There is news beyond the headlines that mainstream news channels keep hemming on our TV screens. India is much more than what we can perceive. Have you ever imagined what life could be or the problems that could be in a remote village? Here is a newspaper that reports what we do not see and it is run entirely by women.
Khabar Lahariya is an eight-page weekly rural newspaper written, edited, illustrated, produced and marketed by a group of women – most of them from marginalised Dalit, Kol and Muslim communities. The publication began in 2002 in the Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh in North India. The newspaper has six active editions in Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Lucknow, Banaras, and Sitamarhi (Bihar). Each week, 6,000 copies of Khabar Lahariya are sold across 600 villages of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, reaching a readership of 80,000. Khabar Lahariya began as the only Bundeli newspaper in India and now has editions in Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Hindustani and Bajjika.
In March 2004, Khabar Lahariya received the prestigious Chameli Devi Jain Award – an annual award for outstanding women journalists from Media Foundation, New Delhi. In 2009, it won international recognition by being awarded the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize, a prize honoring outstanding contribution to literacy.
Here is a glimpse of how these women are making real news matter, and changing lives in the process.
Khabar Lahariya’s readers share their thoughts on the newspaper.
