Labin Rai
My name is Labin Rai. I come from a very remote village in south Sikkim. To reach my village you have to walk for several kilometers from the nearest bus station. There are three community in my areas: lepcha, bhudia, and nepali. I belong to the nepali community but I wish to go beyond community boundaries, and I want to speak for these three communities. I have grown up in an environment where there was violence and poverty all around me. My father was an alcoholic and he was very violent with my mother and I. I dropped off the school early because the school teacher physically abused me. After that I struggled a lot, sometimes working as a cleaner in trucks, sometimes as a driver, sometimes doing other jobs. Finally, I managed to buy a camera, because I always wanted to take photographs. Today, I am a professional photographer, taking photographs at public events, mostly those organised by the environment department. I wanted to join India Unheard last year, but I couldn't, as my application came late. Since then, I have been waiting for another chance, which I got this time. Joining India Unheard was crucial for me: it is the only I can tell the stories of my community. Im my area, the media comes only if you pay. Sometimes, they send only a photographer to take one or two picture, but there is no news story. Altought there is a plastic ban in Sikkim, o one is applying it. This issue does not interest the media. I want to write about this and also about the massive deforestation that is happening in my area, which is also not reported.

Labin Rai has produced 521 stories for us.