Shefali Rafiq

Feb 4, 2025 | csmonitor.com | Shefali Rafiq

Your subscription makes our work possible. We want to bridge divides to reach everyone.

Feb 4, 2025 | csmonitor.com | Shefali Rafiq

When Mohammad Sameer was in his teens, he aspired to have a terrace so that he could be with his favorite creatures – pigeons. That dream was fulfilled soon after his father bought an apartment on a crammed street near Jama Masjid, a historic mosque in Old Delhi, Delhi’s historic heart. Hundreds of pigeon lovers spend time on terraces there feeding and flying the birds. Mr. Sameer is part of a community of pigeon-keepers in Old Delhi that, for centuries, has been raising pigeons.

Dec 9, 2024 | csmonitor.com | Shefali Rafiq |Saqib Mugloo

For the children living in impoverished areas in the shadow of Delhi’s Red Fort, education was once a distant priority. Their homes are tarpaulin-covered sheds that stand on bamboo sticks, and their parents have few resources. To survive, many of the children beg on the streets, scavenge through trash, or engage in petty crimes. It wasn’t until Than Singh came along that reading and math became the children’s favorite pastimes.

Dec 8, 2024 | everand.com | Shefali Rafiq

For the children living in impoverished areas in the shadow of Delhi’s Red Fort, education was once a distant priority. Their homes are tarpaulin-covered sheds that stand on bamboo sticks, and their parents have few resources. To survive, many of the children beg on the

Oct 13, 2024 | scroll.in | Shefali Rafiq

In Ghatmeeka village on the Rajasthan-Haryana border, Sajida’s toddler Shefa calls out for her father every time she hears his name – Junaid. Weary of explaining her husband’s absence to her children, Sajida seeks comfort at her mother’s home nearby. “It is very painful to see my daughter suffering like this,” said Mubeena Akhtar. “We married her off because we are getting old and wanted to see her happy.