This book gives the accounts of human rights activist Teesta Setalvad and her life story and how she became an activist.

The Fight For Change

Short biographies of activists from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India

 South Asian Activists

Journalist: a person who writes for newspapers, magazines, or news websites or prepares to broadcast.

As a child, you always imagine all of the different things you will be once you grow up. Teesta Setalvad however ended up becoming a Journalist with The Daily India while working on editions in the Mumbai Newspaper.

As a child, Teesta Setalvad was passionate about bringing social and political justice to society.

Once Teesta had reached college she had dropped out of her law degree and instead worked towards gaining a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Bombay University in 1983.

In the beginning, there was a woman named Teesta Setalvad who was born into a successful Gujarati family. Her father was a Mumbai-based lawyer and her grandfather was India’s First Attorney General. Teesta was inspired by her family to work hard and create changes in their country. Her family was part of her inspiration in leading up to her becoming a human rights activist.

Gujarati people or "Gujaratis", are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group. They are prominent entrepreneurs and industrialists and many notable independence activists, being Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

A book that was given to her by her father led to her pursuing a career in journalism.&nbsp;The book was called "All the President's men".

This story tells how two reporters worked with sources to uncover deceit in the highest levels of government.

As someone with strong passions, Teesta Setalvad set out to campaign for the rights and privileges of Dalits, Muslims, and Women In India.

The organization that Teesta had reported for was known as Sabrang Communications. Their purpose was to analyze and expose the machinations of communal politics in India.

Dalit: individuals that belong to the lowest stratum castes in India, use to be labeled the "untouchables".

The year 1984 was when Teesta Setalvad covered her first riots in Bhiniwandi which was the spark of her communal violence advocacy.

As a result of ongoing riots, one, in particular, was the 2002 Gujarat riots which were a three-day period of inter-communal violence in Western India in Gujarat. There was a train that caught on fire resulting in the passing of 58 Hindu pilgrims. As a result, it lead to rioting over a sustained period of time which lead to accusations of police and government officials having some involvement in the continuation of the riots.

As a part of her being a mainstream journalist in 1993 as a response to the Hindu Muslim riots in Mumbai, she and her husband quit their regular jobs and created Communism Combat a monthly magazine. " The magazine aimed to believe in active interventions with the political class, bureaucracy, and policemen, executive and institutional, to dialogue for a need for increased spaces for rights concerns. "Bombay Riots": The riots in 1993 where there were escalations of hostilities after large-scale protests by Muslims in reaction to the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition by Hindus.

As Teesta Setalvad had taken it upon herself to report these events, the 2002 Gujarat riots sparked a new flame inside her as this became one of her main goals to advocate for the victims of the riots. In achieving her advocacy efforts she established the citizens for justice and peace. The Organization(NGO) was formed to fight for justice for the victims of the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Teesta Setalvad was and still is an influential and impactful human rights activist within India. Her work amplified the issues that were going on and she sought out to instate that change through various means.

This Book was created in a South Asian Politics course at Lehigh University taught by Professor Nandini Deo (ndd208@lehigh.edu). I tried to contact the activist featured here. However, I couldn't get in touch with the activist, readers who wish to sign the petition can do so here. <a href="https://indiaresists.com/sign-petition-citizens-in-solidarity-with-teesta-setalvad-and-javed-anand/#disqus_thread">https://indiaresists.com/sign-petition-citizens-in-solidarity-with-teesta-setalvad-and-javed-anand/#disqus_thread</a>

<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/primary-education-in-india-progress-and-challenges/">https://www.brookings.edu/research/primary-education-in-india-progress-and-challenges/</a> <a href="https://thewire.in/books/law-public-ethics-family-influences-teesta-setalvad">https://thewire.in/books/law-public-ethics-family-influences-teesta-</a> <a href="https://thewire.in/books/law-public-ethics-family-influences-teesta-setalvad">setalvad</a><a href="https://www.nuernberg.de/internet/menschenrechte_e/setalvad_e.html">https://www.nuernberg.de/internet/menschenrechte_e/setalvad_e.html</a> <a href="https://www.ashoka.org/en-us/fellow/teesta-setalvad">https://www.ashoka.org/en-us/fellow/teesta-setalvad</a> <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/activist-teesta-setalvads-ngos-registration-cancelled-by-government-1419916">https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/activist-teesta-setalvads-ngos-registration-cancelled-by-government-1419916</a> <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/teesta-setalvad-charged-for-securing-central-aid-fraudulently-for-her-ngo-1831472">https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/teesta-setalvad-charged-for-securing-central-aid-fraudulently-for-her-ngo-1831472</a>

Teesta Setalvad plays an important role in advocating for many people within India because of her efforts which have led to her creating the Khoj Project.

What is the Khoj Project?

It was established in response to the communal violence that was caused by the riots leaving a permanent scar on communities. These acts of violence have created impressions and opinions in the young minds of children making it hard for them to comprehend.

The curriculum offers new ways to learn and focuses on creating peace among children in India. The goal of the curriculum is to ensure children know how to work together while maintaining peace. To help children achieve this goal, teachers make themselves available by keeping the history fresh in their minds.&nbsp;

The Project is designed to debate and discuss an intensive and non-formal interaction on the issues of the past.

The curriculum talks about religion, caste, gender, class, and country. It aims to solve problems that happen in classrooms as well as allow students to discuss social issues outside the classroom.

Teesta Setalvad&nbsp;got married to a famous journalist and civil rights activist, Javed Anand. The two shared common interests as they wanted to advocate for Muslim victims of religious violence.

This magazine was created as a result of the ongoing riots in India. This magazine was created for advocacy purposes allowing them to have a platform to intervene in issues that they wouldn't have been able to before. A simple marriage rooted in love but fueled by the passion of fighting for Indian Civil rights.

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