West Bengal: Videos/Mapping India
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After India’s Partition in 1947, Abha arrived with her mother and four daughters—seeking safety, but facing years of uncertainty. Binu and Lilly Roy, who lost their father in childhood and have no memory of their homeland, and Geeta, who was just one year old when she came to India and lost her mother a few years later, all ended up in Cooper’s Camp in West Bengal’s Nadia district. They are among the countless refugees from East Bengal, now Bangladesh, who fled their homes during Partition.
Ajaharuddin, a primary school teacher, witnessed his family's life take a devastating turn when his brother was allegedly attacked by workers affiliated with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, just a day before the 2023 Panchayat elections in West Bengal. The incident revealed the perilous state of democracy in their village.
Amal, 27, is a migrant worker from West Bengal’s Purulia district who was forced to leave his village due to a lack of local job opportunities. The recent halt in funding for schemes like MGNREGA in this state has worsened his struggles, pushing him to migrate to different states in search of work. Leaving behind his wife and ailing mother, Amal’s story reflects the harsh realities faced by rural workers dealing with unemployment, migration and the collapse of social safety nets.
Kaolin, or China clay, is a mineral harmful to both humans and the environment. Located in Kharia Village in West Bengal state?s Birbhum District, is a Kaolin mine and processing unit owned by Patel Nagar Minerals Pvt. Ltd. Founded in 1955, it?s one of India's longest-standing China clay processing units. The unregulated pollution from this unit poses a significant health risk to locals, damaging soil, groundwater and agriculture, and severely affecting the region's ecosystem. This story, by Kolkata-based filmmaker Subhrajit Sen, explores the mining?s impact on workers and villagers. It was produced with support from Internews? Earth Journalism Network Asia Pacific Grant 2022.
Shaheen (not her real name) is one of many women in West Bengal state?s Murshidabad district who believe that when men propose for marriage, they do so out of true love, not knowing that it could be mere pretence of love being used by human traffickers to sell them for labour or sex, or both.
West Bengal has grappled with a deep-rooted corruption crisis for decades—today, at the heart of it lies the School Service Commission (SSC) teachers’ recruitment scam, which has shattered the hopes of thousands of deserving candidates. In this investigative video, we uncover how teaching jobs were allegedly sold for lakhs of rupees, replacing merit with money in one of the state’s most crucial sectors — education.