Inside the conspiracy

References to BJP leader Kapil Mishra and the RSS pop up in the chats of the ‘Kattar Hindu’ WhatsApp group that planned and executed murders In February this year, communal violence in Delhi killed at least 53 people. The violence began shortly after a provocative speech by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kapil Mishra on February […]

A taste for bush meat, a threat to humanity

The killing of wildlife for meat by tribals, poachers and even forest officials during the lockdown has raised the threat of zoonotic diseases. This is despite the ban in place in India and the horrific consequences of Covid-19 infection via Wuhan’s wet market Dipu Rana, a forest guard, was unarmed when he got the information […]

Hazardous work, no hazmat suits

There is no protection against Covid-19 infection for those who take the garbage from our doorsteps or those who segregate it to find saleable junk. This, in a city which has a raging pandemic with increasing number of cluster cases Every morning, Sunil would ring doorbells of one section of a DDA apartment in Dwarka. […]

Lakhs of expats face uncertainty

Not only are Indians working in the US and Kuwait suffering as individuals from the clampdown on immigrants, India’s economy will be shaken up as it is the world’s largest recipient of remittances The United States and Kuwait are two countries which have been in the news for adversely affecting the lives of Indians. In […]

Lockdown leaves poor bereft

The Covid-19 crisis has added to the woes of the poor in rural India. Their pitiable condition shows the failure of policy implementation on the ground It was raining outside in Kunwarpur village of Shivpuri district while Barso was preparing an afternoon meal for her family. Her husband Puroshottam Kushwah just returned from a farm […]

A library in your pocket 

During the lockdown and since books in the digital format have done relatively better in India, the format is still in its early days compared to the markets in the West The pandemic has had a profound effect on peoples’ lives and everyone is trying to adjust to the ‘new normal’. People have their own […]

Avoid graphic imagery

The media needs to stop using insensitive or triggering ‘representational images’ and photographs Please note: The images used in this piece include disturbing media depictions of suicide and mental illness. A man huddled in a corner of a room, trying to hide his face. A man with a gun to his head, finger on the […]

In tune with ground realities

Kathak dancer Manjari Chaturvedi is a role model for many. She is supporting dozens of musicians during the time of Coronavirus, service to humanity and performing arts   A good way to judge a nation is to see how artists are treated in the country. In India, they are, apart from few notable exceptions, the worst […]