Inlaks Shivdasani Fellowship for Social Engagement 2022: Taukeer Alam, Saurabh Kumar and Vardini Sukumar
In part two of the post series introducing the Foundation’s fellows for the Inlaks Shivdasani Fellowship for Social Engagement, we present, Taukeer Alam, Saurabh Kumar and Vardini Sukumar.
Taukeer Alam
Taukeer Alam belongs to the Van Gujjar nomadic tribe. Growing up in a forest Gujjar community, he has always been interested in wildlife and environmental protection. He has worked with the forest department and over 4000 school students on issues related to environmental protection in Uttarakhand. Presently, Taukeer works with MAEE to develop teaching and learning materials (TLM) in Gujjari language.
Through this fellowship, Taukeer will be documenting the traditional knowledge of Gujjars residing in Settlement Basti, Shivalik Hills and Bugyals. He will also translate key books related to children's literature into Gujjari language and develop TLMs with the aim of getting them included in the State curriculum and host mobile libraries in areas that are far from the reach of formal education.
Saurabh Kumar
Saurabh Kumar is a Mumbai based independent multimedia journalist, content creator, and documentary filmmaker with over seven years of experience. He has been associated with the Cinema of Resistance (COR), a grassroots film screening initiative which has extensive experience of working in North India for over 16 years. He co-founded Public Bolti, a citizen journalism and advocacy platform that connects with government authorities and helped raise funds for migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also co-founded Opia Films, an independent production house that aims to cover news not covered by the mainstream media.
Through this fellowship Saurabh will be working on Peace Education Program for Schools through the Use of Audio-visual Media.
Vardini Sukumar
Vardini Sukumar has been working with Vanavil Trust for a decade where she works with the nomadic tribal community - Boom Boom Maatukraras. This community is not enlisted in the official list of castes and tribes and do not get any social security benefits such as ration cards, reservations, scholarships, gas connection, pensions, etc.
Through this fellowship, Vardini will be doing participatory research on the socio-economic status of Boom Boom Maatukarars in Tamil Nadu. She will produce a report which aims to support their struggle to get enlisted in the official list of castes and tribes so that they can access the social security benefits they are entitled to.
