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Social Justice | 

Strengthening Raji Leadership for Rights and Resilience

Raji woman returning from forest with a bundle of grass

The Association for Rural Planning and Action (ARPAN), in collaboration with RLS South Asia, is implementing a project to strengthen leadership, governance participation and rights-based advocacy among the Raji indigenous community in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand.

The Raji are among India's Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). ARPAN has been working with the Raji community for over two decades, building trust, supporting women's collectives and advocating for identity documentation and forest rights.
The project focuses on three areas. First, it will develop a group of Raji youth and women as community leaders, through structured training, mentorship and intergenerational dialogue. Second, it will support community-led initiatives for FRA implementation through block and district-level interface meetings with government officials and a state-level policy consultation. Third, it will strengthen civic education and cultural continuity through educational materials, awareness generation, policy papers and an audio podcast series titled "Voices of Raji" documenting community stories and oral histories.

The project will produce documented policy recommendations, and audio-visual materials contributing to wider advocacy for indigenous rights in Uttarakhand.

About ARPAN

The Association for Rural Planning and Action (ARPAN) is a grassroots development non-governmental organisation working with the most marginalised and vulnerable communities in the remote villages of the Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand, India. It is committed to work with, amongst and for the excluded and marginalised sections of the society, placing the issue of women’s human rights in the centre of all its efforts.

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