Dear Friends,

It is with great sadness that we inform you that we have had to temporarily suspend the publication of Manushi: a Journal about Women and Society because Manushi Trust is going through a very severe financial crisis. Our last issue was No.157 covering the months of November-December of 2006.

Apart from the Journal, Manushi is also actively engaged in defending the rights of vulnerable individuals, groups and communities. In the last five years a disproportionate amount of our resources were consumed by our work for street vendors. This work involves confronting powerful mafias who extort money from vendors by way of bribes and "protection money". In the process, we have had to face life threatening attacks on our staff and vendor members of Manushi Sangathan. (For details of this battle click here).

Vast amounts of our energy and resources have had to go towards fighting legal battles against criminal mafias and their political and police accomplices. This left us with insufficient time and resources for our editorial and routine office work related to the Journal. This additional strain was also a major contributor to the financial crisis that required us to temporarily suspend the publication of the Journal.

As an old friend of Manushi, you are well aware that Manushi is one of the few reader-supported magazines in India. It has so far neither accepted advertisements nor grants from government, nor accepted funds from donor agencies, for its survival. It has published continuously without a break on a bimonthly basis for more than 28 years, primarily supported by subscriptions, sales of a variety of its other publications and modest personal donations from our readers. It has always operated on a shoestring budget. Unpaid volunteers have done most of Manushi work.


You will find regular updates on the battles on behalf of street vendors as well as the other issues and interventions we are engaged in on our website www.manushi.in

In the coming years we will also be involved in a major fund raising effort that will restart both the English and Hindi editions of the Journal. We apologize for the temporary suspension, deeply appreciate your subscription, and hope you will remain a subscriber. The same number of issues that remain on your subscription will be mailed to you after the resumption of regular publication of the Journal. Some Manushi friends have offered to help us organize fund raising events, including public lectures in their respective cities and universities. Any suggestions you may have as to ways we can raise adequate funds to restart both the Hindi and English editions of Manushi as a vibrant voice for the women's rights and human rights of the vulnerable in India, would be appreciated.

I hope we can count on your continued friendship and support. You can reach us by email at editor@manushi- india.org

With good wishes,

Madhu Purnima Kishwar
EDITOR