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Raksha Kumar is a multimedia journalist focusing on human rights, politics and social injustices. Since 2011, she has reported for The New York Times, BBC, Guardian, TIME, South China Morning Post, Foreign Policy, Scroll.in and The Hindu.
In March 2018, she was awarded the National Foundation for India Media Award for her reportage on land rights in India. In 2017, she was shortlisted for Kurt Schork Memorial Awards in International Journalism. For her work on land conflicts in India, she was awarded the Chameli Devi Award for Outstanding Media Personality in 2016.
As a reporter, her focus areas are land and forest rights of the most vulnerable communities. However, since these issues cannot be looked at in isolation, Raksha found herself increasingly reporting on armed conflict around resource extraction in places like Chhattisgarh and Kashmir.
In 2015, she wrote, shot and directed a documentary film on Rationalists in Contemporary India. It was aired by India's public broadcaster, Doordarshan. The film has been screened in 29 locations across the country until now.
The same year, Raksha was selected as a Chevening Fellow by the University of Westminster to research on Hindu Right in the UK. This helped Raksha build on her post graduate dissertation which was on Hindu Fundamentalists in India.
With a Fulbright Scholarship for Leadership Development, she went to the Columbia University in New York City to pursue a Masters in Science. As a student, she was offered the Scripps Howard Fellowship to report from Israel and the West Bank. Since 2011, Raksha has reported from 11 countries across the world.
Raksha worked as an editor at NDTV, leading English news channel in India. She was the editorial head of a two-hour prime time news show, where she lead a team of about 20 junior journalists.
A graduate of Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi, Raksha was a dedicated student and a passionate public speaker.
Controversy Over Menstruating Women Entering An Indian Temple
Traditionally, the Sabarimala Temple in the southern state of Kerala has restricted entry to women between the ages of 10 and 50. The belief is that menstruating women are "impure" and should not be allowed into "sacred places". The annual Sabarimala pilgrimage attracts one millions of devotees every year. However, on September 28, India's Supreme Court intervened and passed a judgement that allowed women of all ages to enter the shrine.
The senior advocate representing the petitioners argued that the custom was discriminatory in nature and went against the fundamental rights of women. In a country with diverse traditions, multiple sub-castes, millions of customs, was it right for the Supreme Court to intervene in a matter of custom? Does that not open a can of worms for other customs to be called to the notice of the Supreme Court? The podcast lays down the case and does justice to all points of view.
