Ramnika Foundation – Working for the upliftment of Dalits, Tribals and other oppressed people

1. Ramnika Foundation – Working for the upliftment of Dalits, Tribals and other oppressed people Dalits and Tribals are the most marginalized sections of our society and they have been quite vulnerable to all sorts of injustice for centuries. In India, there are millions of Dalits and Tribals who are scattered all over India. You can find Dalits more in states like Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and other states. Tribals are found in almost all states of India but the percentage of Tribals is more in north-eastern states and states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa. If you look into the history of our country, you will find that Dalits being the lowest caste have been oppressed by the upper castes since the ancient period. Even today, Dalits, Tribals and other lower sections of society are still under oppression and dependent on others for their livelihood. Dalits constitute one-sixth of the Indian population and their human rights have been highly violated for years. The constitution of India has given them equal rights but still due to lack of education and hatred, the voices of Dalits are not being heard. On the other hand, in India, the scheduled tribe population is 8.6% of Indian population and they are ethically marginalized people and most importantly kept away from the mainstream. They are mainly landless with a very little control over land, forest and water. The educational facilities, medical facilities and other socio-economic facilities are rare in tribal areas. Many NGOs and foundations are working for the welfare of downtrodden people including Dalits and Tribals. But Ramnika foundation is one of the famous Dalit foundations in India. Ramnika Foundation has been working for the welfare and upliftment of the Dalits, Tribals, women, minorities and other neglected and oppressed sections of our society since its inception. They have been providing platforms and opportunities to these marginalized people to help them come out of their shell and air their voices, concerns and also share their stories, languages and literature in front of today’s world. This famous foundation has brought untold stories of their struggles, the painful realities of their everyday being and injustices meted out to them by dominant communities in public domain. The goal of this noted foundation for Dalit, Tribals and other sections of society is to provide space and platform to them where they can come and show their art & culture, share language, literature and preserve their great identity. Yuddhrat Aam Admi is a popular Hindi magazine that was started in 1986 from Hazaribagh in Bihar to provide a great platform to weaker sections of society like the Dalits, Tribals, women and minorities so that they come forward and share their daily experiences and also struggles of life. Writers from these communities are encouraged to share their voices, protest, grievances, stories, history and other issues in front of the world through the medium of writing. They provide a great opportunity to women writers from Dalit, Tribal and other oppressed sections of the society to publish their unheard stories, struggles and also research work on their communities in this popular magazine. They are also widely known as the best foundation for Tribal development in India.