The Countermedia Trust

Counter Media Trust operates the People's Archive of Rural India (PARI), an active journal and repository dedicated to reporting and archiving the dai Read morely lives and activities of rural Indians. This platform curates a diverse range of multimedia content, such as stories, videos, audio, and images, while prioritizing the narratives of ordinary individuals. PARI operates under the Creative Commons license, ensuring unrestricted access to its content, and encourages contributions from anyone willing to share their experiences within the context of rural India. Recognizing the declining significance of traditional libraries and museums, PARI places emphasis on the Internet as a means of preserving and disseminating information for future generations. Its approach incorporates a variety of media formats, aiming to feature stories primarily told by rural Indians themselves. Additionally, PARI seeks to play a role in education by creating valuable resources for students and educators alike. The platform's aspiration is to become a comprehensive repository, including official reports and studies related to rural India, thereby facilitating access to crucial information for researchers. PARI also relies on crowd-funding to support its content creation and expansion efforts, relying on public engagement to capture the diverse tapestry of rural life across the country.

PARI aims to challenge prevailing stereotypes about rural India, highlight the diverse ways people in rural areas live and work, and create a more inclusive and diverse media landscape.

PARI has expanded to cover 27 villages in 12 states of India, launched PARI Education to bring rural stories to classrooms, and initiated the 'Cover Your Country' project to report from all 95 regions of India.