Poulomi Banerjee is assistant editor at Hindustan Times.A journalist with over a decade’s experience, Poulomi has reported on varied subject, but human rights and gender issues are her preferred areas of work
Articles by Poulomi Banerjee
Crafted in clay: The art of pottery in Delhi
It all started with the arrival of the Pathans to India. Though traditional village pottery in the form of utility ware would have existed before that, it was through the Afghan rulers like the Lodis that Delhi got its signature 'Delhi Blue' pottery.
Updated on Jan 10, 2015 02:43 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee, New Delhi
No moral policing, no communal violence, please: We are Indians
Rajkumar Hirani's recent release PK, starring Aamir Khan, gave out the message that every human is born equal. But have Indians really begun to go the 'good without God' way? It sure looks like it.
Updated on Jan 04, 2015 01:47 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
If not now, then when: It is time to review our moral reservations against euthanasia
With the government's decision to scrap Section 309 of the IPC and decriminalise attempt to suicide, perhaps it is time to review our ethical reservations against mercy killings, even though, legal experts fear misuse.
Updated on Dec 21, 2014 02:46 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
Being the change: Women quit playing the victim and fight back
The Uber cab rape, days before the second anniversary of the December 16 rape shows public spaces continue to be unsafe for women. But tired of being victimised, the ladies are hitting back.
Updated on Dec 14, 2014 04:41 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee, New Delhi
Protected birds, animals sold openly inside Asia's 'biggest cattle fair'
The Sonepur Mela in Bihar, advertised by the government as the biggest cattle fair in Asia, strikes as being just like any other rustic fair, at first. Only it is not. It is a hub of illegal trade in protected animals like elephants, langurs, nilgais and birds like parakeets.
Updated on Dec 08, 2014 08:06 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
Kissing up a storm
India has changed vastly in the last couple of decades, and Liberalisation ensured that it cast aside its old socialism to embark on a path to high growth. This has meant a change in lifestyles for many who now cannot imagine cities without malls and multiplexes.
Updated on Nov 16, 2014 03:09 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee, New Delhi
Bhopal unending tragedy? Thirty years after the incident
In the collective consciousness, Bhopal has come to be associated inextricably with the gas tragedy. Thirty years on, the incident continues to cause agony, both physical and emotional, to victims.
Updated on Nov 09, 2014 02:37 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee, New Delhi
Child labour in India: The kids aren't alright
As India celebrates Kailash Satyarthi's Nobel, a look at the child labour crisis that has condemned millions of children to toil ceaselessly. Children continue to labour as families, too poor to feed their young, send them out to work.
Updated on Oct 19, 2014 11:20 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee, New Delhi
The missing women of Indian science
Despite measures to make the fields of science and technology more inclusive, the number of women in top positions remains low.
Updated on Sep 14, 2014 01:00 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
When it isn’t right to say cheese
Photographers have often pushed the envelope when it comes to shooting subjects that are taboo or disturbing. But what differentiates a thought-provoking image from one that’s in plain bad taste?
Updated on Aug 24, 2014 04:20 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
Women are changing the holy city
The news is not all good, but many of Varanasi’s women are breaking into male bastions and a social transformation is underway.
Updated on Aug 18, 2014 05:32 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
India's youth reinterpreting God in a whole new way
Their relationship with God continued to be important to India's young, with 56% of the respondents claiming they pray regularly.
Updated on Sep 03, 2015 07:43 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
Gen Y: Obedient, family-oriented and god-fearing
Some traditions catch up with age, and others lose relevance with the passage of time. In the total sample group of 18-25 years, there is a marked difference in the responses of those in the age group of 18 to 21 years, when compared to the beliefs of those in the 22 to 25-year-old category.
Updated on Sep 03, 2015 06:50 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
Being traditional no longer a small town prerogative
Are the youth in small towns more traditional in their thinking? Not really. While Ranchi and Ahmedabad may have the most number of respondents who say they pray regularly (69%), Delhi comes a close second with 67%.
Updated on Sep 03, 2015 06:50 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
It's time the young challenged stereotypes
There is a thin line between tradition and human nature. One is born of the other and vice versa. "I find that many Indian traditions such as respecting your elders is not really a Indian tradition at all.
Updated on Sep 03, 2015 06:49 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
The abuse of our children: an Elegy for innocence lost
Sleazy uncles, over-friendly aunts and adult family members or friends given to excessive physical displays of affection are part of most children’s growing up years. When advances end in abuse, the child is hushed for fear of social repercussions.
Updated on Jul 27, 2014 02:26 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
More than a million have no school and no hope for the future
A recent UN report shows that more than a million children between the ages of six and eleven years are out of school. This represents a real loss of potential for the country. Poulomi Banerjee writes.
Updated on Jul 13, 2014 12:10 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
India’s soaring space programme headed for the final frontier
The launch of five satellites last week confirmed that India’s space programme is soaring. HT looks at what the future holds, and at challenges that need to be overcome for its continued success.
Updated on Sep 12, 2014 02:38 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
Manali: a biker's paradise!
Somewhere between Solang Valley and Rohtang Pass came acceptance. This trip to Manali, taken at the invitation of Riderthon, an independent community of biking enthusiasts, to cover a ride to Rohtang in celebration of World Motorcycle Day (June 21), would not go as planned.
Updated on Jun 29, 2014 07:12 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
Absence of toilets at home robs women of basic human dignity
Census 2011 said 53.1% of households in India did not have toilets. The figure is 69.3% in rural India. The National Human Rights Commission has indicated that more toilets will put a curb on rapes.
Updated on Jun 15, 2014 05:50 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
World Cup Fever: Football in Delhi!
With sports lovers the world over waiting with baited breath for the Fifa World Cup in Brazil to begin, HT takes a look at the football fanatics among the clubs of New Delhi.
Updated on Jun 07, 2014 01:53 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee, New Delhi
Of Amar-Prem and Crime master Gogo: 20 years of Andaz Apna Apna
You know you grew up in the Nineties if Amar-Prem brings back images of the characters portrayed by Aamir Khan and Salman Khan in Andaz Apna Apna. It’s been 20 years since the movie's release and we still can't get enough of it. Here’s why we still love Andaz Apna Apna.
Updated on Apr 20, 2014 12:21 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
Destiny's kathputli: Displacement makes survival tough for artisans
The artists complain that the impending move has affected business. Fear of displacement resulting in negative impact to an already suffering career in a traditional art form has enveloped them, writes Poulomi Banerjee.
Updated on Mar 30, 2014 06:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
Visually impaired perceive through the light in their hearts
Photojournalist Sipra Das believes the visually impaired perceive through the light in their hearts. Her book, The Light Within, captures how they overcome the challenges posed by their condition. PICS INSIDE
Updated on Mar 23, 2014 12:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
I couldn't fight as the Park Street rape victim: Suzette Jordan
A little over a year after her ordeal, Park Street rape survivor Suzette Jordan decided to disclose her identity after attending a protest rally in support of another victim. "I think people give you more respect if they know you," she tells Poulomi Banerjee.
Updated on Mar 02, 2014 02:09 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
Politics of rape
Instead of combating crime against women — West Bengal reported the highest number in India in 2012 — the state’s parties are locked in a battle to either downplay cases or stir up protest.
Updated on Mar 02, 2014 12:58 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
The Nuclear graveyard: To 'light up' our homes, some lives are falling into 'darkness'
By 2032, India hopes to generate 63 gigawatts of nuclear power that will cut its dependence on fossil fuel. Jadugoda in Jharkhand, where the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) is mining uranium, may be paying the price for that ambition.
Updated on Feb 23, 2014 01:34 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee, Jadugoda
Outsiders at home
Racial discrimination against people from the North-Eastern states is widespread and ranges from the casual use of "chinky" as a descriptive label to outright assault as in the case of Nido Tania in Lajpat Nagar in Delhi.
Updated on Feb 09, 2014 10:42 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee
A corrosive love: living with the scars
Acid attacks are a rampant gender crime in India. While the case of Laxmi, who is making a new beginning with Alok, is an occasion to cheer, the truth remains that most victims continue to live in pain and neglect.
Updated on Jan 19, 2014 12:54 AM IST
Between devil and deep blue sea
According to an international NGO, as of December 2013, eight of the 50 sailors from across the world held hostage by pirates are Indians. Both the government and shipowners have a system in place to help seafarers abducted by pirates. Why then does it take years to bring them back home?
Updated on Dec 29, 2013 02:03 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Poulomi Banerjee