Confusion worse confounded

How Republic passed off a muddle of contradictions as ‘news’ about Disha Salian’s death The front page of the Indian Express had a short piece on August 13 on how after questioning actor Rhea Chakraborty for almost 18 hours, the Enforcement Directorate did not find “any substantial transfers” to her from the bank account of actor Sushant Singh […]

Boom goes the cycle!

The Covid-19 lockdown has seen restrictions on public life and transport. Hence, people are preferring cycles as mode of transport or a way to keep fit The telephone in Tarun Gupta’s bicycle shop in South Delhi has been ringing non-stop all day. As he deals with customers, a line forms outside. “Business is booming, but […]

​​Daredevil Women Reporters

Women field reporters, unlike their male counterparts, suffer sexual harassment while operating in a misogynist environment. They feel their own organisations should offer better support On August 11, three journalists of Caravan magazine– assistant photo editor Shahid Tantray, contributor to the magazine Prabhjit Singh, and a staffer, a woman—were mobbed by a group of about […]

The road from schools to factories

The lifting of the lockdown has revived the vile business of child trafficking, especially since their parents are jobless and willing to give them up on the assurance that their education will continue The common fear that instances of child trafficking in the country will increase during the pandemic and the lockdown which rendered millions […]

Jobs lost as fabric of a lucrative industry is torn

The garment industry, mostly geared to exports to the West, has laid off most of its employees. They now face an uncertain future as business will be slow to take off even after the pandemic By the end of May, Anjali had informed her office – a garment export house situated in Delhi, boasting an […]

Covid pandemic is hitting lower castes the hardest

The lockdown resulted in loss of livelihood for migrant labour as well as self-employed artisans like potters, tailors and barbers, much more than Brahmin priests and other upper castes. On top of that, they were disadvantaged when it came to online classes, as they did not have smartphones to give their children. The social evil […]

Why some memes go viral and others are just also-rans

There are now experts dubbed ‘meme scientists’ who are studying the whys and wherefores of memes, as companies and filmmakers want to use them as promotions. Popularity depends on whimsies of netizens and shared experiences  Binod! Heard this before? A seemingly normal, mundane name becomes an interesting talking point on the internet this month. Every […]

Contagion demystified

This timely book by an epidemiologist gives fascinating insights into how things spread — not just viruses but ideas and misinformation too The Covid-19 pandemic has brought focus on three fields of studies — epidemiology, virology and immunology. While all three are important to understanding the outbreak, the field that was shown most of the […]