Kavita Devi, alternatively Kavita Bundelkhandi, is an Indian journalist and news presenter. She is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of the grassroots feminist news network ''

Khabar Lahariya ''Khabar Lahariya'' (translation: News Wave) is an Indian newspaper, published in various rural dialects of Hindi, including Bundeli, Avadhi and Bajjika dialects. The newspaper was started by Nirantar'','' a New Delhi–based non-government ...

.'' Devi was notably the first

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

("untouchable") to become a member of the Editor's Guild of India.

Biography

Kavita Devi was born in the remote village of Kunjan Purwa, near Banda, Uttar Pradesh, to a family of Dalit farmers. The eldest among six children, she was married off at the age of 12 and received no formal education. In her testimony, Devi states that a non-government organisation (NGO) had opened a center in her village where she studied extensively for six months, and after substantial resistance from other villagers including her family. She is noted to have been the first woman from her village to have received an education as a result. In later years, she has gone on to complete her graduation and earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in journalism. Devi states that she started working with a small newsletter ''Mahila Dakiya,'' which was run by the center in her village and marked the beginning of her journalistic career. Eventually in 2002, she co-founded ''

'' along with seven other women, with the support an NGO called Nirantar, and funding from the Dorabji Tata Trust, the National Foundation of India and the Dalit Foundation. In 2004, the journalists at the paper collectively became the recipient of the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Mediapersons. By 2014, the paper had six editions and journalist staff of around 40 women. It was described by ''

Business Standard ''Business Standard'' is an Indian English-language daily edition newspaper published by Business Standard Private Limited, also available in Hindi. Founded in 1975, the newspaper covers the Indian economy, infrastructure, international busine ...

'', as having become the backbone of the people in the impoverished rural regions of

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lyin ...

and Awadh, in the states of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

and

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

. Over time, Devi has served in a number of positions in the organisation such as the editor of the Banda edition, the head of digital operations, and initially as a solo field journalist. She also runs a weekly news commentary show called ''The Kavita Show'' on the network and has been the editor-in-chief since 2019. In the same year, she appeared as a speaker at a

TED conference TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

which resulted in widespread attention on her story, and was described by the host and actor

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...

as an inspiration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Kavita Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Indian journalists Indian women editors Indian women journalists People from Banda, Uttar Pradesh Women writers from Uttar Pradesh Journalists from Uttar Pradesh