People's Archive of Rural India

PARI is a journalism website and a “living, breathing archive” – it is not a hard news website, but aims to be topical in its coverage of rural India. It publishes stories in around 26 categories which include Things We Do,{{cite web|title=Things We Do|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/stories/categories/things-we-do/|website=People's Archive of Rural India}} Things We Make,{{cite web|title=Things We Make|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/stories/categories/things-we-make/|website=People's Archive of Rural India}} Women,{{cite web|title=Women|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/stories/categories/women/|website=People's Archive of Rural India}} Adivasis,{{cite web|title=Adivasis|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/stories/categories/adivasis/|website=People's Archive of Rural India}} Musafir,{{cite web|title=Musafir|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/stories/categories/musafir/|website=People's Archive of Rural India}} Environment,{{cite web|title=Environment|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/stories/categories/environment/|website=People's Archive of Rural India}} Resource Conflicts,{{cite web|title=Resource Conflicts|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/stories/categories/resource-conflicts/|website=People's Archive of Rural India}} The Wild,{{cite web|title=The Wild|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/stories/categories/the-wild/|website=People's Archive of Rural India}} Healthcare,{{cite web|title=Healthcare|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/stories/categories/health/|website=People's Archive of Rural India}} The Rural in the Urban{{cite web|title=The Rural in the Urban|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/stories/categories/the-rural-in-the-urban/|website=People's Archive of Rural India}} and others.

In several instances, PARI's stories are published as an ongoing series. A few of these are:

This series contains PARI's stories of ordinary Indians such as stranded migrant workers, farmers, sanitation workers, pastoral nomads, artisans, construction labourers, rural schoolteachers and students, and others, who were severely impacted by the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown that began in March 2020. This ongoing series, documenting and recording people's stories and struggles beyond the lockdown too, covers over 20 states and 35 regions. These include articles done from the field, multimedia stories, photo essays and videos, as well as documents, reports and laws relevant to the pandemic-lockdown period in the PARI Library.

Included in this series are also songs, poems and paintings inspired by the great migrant journeys, or as artistic expressions on the distress of the lockdown and pandemic.

PARI has extensively covered farmers’ rallies and movements across the country, including the protests against the three farm laws {{cite web|title=Protests against farm laws: full coverage|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/protests-against-farm-laws-full-coverage/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=11 Jan 2021}} that were passed by the Indian government in September 2020. The protesting farmers have said that these laws will destroy their livelihoods by offering large corporates even greater power over farming, and by undermining the main forms of state support to the cultivator.

The website also contains numerous reports {{cite web|title=The march goes on…|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-march-goes-on/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=3 Aug 2018}} on the Nashik to Mumbai march in March 2018, when tens of thousands of farmers demanded loan waivers, better crop prices, forest rights, and other measures. PARI also covered the landmark Kisan Mukti Morcha {{cite web|title=The Kisan Mukti March in Delhi: full coverage|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-kisan-mukti-march-in-delhi-full-coverage/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=2 Dec 2018}} in Delhi on November 29–30, 2018, which brought together farmers, labourers and others from across India, demanding a 21-day session of Parliament to focus on the agrarian crisis to cover bills on debt and remunerative prices, the water crisis, land reforms, the rights of women, Dalit and Adivasi farmers, and more.

This series focuses on understanding and writing about who these farmers are – as individuals, as communities – besides their identities as farmers.

This series is a PARI-UNDP collaboration{{cite web|title=Climate Change and Wellbeing: A PARI and UNDP series|url=https://www.in.undp.org/content/india/en/home/climate-and-disaster-reslience/successstories/pari-undp-series.html#:~:text=The%20People's%20Archive%20of%20Rural,a%20result%20of%20climate%20change|website=United Nations Development Programme|date=12 Mar 2021}} with articles on climate change from “multiple climate and agro-ecological zones across the country, through the voices and lived experiences of ordinary Indians.” These include stories on depleting coral reefs{{cite web|title=The Great Coral Grief of Lakshadweep islands|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-great-coral-grief-of-lakshadweep-islands/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=12 Sep 2020}} and native insect species,{{cite web|title=Battle of the bugs: on wings of climate change|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/battle-of-the-bugs-on-wings-of-climate-change/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=22 Sep 2020}} the experience of seaweed harvesters,{{cite web|title=Tamil Nadu's seaweed harvesters in rough seas|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/tamil-nadus-seaweed-harvesters-in-rough-seas/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=31 Oct 2019}} changing temperature patterns,{{cite web|title=Churu: Blowing hot, blowing cold – mainly hot|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/churu-blowing-hot-blowing-cold---mainly-hot/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=2 Jun 2020}} monoculture cash crops{{cite web|title='Cotton has now become a headache'|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/cotton-has-now-become-a-headache/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=7 Oct 2019}} and human-wildlife conflict.{{cite web|title=Buffaloed by the climate in Kolhapur|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/buffaloed-by-the-climate-in-kolhapur/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=15 Jul 2019}}

This ongoing PARI series in partnership with the Population Foundation of India,{{cite web|title=Series on Women's Health with PARI|url=https://populationfoundation.in/series-on-womens-health-with-pari/|website=Population Foundation of India}} aims to document the voices and stories of women's reproductive health across rural India. The stories revolve around “the stigma around infertility,{{cite web|title='Now my goats are like my children'|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/now-my-goats-are-like-my-children/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=13 Apr 2020}} the emphasis on female sterilisation,{{cite web|title='End of bother' – Neha gets a nasbandi|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/end-of-bother---neha-gets-a-nasbandi/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=28 Feb 2020}} the lack of ‘male engagement’ in family planning,{{cite web|title='Last year, only one man agreed to a vasectomy'|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/last-year-only-one-man-agreed-to-a-vasectomy/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=18 Mar 2020}} inadequate rural healthcare systems{{cite web|title=In the Nilgiris, an inheritance of malnutrition|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/in-the-nilgiris-an-inheritance-of-malnutrition/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=1 May 2020}} that too are out of reach for many, unqualified medical practitioners{{cite web|title='They are just given a pill and sent away'|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/they-are-just-given-a-pill-and-sent-away/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=11 Mar 2020}} and dangerous childbirths,{{cite web|title='My kaat [uterus] keeps coming out'|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/my-kaat-%5Buterus%5D-keeps-coming-out/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=17 Jun 2020}} discrimination due to menstruation,{{cite web|title=Koovalapuram's curious guesthouse|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/koovalapurams-curious-guesthouse/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=20 Feb 2020}} the preference for sons{{cite web|title='After some 12 children it stops on its own'|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/after-some-12-children-it-stops-on-its-own/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=20 May 2020}} – and more. Stories that speak of a wide range of health-related prejudices and practices, people and communities, gender and rights, and the everyday struggles and occasional small victories of women in rural India.”

PARI has an exclusive category dedicated to India's last living freedom fighters,{{cite web|title=Foot-Soldiers of Freedom|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/stories/categories/foot-soldiers-of-freedom/|website=People's Archive of Rural India}} such as Captain Bhau,{{cite web|title='Captain Elder Brother' and the whirlwind army|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/captain-elder-brother-and-the-whirlwind-army/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=20 Sep 2016}} who led an anti-British uprising that resulted in the formation of a provisional government in Satara, Maharashtra, in 1943; and Salihan,{{cite web|title=When 'Salihan' took on the Raj|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/when-salihan-took-on-the-raj/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=14 Aug 2015}} an Adivasi woman from Odisha's Nuapada who single-handedly took on an armed British officer in 1930, when she was 16.

“We had fought for independence and freedom, but our contribution was forgotten,” said Captain Bhau (Ramchandra Sripati Lad), who led an anti-British uprising in Satara, Maharashtra, in 1943. With this film and article about me and my fellow soldiers, P. Sainath and PARI have revived the memory of prati sarkar [provisional government] and how it fought for people.”

This is a collection of over 100,000 ovi – couplets sung by the women of rural Maharashtra over generations, while toiling at the grindmill at home and performing other household tasks. These songs yield insights into village life and culture; gender, patriarchy, class, and caste issues; religion; and various contemporary social and political concerns. PARI aims to archive this collection through recordings, videos, transcripts, translations and stories.

PARI's stories on demonetisation – when the Indian government, in November 2016, outlawed 86 per cent of the country's currency – cover its effects on devastated farmers,{{cite web|title=Bank 'Gandhigiri', cashless hara-kiri in Marathwada|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/bank-gandhigiri-cashless-hara-kiri-in-marathwada/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=9 Dec 2016}} landless labourers, beedi-rollers,{{cite web|title=Note ban sends beedi units up in smoke|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/note-ban-sends-beedi-units-up-in-smoke/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=17 Dec 2016}} migrant workers,{{cite web|title=BPL XI: they're mobile, their money isn't|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/bpl-xi-theyre-mobile-their-money-isnt/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=19 Dec 2016}} shop owners{{cite web|title=Striking the right notes on 'demon' anniversary|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/striking-the-right-notes-on-demon-anniversary/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=6 Nov 2017}} and many others across rural India.

This PARI series covers stories about people denied rations,{{cite web|title=Fake ration cards or faulty Aadhaar data?|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/fake-ration-cards-or-faulty-aadhaar-data/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=26 Feb 2018}} disability pensions,{{cite web|title=Good enough to vote, not enough for Aadhaar|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/good-enough-to-vote-not-enough-for-aadhaar/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=30 Mar 2018}} MGNREGA wages,{{cite web|title=Aadhaar robs Lakshmi of wealth|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/aadhaar-robs-lakshmi-of-wealth/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=14 Feb 2018}} scholarships{{cite web|title=What's in a name? The agonies of Aadhaar|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/whats-in-a-name-the-agonies-of-aadhaar/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=16 Jan 2018}} and more, because of misspelt names, botched biometrics, and other such glitches in their Aadhaar cards.

PARI Anthologies are collections of subject-specific stories, such as ‘Everyday lives in Ladakh and Kashmir’;{{cite web|title=Everyday lives in Ladakh and Kashmir|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/everyday-lives-in-ladakh-and-kashmir/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=8 Aug 2019}} ‘Train stories from rural India’;{{cite web|title=Train stories from rural India|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/train-stories-from-rural-india/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=25 Jan 2019}} ‘The handlers of India's human waste’;{{cite web|title=The handlers of India's human waste|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-handlers-of-indias-human-waste/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=24 Aug 2018}} ‘Into the precarious world of India's weavers’{{cite web|title=Into the precarious world of India's weavers|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/into-the-precarious-world-of-indias-weavers/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=22 Sep 2017}} and ‘Cattle stories from the countryside’.{{cite web|title=Cattle stories from the countryside|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/cattle-stories-from-the-countryside/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=17 Feb 2019}}

PARI aims to document the country's fast-changing countryside. Rural India is extremely diverse in occupations, arts and crafts, culture, literature, legend, transportation, and in other fields. But as the Indian countryside rushes through an extremely painful transformation, many of these features disappear, leaving us poorer. There are, for instance, probably more schools and styles of weaving in India than in any other single nation. Many of these traditional weaving communities face real collapse, which will rob the world of some of its greatest gifts. Similarly, there are other occupations in rural India which are experiencing decline, such as potters,{{cite web|title=The potter's wheel has slowed down|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-potters-wheel-has-slowed-down/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=5 Jul 2018}} toy-makers{{cite web|title=No longer a toy story|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/no-longer-a-toy-story/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=18 May 2017}} and toddy-tappers.{{cite web|title=Lockdown forces Eeswar to climb trees again|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/munjalu/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=22 Jun 2020}} Much of what makes the countryside unique could be gone in 20–30 years. Without any systematic record, visual or oral of this incredible diversity. With rural India losing worlds and voices of which future generations will know little or nothing, PARI aims to be a living journal, an archive and a textbook for the future.

Visible Work, Invisible Women takes viewers around an entire exhibition of original photographs depicting the contribution that rural women make to the national economy. All the photographs were shot by P. Sainath across 10 Indian states between 1993 and 2002. Four sets of the physical version of this exhibition have been seen by over 700,000 viewers in India alone since 2002. Its display venues have included bus and railway stations, factory gates, mass rallies of agricultural and other labourers, schools, colleges and universities. The entire body of work is online on PARI.

The PARI library is an online compendium of publicly accessible documents and data on rural India, with sections such as climate change, health, gender, laws, agriculture and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's writings. The library archives reports, journal articles, surveys, laws, reviewed research articles as well as literature and historical writings, for students, researchers and other readers to access for free. The PARI Health Archive is a collection of over 120 resources on health, nutrition, COVID-19 and related topics.

PARI's FACES project is a record of the facial and occupational diversity of India. It documents the faces of adults and children – along with their age, occupation and other details – from various blocks and districts of India.

PARI Education, launched on August 3, 2020, brings PARI stories to classrooms across India – as teaching resources, by aiding project work, and by familiarising teachers with rural issues. It aims to sensitise a new generation to lives and livelihoods in rural India. The PARI Education co-website also serves as a platform for stories, videos, photo essays and comics created by students. PARI's collaborations so far (since August 2018) with over 70 educational institutions include conducting classroom sessions, looking for ways to engage in the curriculum, working with teachers to use PARI stories in the classroom, co-designing courses which incorporate PARI material.{{cite web|title=How urban classrooms can and must learn about rural India|url=https://thethirdeyeportal.in/pedagogy/how-urban-classrooms-can-and-must-learn-about-rural-india/|website=The Third Eye|date=14 Apr 2021}}{{cite web|title=Using Stories to Sensitise: The PARI Experience|url=https://archive.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/SitePages/pdf/Publications/Learning-Curve/Issue_9/Priti_David.pdf|website=Azim Premji University}}

PARI is the first media website in India to publish its articles in several Indian languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil and Urdu.{{cite web|title=Video, audio, photo content & stories: "Cover Your Country" by PARI: Rural people speak about their lives|url=https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=21398#gsc.tab=0|website=Indian Tribal Heritage|date=5 Jan 2021}}

On October 31, 2020, PARI, in collaboration with independent publishing house Karadi Tales, launched a series of children's books based on PARI stories from different parts of rural India. The books are No Nonsense Nandhini by Aparna Karthikeyan, No Ticket, Will Travel by Subuhi Jiwani, House of Uncommons by Vishaka George, Coming Home by Priti David and A Big Splash by Nivedha Ganesh.{{cite web|title=PARI series from Karadi Tales: Inspiring stories from rural India for children|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/pari-series-karadi-tales-inspiring-stories-rural-india-children-139344|website=The News Minute|date=10 Dec 2020}}{{cite web|title=Real stories for urban kids|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/real-stories-for-urban-kids/article33021685.ece|website=Indian Tribal Heritage|date=4 Nov 2020}}

The People's Archive of Rural India aims to position a PARI Fellow in every single one of the country's roughly 100 regions, most of which are untouched by the ‘national’ media. The Fellows could be reporters, writers, filmmakers, photographers and everyday residents of the regions. The network of Fellows that PARI builds will also reflect the social composition of the country. Half of the nearly 100 Fellows will be women. And Dalit journalists, Adivasi journalists and those from the minorities will also be represented in a fair manner. Each PARI Fellow works on a specific region for a year, spending at least three months full-time in fieldwork amongst the region's people and communities. PARI has had 24 Fellows since 2015, who have reported stories from over 30 regions. Some of the PARI Fellows are – Anubha Bhonsle (2015 & 2019), Purusottam Thakur (2015),{{cite web|title=Purusottam Thakur/PARI|url=https://idronline.org/contributor/purusottam-thakur-pari/|website=India Development Review}} Arpita Chakrabarty (2016), Ratna Bharali Talukdar (2016), Ritayan Mukherjee (2016),{{cite web|title=About Ritayan Mukherjee|url=https://www.lensculture.com/ritayan-mukherjee|website=LensCulture}} Urvashi Sarkar (2016),{{cite web|title=Reham al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship/Urvashi Sarkar - India|url=https://www.un.org/en/reham-al-farra-memorial-journalism-fellowship/urvashi-sarkar-india|website=United Nations}} Bhasha Singh (2017), Parth M. N. (2017),{{cite web|title=Firstpost writer Parth MN's award-winning Marathwada series: How income uncertainty, collapse of rural banking set farmers on edge|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/firstpost-writer-parth-mns-award-winning-marathwada-series-how-income-uncertainty-collapse-of-rural-banking-set-farmers-on-edge-5830301.html|website=Firstpost|date=4 January 2019 }} Rahul M. (2017), M. Palani Kumar (2019){{cite web|title=M Palani Kumar|url=https://caravanmagazine.in/author/33416|website=The Caravan}} and Sanket Jain (2019).{{cite web|title=Sanket Jain|url=https://www.equaltimes.org/sanket-jain?lang=en|website=Equal Times| date=18 January 2024 }}

• Stories reported on PARI have been re-published on several platforms. These include the BBC Hindi,{{cite web|last1=पत्रकार|first1=पी साईनाथ वरिष्ठ|last2=लिए|first2=बीबीसी हिन्दी डॉटकॉम के|title=केरल: दुनिया का सबसे तन्हा लाइब्रेरियन|url=http://www.bbc.com/hindi/india/2014/06/140602_lonliest_librarian_p_sainath_rd.shtml?ocid=socialflow_facebook#share-tools|website=BBC हिंदी|date=4 June 2014 }} BBC Marathi, BloombergQuint,{{cite web|title=Families Separated By The Search For Fodder|url=https://www.bloombergquint.com/global-economics/families-separated-by-the-search-for-fodder|website=BloombergQuint|date=20 February 2019}} Economic & Political Weekly,{{cite journal|title=The Benz and the Banjara|url=http://www.epw.in/journal/2016/24/web-exclusives/benz-and-banjara.html|website=Economic and Political Weekly|date=5 June 2015}} Firstpost, Gaon Connection, HuffPost India, India Cultural Forum,{{cite web|title='Copying our designs is not correct'|url=https://indianculturalforum.in/2019/05/21/copying-our-designs-is-not-correct/|website=India Cultural Forum|date=21 May 2019 }} Khabar Lahariya, Mathrubhumi Weekly, Max Maharashtra, Scroll,{{cite web|last1=Karthikeyan|first1=Aparna|title=What happens when Meenakshi from Manamdurai beats a pot 3,000 times|url=http://scroll.in/article/807095/what-happens-when-meenakshi-from-manamdurai-beats-a-pot-3000-times|website=Scroll.in|date=30 May 2016 }} The Shillong Times, The Logical Indian,{{cite web|title=Forgotten Freedom Fighters: When 'Salihan' Took On Armed Britishers With Lathis|url=https://thelogicalindian.com/story-feed/get-inspired/freedom-fighter/|website=The Logical India|date=14 Aug 2018}} The Quint, The Wire,{{cite web|title=In Maharashtra's Dombivli, Autorickshaw Drivers Lend Support to Farmers|url=https://thewire.in/labour/driving-autos-and-causes-in-dombivli|website=The Wire|date=28 Nov 2018}} Times of India,{{cite web|title=The Times Group|url=http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=Goas-heavyweights-26042015022028|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828044657/http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31804&articlexml=Goas-heavyweights-26042015022028|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 28, 2016|website=epaperbeta.timesofindia.com|language=en}} and Tlaxcala.
• PARI stories are used as teaching material in undergraduate and post-graduate courses at various universities in India and abroad. These include the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Ashoka University, Visvabharati University, and South Asia Studies departments at US universities – and numerous other educational institutions.{{cite web|title=Using Stories to Sensitise|url=https://archive.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/SitePages/pdf/Publications/Learning-Curve/Issue_9/Priti_David.pdf|website=Azim Premji University|date=Apr 2021}}
• A group of journalists in Karnataka – including G. N. Mohan – brought out a PARI Reader – Ee ‘Pari’ya Sobagu in Kannada on July 1, 2016. Many of these stories have found their way into district newspapers, some of which may not have web editions.
• People's Archive of Rural Nova Scotia (PARNS){{Cite web|url=https://www.parns.ca/|title=People's Archive of Rural Nova Scotia|website=https://www.parns.ca/}} says on its site that it takes inspiration from PARI.{{cite web|title=Our Story|url=https://www.parns.ca/our-story/|website=People's Archive of Rural Nova Scotia}} Another such initiative is Janaavishkara, a people's participatory portal in Kerala.

Additionally, various PARI stories have had a wide range of impacts. Some of these are:

• Good enough to vote, not enough for Aadhaar{{cite web|title=Good enough to vote, not enough for Aadhaar|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/good-enough-to-vote-not-enough-for-aadhaar/|website=People's Archieve of Rural India|date=30 Mar 2018}} (March, 2018) an article by Puja Awasthi, was cited in Justice D. Y. Chandrachud's September 26, 2018 Supreme Court judgement on Aadhaar. The story documents the problems faced by persons with leprosy who have been denied pensions because they were unable to get enrolled in the Aadhaar system. The article notes that the Aadhaar process can bring about a denial of benefits.{{cite web|title=AadhaarVerdict|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/resources/article25048939.ece/binary/AadhaarVerdict.pdf|website=The Hindu}}
• Kali: The dancer and his dreams{{cite web|title=Kali: the dancer and his dreams|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/kali-the-dancer-and-his-dreams-1/|website=People's Archieve of Rural India|date=16 Jun 2014}} (June, 2014) is a story by Aparna Karthikeyan, about a male dancer from Tamil Nadu, from a Dalit community, who has mastered Bharatanatyam and three other folk dance-forms. Kali has since won several awards, and has been featured in several publications.{{cite web|title=Connecting the roots|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/an-interview-with-kali-veerapathiran-on-his-passion-for-dance/article26289203.ece|website=The Hindu|date=16 Feb 2019}} After Aparna's story Small farmer, big heart, miracle bike{{cite web|title=Small farmer, big heart, miracle bike|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/small-farmer-big-heart-miracle-bike/|website=People's Archieve of Rural India|date=7 Mar 2016}} (March, 2016) about Chandra Subramanian – a single mom, cultivator and retailer in Sivagangai district, Tamil Nadu – Chandra has been featured in several publications, and received an award. Many people have reached out to assist her in significant ways.{{cite web|title=Meet Chandra Subramanian, a Small Farmer With a Big Heart and a Miracle Bike|url=https://thewire.in/uncategorised/farmer-chandra-subramanium|website=The Wire|date=18 Mar 2017}}{{cite web|title=2017 Winners|url=https://homepreneurawards.com/2017-winners/|website=Homepreneur Awards}}
• The last post – and a bridge too far{{cite web|title=The last post – and a bridge too far|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/the-last-post---and-a-bridge-too-far/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|language=en|date=21 Jun 2016}} (June, 2016), a story about a post office in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, by Arpita Chakrabarty (2016 PARI Fellow) was picked up widely on social media immediately on publishing. Within four days of the article being published, Pitthorgarh — where people sometimes travelled 70 kilometres to collect their mail — finally had its own post office.{{cite web|title=Tweet by Rajdeep Sardesai brings first post office to Uttarakhand village|url=https://www.india.com/news/india/tweet-by-rajdeep-sardesai-brings-first-post-office-to-uttarakhand-village-1296904/|website=India.com|date=29 Jun 2016}}
• What's in a name? The agonies of Aadhaar (January, 2018), which Rahul M. (2017 PARI Fellow) wrote from Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, is about a typographical error in a schoolgirl's Aadhaar card that cost her a primary school scholarship. The problem was resolved after PARI published this story.{{cite web|title=10-year-old denied school scholarship due to repeated errors on her Aadhaar card|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/mirror-now/society/article/10-year-old-denied-school-scholarship-due-to-repeated-errors-on-her-aadhaar-card/190217|website=Times Now News|date=18 Jan 2018}}{{cite web|title=J Indu remains J Hindu on new Aadhaar card, denied scholarship|url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/national/agonies-of-aadhaar-students-denied-scholarships-over-misspelled-names|website=National Herald|date=17 Jan 2018}}
• Copying our designs is not correct{{cite web|title='Copying our designs is not correct'|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/copying-our-designs-is-not-correct/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=17 May 2019}} (May, 2019) by Priti David is about how despite a GI certification the distinctive Toda embroidery of the Nilgiris was being widely copied. The story led to the case being taken up by Poompuhar, the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd. It has also been used as a case study in the National Institute of Fashion Design, and in other design schools.{{cite web|title=From Reliance Trends to Tjori, ethnic fashion brands trip over GI|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/from-reliance-trends-to-tjori-ethnic-fashion-brands-trip-over-gi-119053000011_1.html|website=Business Standard|date=30 May 2019}}{{cite web|title=GI certificate for Toda embroidery formally handed over to tribals|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/gi-certificate-for-toda-embroidery-formally-handed-over-to-tribals/article4811295.ece|website=The Hindu|date=14 Jun 2013}}{{cite web|title=Craft: Toda Embroidery, Ooty|url=https://www.nift.ac.in/chennai/node/213|website=National Institute of Fashion Technology}}
• In their story Sowing the seeds of climate crisis in Odisha{{cite web|title=Sowing the seeds of climate crisis in Odisha|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/sowing-the-seeds-of-climate-crisis-in-odisha/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=4 Oct 2019}} (October, 2019) Chitrangada Choudhury and Aniket Aga spoke of how the increase in Bt-cotton acreage in Odisha's Rayagada district was causing an alarming ecological shift in the region. After it was published, Odisha's Directorate of Agriculture and Food Production asked all district officers in a letter to create awareness among farmers about the restriction on the use of glyphosate and Paraquat dichloride.{{cite web|title=Odisha orders restricted use of 2 herbicides|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/odisha-orders-restricted-use-of-2-herbicides/story-THfbgPe90yq51QXUVXcliL.html|website=Hindustan Times|date=24 Nov 2019}}{{cite web|title=Odisha: How illegal bt cotton is making inroads into tribal pockets of niyamgiri|url=https://www.newsclick.in/odisha-how-illegal-Bt-cotton-making-inroads-tribal-pockets-niyamgiri|website=News Click|date=14 Mar 2020}}
• Gauri Adelkar, a writer and director based between the US and Mumbai, made a short film in 2018 called The Little Goddess – inspired by PARI's coverage of Bahurupi artists{{cite web|title=Possessed by his art, a Bahurupi transforms|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/possessed-by-his-art-a-bahurupi-transforms/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=23 Mar 2018}} in West Bengal. The film features 12-year-old Durga and her family, who depend on Bahurupi – a vanishing performance art – to survive.{{cite web|title='The Little Goddess,' Written and Directed by Current Student Gauri Adelkar, Premieres Worldwide|url=https://arts.columbia.edu/news/little-goddess%C2%A0written-and-directed-current-student-gauri-adelkar-premieres-worldwide|website=Columbia University|date=1 Oct 2018}}{{cite web|title=The Little Goddess - a short film|url=https://www.facebook.com/TheLittleGoddessmovie/|website=Facebook|date=7 May 2019}}
• When ‘Salihan’ took on the Raj (August, 2015) by P. Sainath (Founder Editor, PARI) speaks of Demathi Dei Sabar, freedom fighter from Odisha's Nuapada district, who took on an armed British officer with a lathi. Rahul Ramanathan (then a 13-year-old from Ahmedabad, Gujarat) retold her story in pictures in a PARI book called Salihan.{{cite web|title=Freedom fighter Salihan comes alive in sketches|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/freedom-fighter-salihan-comes-alive-in-sketches/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=4 Apr 2019}}

PARI has won 31 awards since its launch in December 2014. WAN-IFRA's South Asian Digital Media Awards in the category 'Best Special Project for COVID-19', the Laadli Media and Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity, Prem Bhatia Award for Journalism on Environment and Development issues, the Ramnath Goenka Award and the Silver Lotus (Rajat Kamal) at the 63rd National Film Awards are some of the accolades that PARI has received. The full list so far:

South Asian Short Film Festival 2018 and 2019

For the South Asian Short Film Festival in 2018, 15 PARI films were selected – 13 for the Competition Documentary category, and 2 for the Official Panorama Viewing category. These films ranged in duration from 6 to 18 minutes and were shot in Hindi, Bengali, Odia, Marathi, Malayalam, Ladakhi, Manipuri and Tamil. Some of the selected films were Tussar: the crumbling cocoon{{cite web|title=Tussar: the crumbling cocoon|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/tussar-the-crumbling-cocoon/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=7 Jul 2017}} by Shreya Katyayini, Mending boats with music{{cite web|title=Mending boats with music|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/mending-boats-with-music/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=10 Apr 2016}}

by V. Sasikumar, The fading weaves of Duajhar{{cite web|title=The fading weaves of Duajhar|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-fading-weaves-of-duajhar/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=20 Dec 2015}} by Purusottam Thakur, Ima Keithel: every day is women's day{{cite web|title=Ima Keithel: every day is women's day|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/ima-keithel-every-day-is-womens-day/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=10 Mar 2016}} by Anubha Bhonsle and others and Threadbare in Santipur{{cite web|title=Threadbare in Santipur|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/threadbare-in-santipur/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=19 Apr 2017}} by Sinchita Maji.{{cite web|title=SASFF 2018: Selected Films|url=http://2018.sasff.online/selected-films/|website=South Asian Short Film Festival}}

The South Asian Short Film Festival in 2019 selected five PARI films/videos for its Competition Documentary category. The films were shot in Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Manipuri and Hindi. The selected films were Ganpati Yadav's gripping life cycle{{cite web|title=Ganpati Yadav's gripping life cycle|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/ganpati-yadavs-gripping-life-cycle/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=3 Sep 2018}} by Sinchita Maji, Possessed by his art, a Bahurupi transforms by Ankan Roy and others, I feel so happy to see the paddy growing{{cite web|title=Promoting paddy, reclaiming rice in Kerala|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/promoting-paddy-reclaiming-rice-in-kerala/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=10 Apr 2018}} by Vishaka George and others, Into the chakshangs of Imphal{{cite web|title=Into the chakshangs of Imphal|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/into-the-chakshangs-of-imphal/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=7 May 2018}} by Anubha Bhonsle and others and Farming doesn't give us our sustenance{{cite web|title=The solitary cultivators of Himachal|url=https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-solitary-cultivators-of-himachal/|website=People's Archive of Rural India|date=21 Dec 2018}} by Subuhi Jiwani.{{cite web|title=Official Selections|url=http://2019.sasff.online/official-selections/|website=South Asian Short Film Festival}}

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