Short-term media grants on refugees and migrants in Covid year

ITANAGAR, 24 Feb: The Mahanirban Calcutta Research Group (MCRG) is offering short-term media grants to reporters, journalists and media practitioners for investigative studies on refugees and migrants in the Covid year of 2020.

The topics include (a) Frontline Covid warriors like lower level health workers at block and gram panchayat or local municipality level, ASHA workers, and nurses and doctors; (b) Initiatives of solidarity with migrant workers undertaken by various civil society organizations, local clubs, municipal councillors, small groups of people, private or government employees, political workers, and humanitarian activists – their linkages and histories; (c) Dynamics of bustee (slum) level protection; (d) Situation of returnee migrants, their reception in villages and towns, fear of the migrant workers as carriers of the virus, migrant workers’ prospect of work on return, their return to old jobs, responsibility of the state governments and local bodies, etc; perceptions of the media about returnee migrants; returnee migrant as an election issue; (e) The role of social media in the migrant crisis during the lockdown; (f) The ‘data crisis’ around migrant workers during the lockdown and the pandemic; (g) Court judgments and other legal aspects such as the efficacy of the Inter State Migrant Workmen Act of 1979; and (h) The rehabilitation of the Rohingya refugees of Cox’s Bazar in Bhasan island in the Bay of Bengal, and the roles of the state and international humanitarian agencies.

Additionally, 2021 being the 50th year of the Bangladesh refugee crisis, the MCRG has welcomed proposals on the situation of refugees in India in 1971 around issues of life in camps, diseases, violence, politics, and the return of refugees.

Each grant will carry a total amount of Rs 40,000, including any research expenses. Five selected candidates will be given grants.

Detailed application, a statement of purpose explaining the selected theme or story for investigation, along with one previously published investigative or analysis piece may be sent by email by 10 April, 2021 to forcedmigrationdesk @mcrg.ac.in and subhashree @mcrg.ac.in.

For details, visit http://www.mcrg.ac.in/.