, as it proudly hosted the 1st International Children’s Film Festival — a visionary initiative to nurture young storytellers and inspire a new generation of filmmakers.
The festival was organized on campus as part of the school’s mission to encourage imagination, cultural exchange, and the artistic expression of children through the medium of cinema.
🌟 Distinguished Chief Guests Elevate the Occasion
The event was honoured by the presence of two Chief Guests, each representing leadership in social change and performing arts:
Their participation added immense value, encouraging young students to think boldly, express fearlessly, and engage creatively with the world around them.
Upon arrival, both guests were warmly welcomed by the Director, principal and school leadership, as seen in the photographs, where they received floral bouquets and tokens of appreciation against a vibrant cinema-themed backdrop.
🎥 A Festival Built on Imagination and Expression
The festival’s purpose — as stated in the formal invitation letter — was to:
Celebrate creativity and imagination
Encourage artistic expression through cinema
Provide a platform for young minds to showcase their storytelling skills
Foster learning, cultural exchange, and confidence-building
Films created by children were screened, reflecting themes of friendship, environment, dreams, and community. Each film displayed the raw honesty and brilliance that only young storytellers can bring.
📸 Colourful Moments: Joy, Art, and Togetherness
The event photos capture the spirit of the festival beautifully:
A cinema-inspired backdrop with film reels, stars, and clapboards
Guests holding fun photo props like “Smile… it’s selfie time!” and “Making memories with every click.”
Warm interactions between the chief guests and school representatives
Happiness and positivity radiating through group pictures
Moments of honour as guests received mementos
These images reflect not just a school event, but a celebration of ideas, youth, and artistic freedom.
🗣️ Inspiring Messages from the Chief Guests
🎭 Message from Pravin Kumar Gunjan
The NSD Director highlighted cinema as a powerful tool for self-expression. He encouraged students to explore creativity not just as a hobby, but as a way to understand society, emotions, and human values.
✨ Message from Lenin Raghuvanshi
He emphasized the importance of empowerment through storytelling. Speaking from a human rights perspective, he praised the school for giving children a safe and meaningful platform to express their thoughts, dreams, and concerns.
Their words motivated the students while appreciating the school’s effort in cultivating confident and culturally aware young citizens.
🎁 Tokens of Appreciation
To honour the valuable presence of the chief guests, the school presented them with thoughtful mementos and books, symbolizing the rich cultural heritage of Varanasi and the school’s deep appreciation.
🌈 A Landmark Event for DALIMSS Sunbeam
The 1st International Children’s Film Festival has set a strong foundation for integrating creative arts into education. The school succeeded in creating an environment where children could freely express themselves, learn visual communication, and explore new horizons.
The festival stands as a testimony to DALIMSS Sunbeam’s motto of “Shaping Confident Minds.”
With the participation of renowned cultural and social leaders, talented students, and dedicated educators, the event was not just a celebration — it became a movement of creativity, joy, and global learning.
IN contemporary India — and indeed across much of the world — the discourse on human rights and peacebuilding often remains confined to formal institutions, policy rhetoric, and elite dialogues. While such spaces carry value, they frequently overlook a fundamental truth: human dignity is shaped at the grassroots, in the lived experiences of communities, and in the intimate everyday negotiations of people who stand at the margins of power. It is here, in the complex and often contradictory social terrain of cities like Varanasi, that the principles of peace, justice, and pluralism are continuously tested.
This understanding came into sharp focus during the recent visit of post-graduate students from the Peace Studies Department, MIT World Peace University (MIT-WPU), Pune. The four students — Neha Barua, Jalshmita Kalita, Dnyaneshwari Virole, and Kiran Leema — accompanied by Assistant Professors Dr. Mohit Awasthi and Dr. Jyotsna Srivastava, undertook field immersion with the People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR). Their visit was arranged through the initiative of Professor Priyankar Upadhyaya, the UNESCO Chair for Peace and Intercultural Understanding at Banaras Hindu University.
Though modest in scale, the visit carries significant academic and social meaning. It highlights a transition underway in India: the integration of empirical field engagement into peace and conflict studies, and a growing acknowledgment that knowledge production must be anchored in the realities of marginalized communities. This aligns with global trends in peace research that emphasizelocal agency,bottom-up interventions, andcontext-sensitive strategies— principles long advocated by UNESCO, the UNDP, and the global South’s scholars of human security.
Varanasi as a Living Laboratory of Peace and Conflict
Varanasi — often celebrated as an ancient spiritual capital — is far more than a religious destination. It is a densely layered civilizational space where cultural diversity, social hierarchies, contestations of identity, and institutional inequities coexist. For peace scholars, it provides a rare opportunity to study how plural societies sustain themselves over centuries, how conflict emerges, and how cultural resilience is maintained.
Historically, Varanasi has been a crossroads of philosophical traditions. Hindu Shastric learning thrived here, but so did the early teachings of the Buddha in nearby Sarnath. Jain Tirthankars left their imprint on its sacred geography. Guru Nanak’s visit connected it with Sikh thought. Sufi influences intertwined with Bhakti movements, producing egalitarian voices like Sant Kabir and Raidas, who offered profound critiques of caste and orthodoxy. Muslim artisans shaped the identity of the Banarasi sari, embedding Islamic aesthetics in a garment revered in Hindu ritual and Indian cultural consciousness.
Varanasi’s pluralism, therefore, is not an abstraction. It is historical, embodied, and continuously recreated. It is also contested.
Contemporary political currents have attempted to appropriate or narrow this heritage. Anxieties regarding cultural homogenization, economic globalization, and sectarian mobilization have altered the city’s social equilibrium. These shifts provide important insights into the broader challenges facing India’s constitutional vision of equality, secularism, and fraternity.
It is in this complex environment that the MIT-WPU students engaged with PVCHR’s work.
Understanding Grassroots Realities Through Field Immersion
Peace studies as a discipline increasingly recognizes the limitations of purely theoretical frameworks. The problems of violence, discrimination, and structural injustice require engagement with lived realities. Field immersion enables students to develop what Johan Galtung termed “positive peace consciousness,” moving beyond the absence of violence to the presence of justice.
The students’ conversations at PVCHR covered four interlocking domains central to contemporary human-rights discourse in India: caste-based discrimination, gender violence, interfaith coexistence, and the functioning of local justice systems.
1. Caste and the Neo-Dalit Framework
PVCHR’s advocacy for the “neo-Dalit movement” was a key theme of the dialogues. The concept challenges caste hierarchy not only through legal reform but by building solidarities between all oppressed communities — Shudras, Ati-Shudras, and other structurally marginalized groups. This is, in essence, a socio-political innovation that aligns with global movements for dignity and equality, echoing the frameworks of Paulo Freire’s conscientização, African liberation philosophies, and Latin American social justice traditions.
For the students, the neo-Dalit movement highlighted that caste is not merely a social identity — it is a system of power that restricts economic opportunity, bodily autonomy, mobility, and political voice.
2. Gender, Human Security, and Everyday Violence
Discussions on violence against women embedded the understanding that gendered oppression is not an isolated phenomenon but is reinforced by caste, class, and cultural expectations. The students examined case studies of survivor-centered justice, learning how PVCHR combines testimonial therapy with legal empowerment. This aligns with contemporary peace psychology, which emphasizes healing and resilience as prerequisites for sustainable peace.
3. Interfaith Dialogue as Social Infrastructure
Varanasi’s pluralism offered a natural setting to explore interfaith coexistence. The students saw how artisans, priests, weavers, musicians, shopkeepers, and ordinary citizens preserve harmony through everyday interactions. Interfaith coexistence is not maintained through government proclamations but through the continuous work of communities who share space, economy, ritual, and culture.
The students recognized that peace is not simply the absence of conflict but the presence of shared cultural practices, mutual respect, and trust.
4. Institutional Weakness and the Culture of Impunity
PVCHR’s documentation of torture, discrimination, and administrative failure revealed a systemic challenge: the persistence of impunity. The students discussed how structural violence is sustained by the failures of local institutions. This is a core insight of transitional justice studies: without accountability, cycles of injustice internalize themselves.
Regional Peacebuilding and the South Asian People’s Forum
The visit also included discussions on cross-border peace efforts. The South Asian People’s Forum (SAPF), emerging from the People’s SAARC convention in 2005, demonstrates how civil-society networks across India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan have worked collectively to promote human rights and nuclear disarmament.
For the students, this offered a crucial understanding:local human rights work is inseparable from regional peacebuilding.
In South Asia — a region shaped by partition, war, nuclearization, cross-border identities, and shared histories — grassroots solidarity is vital to counterbalance political conflict.
Gifting Knowledge: Books as Tools of Peace
Toward the end of the visit, an exchange of books provided a symbolic and intellectual bridge. PVCHR gifted three publications:
Books carry significance in peace work. They are repositories of memory, critique, and imagination. Their gifting signals intellectual partnership, mutual accountability, and shared commitment to human rights.
Press enter or click to view image in full size
Book cover reveal ofKashi, authored by Lenin Raghuvanshi, Chandra Mishra, and Shruti Nagvanshi.
The Forthcoming Book: Kashi — Recovering Suppressed Civilizational Voices
The students were also informed about the forthcoming book Kashi, co-authored by myself, Chandra Mishra, and Shruti Nagvanshi, to be published by HP Hamilton, UK. The book seeks to recover the suppressed histories of Kashi — stories long erased through caste hierarchies, patriarchy, political spectacle, and the commodification of culture — by reclaiming the city’s plural, humane, and deeply inclusive ethos. It challenges narratives that reduce Kashi to a religious symbol or tourist commodity, instead reasserting Mahadev’s philosophy of simplicity over greed and compassion over consumption, while amplifying the invisible voices of oppressed communities who have shaped the city for centuries. Kashi is not a nostalgic project; it is a counter-hegemonic narrative that contests the appropriation of heritage and affirms that safeguarding the city’s plural civilizational values is essential to protecting India’s constitutional character.
Academic Significance of the Visit
From an academic standpoint, the field study advanced three major pedagogical outcomes:
1. Integrating Theory with Praxis
Students observed how concepts in peace studies — structural violence, restorative justice, positive peace, intersectionality, pluralism — apply in actual communities. This form of learning aligns with UNESCO’s emphasis on “learning to live together.”
2. Developing Critical Reflexivity
Engaging with survivors, activists, and community leaders requires students to reflect on their own positionality. This reflexivity is essential in peace research to avoid paternalism and to cultivate ethical engagement.
3. Enhancing Contextual Understanding
Peacebuilding models are effective only when adapted to context. By witnessing the unique socio-cultural landscape of Varanasi, students learned how context shapes conflict — and how solutions must be rooted in local realities rather than transplanted frameworks.
Why This Visit Matters for India’s Future
India’s peacebuilding environment faces multiple challenges: rising polarization, weakening trust in institutions, inequalities intensified by rapid economic changes, and the politicization of cultural heritage. Amid these pressures, the next generation of peace scholars and practitioners must be equipped with grounded understanding, empathy, and analytical rigor.
The visit by the MIT-WPU students is significant because it represents a deeper educational shift: the recognition that peace cannot be built without understanding the marginalized, and that conflict cannot be resolved without confronting the structures that create injustice.
Their engagement also challenges the growing disconnect between academia and society. It suggests that universities in India are increasingly willing to integrate experiential learning, field immersion, and community partnerships into their curriculum.
Pluralism at a Crossroads
Varanasi may symbolize India’s civilizational depth, but it also represents the fragility of pluralism in contemporary politics. When the spirit of pluralism is diminished, heritage loses its resilience, and when heritage is reframed for exclusion, the integrity of justice is quietly undermined.
Field visits like this one remind us that safeguarding pluralism is not merely a cultural project — it is a democratic imperative. It requires academic institutions, civil society, and young scholars to actively defend the values of dignity, equality, and coexistence.
Knowledge, Empathy, and the Ethics of Peace
The MIT-WPU visit to PVCHR exemplifies the kind of engagement necessary to build a peaceful and just India. It demonstrates that peace studies must be rooted in experiential learning. It reaffirms the importance of grounding academic inquiry in the perspectives of marginalized communities. And it underscores that pluralism and human rights must be strengthened not only through institutions, but through cultural consciousness.
As India and the world navigate an era of uncertainty, the principles embodied in this visit — curiosity, empathy, reflexivity, and intellectual honesty — serve as a compass. Peacebuilding begins in such moments of connection. It begins when young minds encounter the realities of injustice and commit themselves to shaping a more humane future.
