RIGHTS

11/08/2025

We are slowly regaining strength after the shocking loss of our Executive Director, Ajayakumar V B
From Trivandrum to national and international platforms — NCDHR, HFHR, Medapapakar, Sunny M. Kapikkadu, and many more — your tributes and messages have been a source of strength. Heartfelt thanks to all.

Ajay never believed in funeral- rituals, he believed in continuing the work. As a mark of respect, RIGHTS will carry forward his vision with the same courage and commitment he inspired in us.

03/08/2025

“Some lights never go out — they become stars guiding our path. Adieu, dear Ajay.”🙏

03/08/2025

😰With deep sadness, we inform you that RIGHTS Executive Director,our friend and comrade Ajayan (V B Ajayakumar) passed away this morning. His body will be taken to his home in Kodungallur, where it will be available for final obituary from 1 pm to 4:30 pm. The cremation will take place today, August 3, 2025, at 5 pm at Chappara (Kodungallur Municipal Crematorium). This is to inform all friends and comrades.

18/06/2025

"You drove the bullock cart
Through roads where your walk was once forbidden.
It was with the dynamo of your turning, toiling body
That you lit the first lamp —
So the world could see it.
The sky received that light
And kept it burning in every dawn"
- BINOY PJ
Ayyankali ( 28thAugust 1863– 18th June1941) was a visionary Dalit social reformer and revolutionary from Kerala, India, who fearlessly challenged the oppressive caste order of his time. Born into the Pulayar community, he led powerful movements for the rights of the oppressed, particularly focusing on education, land rights, and dignity for Dalits. In 1904, he launched a historic struggle to enable Dalit children to attend government schools, breaking centuries of exclusion. Ayyankali also organized agricultural workers into one of the first labor unions in princely Travancore, asserting both economic and social justice. His bullock cart rides on roads forbidden to Dalits became symbols of resistance and reclaiming public space. Through courage and political acumen, Ayyankali laid the foundation for Dalit assertion in Kerala, inspiring generations to fight against caste apartheid and for human dignity.

14/06/2025

From Tenancy to Toxicity: Caste, Cultivation, and Climate
RIGHTS

Let me reflect About three decades ago, in a remote village in Kerala near Kochi, I used to accompany my elder brother for fishing. We started early in the morning and finished everything by around 9:30 AM.

02/06/2025

Still living in rat-hole layams. Still waiting for justice.

More than 32,000 plantation worker families in Kerala — most from Tamil Nadu and Dalit communities — have been denied land and housing for generations. Brought by the British. Controlled by landlords.
They are still silenced by fear of eviction.
This is not history — this is happening now.

🛑 Land. House. Dignity.
✊🏾 Stand with plantation workers. Demand justice.