The Marmara Core Group

Marmara
the leaves, branches, roots, wind…….

Swaraj: a network comprising of three ngos Insaf, Bijapur, and Sahayog and Samarasa, Bidar and focusing on rights aims to create and strengthen women’s forums at the grassroots level to address issues affecting women and girls.

Visthar: aims to respond to issues of poverty, displacement, gender discrimination and social exclusion by initiating and promoting transformative and inclusive education, community based initiatives and campaigns in collaboration with civil society organizations, faith based organizations and Social Movements.

Manini: focuses on the issue of women’s rights and women’s studies, and is engaged with students and academicians.

Manasa: specifically focuses on women’s writings on issues of violence against women through their newsletter Manasa Varthapatra.

No 1 Shanti Road: started as a home and a studio/gallery for artists setting out on a journey to revisit, question and blur some of the boundaries that divide India, the culture of India and the nation. For the past ten years, it has been a space for ideas, encounters, experiments, endeavors, communities in an attempt to free the art discourse from institutionalized learning.

Janasahayoga: sponsors media projects that raises awareness about the problems faced by slum dwellers with residents and official authorities with the aim of bringing about change.

Breakthrough: is a global human rights organization that attempts to bring about social change through multimedia campaigns. Working in six states of India it’s primary focus has been on preventing early marriage, gender based sex selection and domestic violence.

Sadhana Mahila Sangha: is a collective of women in street prostitution that addresses issues of violence against women from within the community, from society and various state institutions.

Apa Ki Adalat: a forum initiated by Vimochana that addresses issues of violence against women in the muslim community.

Aadima: since its inception has been researching and documenting oral traditions and narratives, creating plays and films and experimenting in educational pedagogy with numerous communities that live in the Anthargange Hill Range. Aadima also plays host to Hunnime Haadu, an event on full moon nights that features plays from across Karnataka.

Kavya Sanje Balaga: is a gathering of poets and attempts to look into the multifacetedness of poetry and link it with young poets and the public.

Bridge Network*: comprising of thirteen ngos and focuses on creating and empowering leaders of the urban poor and homeless who will voice injustice and work to ensure their rights and dignity. Association Promoting Social Action (Apsa) : is a right-based child-centered community development organisation.

Bridge Network comprises of the following organisations
Association Promoting Social Action (Apsa): is a right-based child-centered community development organisation.

Bosco Oniyavara Seva Koota (Bosco): works with the young at risk groups such as children living on the streets, child labourers, victims of drug abuse, rag pickers etc.

Centre for Urban and Rural Development (Curd): is involved in welfare and social development activities for the marginalized sections of society.

Divya Jyothi Trust (Djt): assists and enables visually impaired adults and their families lead independent and dignified lives through education, training, counseling, communication and technology.

Gilgal Charitable Trust: is a community-based, action oriented trust that is involved in the implementation of development programmes for the poor and socially disadvantaged sections in the society.

Grass Root Action and Community Empowerment (Grace): seeks to provide job-oriented training and advice on resource management to young women in Bangalore and thereby enhancing their opportunities to uplift themselves and their families from poverty.

Integrated Project for Development of People (Ipdp): offers shelter, education, health services for out-of-school children, child labourers in and around Bangalore.

Jeevan Public Trust (Jpt): focuses on the issue of domestic violence in the urban poor communities and offers counseling services through their twelve centres located in Yelahanka.

Odanata Seva Samsthe (Oss):

Samaja Vikasa Kendra trust (Svkt): is a voluntary organization that through Makkala Mane, a home for destitute girl children and Asha Kirana, a home for less privileged conducts training and awareness programmes on child rights.

Pourakarmikara Support Group: comprising of various ngos, women’s and human rights organizations, offers in different ways support to the struggles of the pourakarmikas.

Sangama: works with oppressed communities to promote and defend human rights, and primarily works with gender minorities, sexual minorities and sex workers. The organization believes in diversity and does not see sexual/gender minorities or sex workers as a monolithic, uniform community.

Alternative Law Forum: is a space that integrates alternative lawyering with critical research, alternative dispute resolution, pedagogic interventions and more generally maintaining sustained legal interventions in various social issues.

Maraa: meaning tree in kannada, is a media and arts collective based in the city of Bangalore. The collective's two main programs are Media which attempts to posit the centrality of media practice, distribution and consumption in politics and in everyday life and Art and Public Space that seeks to open up possibilities of a new aesthetics which are premised on community and dialogues, on process and collaboration, rather than on object and gallery driven art.

Mahila Samakhya, Karnataka:

Vimochana: focuses on violence against women in its myriad forms articulating its vision of making violence against women unthinkable and creating a violence free world for all, especially for the more marginalised and vulnerable communities.

Vimochana has also engaged with the public and political forms of violence in society today such as communalism and fundamentalism, nationalism and militarism that has led to greater human insecurity and institutionalised intolerance.

Individuals:

Suchithra Vedanth: State Programme Director (former), Mahila Samakhya, Karnataka.

Kartiyayini: School teacher and social activist

B T Venkatesh: Human Rights Advocate

Dr Sujatha: Pathologist, Victoria Hospital

E P Menon:  Peace activist and a Gandhian, he is currently Director of India Development Foundation, a Bangalore-based ngo.

Michael Fernandes: Trade Unionist and political thinker

Ramaiah: Dalit poet, playwright, philosopher and cultural activist

Mohit: Documentationist and Writer

Du Saraswati: Researcher and Women/Dalit activist

Padmavathi Rao: storyteller, writer and director of plays for children.

Chitra Iyer: Singer/songwriter

Sumati: Sexual minorities activist and singer
Pradeep Ramavath: Professor, Azim Premji University

Pushpa Achanta: Freelance journalist

Asha Ramesh: Women’s rights activist

Sunanda Jayram: Farmers leader, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Mandya