Of the Poor and the Marginalized

Shirish Khare is a well-known journalist whose reports have received recognition, and his book Ek Desh Barah Dunia is a reportage based on his personal travels. In this book, he aims to paint an accurate and fascinating picture of marginalized people, tribals, and poor communities. There are many distinctions and variations between rural and urban India which are discussed in this book. Khare uses the art of storytelling to illustrate his experiences. He reflects on what he witnessed while travelling across villages in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. ‘I have to go through pain and torture every time I travel and write’, he writes of his experiences or vocation (p. 11). The significance of this is that the media is aware of our society’s plight; all of those debates are absolutely absent there. Khare is one of the authors who dared to speak up and bring these issues to light. The events related in this book are factual; however, the characters’ names have been withheld since it is unethical, but the classification is like a story that will strike the reader’s heart. Khare went to places that were previously not heard of and overlooked. This book is divided into 12 chapters, each with a separate dramatic incident. Throughout the book, the author emphasizes diversity. For instance, he writes about a crippled person, a sex worker residing in Kamathipura’s red light district, a Dalit girl, and many such people.