Writing

Social Justice | Policy | Gender | LGBTQIA+ Issues

The Wire •

Police Violence Against LGTBQIA+ People in Kolkata Highlights Need for Sensitisation

Kolkata: Late on the evening of July 20, 23-year-old Sanjit Mondal*, a gay man, was accosted by two men on a motorcycle while on his way home from visiting a friend in Kolkata’s Chinar Park neighbourhood. They asked him to accompany them to the nearby police station. When he refused, they verbally and physically assaulted, and tried to force him on to their bike.

“They said they were with the police, but I thought they were goons,” says Mondal. “When I kept refusing to believe they were with th
The Wire •

Overworked and Underpaid: The Lives of Kolkata's Crematorium Workers During the Pandemic

The name Dhapa conjures up images of garbage trucks and the stench emanating from waste. It is a locality in the eastern fringe of Kolkata where the city’s garbage is dumped. A road near the Science City crossing takes one past the cauliflower and corn plantations grown in these lands. Further down the road, garbage trucks are weighed on a platform by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) employees before they dump the waste.

A little down the dusty road one can spot the tall chimneys of the Dhap
Firstpost •

The big LGBTQ hurdle: Why trans persons face violence, legal and medical discrimination

In our society, transgender people face violence at the slightest provocation. Not many show up to help them cope with the after-effects. And then there are systemic barriers trans people face when they try to access legal and medical help.

For instance, take the case of Tista Das, a well-known transgender rights activist, actor and writer. Tista, who identifies as female, resides in the outskirts of Kolkata with her husband Dipan, a trans man. In 2019, they tied the knot in a traditional Benga
Firstpost •

Where Instagram goes wrong when it comes to safeguarding the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community

For the queer community in India, instant hate has become a lingering problem on Instagram. And there’s precious little that the social media platform can — or apparently will — do about it.

Ask Indrajeet Ghorpade, founder of the digital LGBTQ awareness platform, Yes, We Exist. On June 5, Ghorpade hosted an event on Instagram Live event encouraging the queer community in India to share their best coming out experiences. “It is to give a safe space (to the queer community) and allow other audien
the Guardian •

What drove 200 women to stab a gangster to death? Netflix series revisits crime that shocked India

The doors and windows of all the tin shacks in Kasturba Nagar slum in Nagpur, were tightly shut, the streets eerily empty. An overcast sky threatened rain. Ashu Saxena, a social activist, was going from house to house, urging people to come out and talk to her. But the doors remained closed.

Three days before, on 13 August 2004, about 200 women from the slum had killed a man on the marble floor of a district court room in the central Indian city. As police and court officials fled, witnesses sa
Digital Rights Monitor •

India: Moderating Hate In A Polarized Society

In June 2021, 56 shanties housing around 270 Rohingya refugees were destroyed in a fire in the Kalindi Kunj area of South Delhi, near the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.

Noor, a reporter for an online news platform, went to the Rohingya camp to report on the incident. There she learned that the camps were set up on land belonging to the Uttar Pradesh government. Moreover, the Rohingya refugees told her that Uttar Pradesh (UP) government officials had visited the camp earlier in the day and asked th

4 Years After SC Decriminalised Homosexuality, Police Violence Against LGBTQIA+ People Hasn’t Stopped — Article 14

Kolkata: When Hridaan, 19, a gender-fluid person who was born female came out to their parents in West Bengal in August 2021, they were abused and beaten. Eventually, they decided to move in with their partner Siddhartha, 24, a binary trans man.

Hridaan immediately began to receive threats from their family. A police officer from the local police station in Haringhata in Nadia district, on the border with Bangladesh, also called and asked them to return home.

“The officer threatened to frame S
The Wire •

No Jobs, No Family Support, No Status in the Eyes of Law: How Queer Couples Live in 2021

Kolkata: Shonali* is frustrated with spending her days cooped up in a small room with only a bed. But she has no other option.

It was at school that Shonali, a cis woman, met Agnes*, a trans man, and their relationship slowly blossomed. Last year, at 21, Shonali revealed her feelings for Agnes, 24, to her family. She was physically abused, put under house arrest and pressured into an engagement with another man.

They hail from rural Behrampur in West Bengal, where Agnes’s gender identity is ac
TheQuint •

Surviving COVID-19: Struggles of Homeless India

They are among the 1.7 million homeless people in India according to the Census 2011. Unofficial figures put the figure at 3 million. In response to a petition filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties in 2010, the Supreme Court had asked the states to provide one homeless shelter for every 100,000 people in 62 major cities of India. Since then, the highest court of the country has intervened on behalf of the homeless and called out the states and centre for their apathy in providing shelt
The Wire •

Kolkata Trans Woman's Harassment by Cop Raises Questions on Whether Rules Are Enough

Kolkata: Ranjita Sinha, a transgender woman, a former member of the West Bengal Transgender Development Board and director of Association of Transgender/Hijras of Bengal (ATHB) has been distributing rations to members of the trans community in Kolkata since the lockdown began in March.

“A lot of them have lost their livelihoods due to the pandemic. They can no longer beg, perform or earn a livelihood through sex work,” she says.

On Monday, September 21, Sinha and two of her friends, while on t
The Wire •

Police Violence Against LGTBQIA+ People in Kolkata Highlights Need for Sensitisation

Kolkata: Late on the evening of July 20, 23-year-old Sanjit Mondal*, a gay man, was accosted by two men on a motorcycle while on his way home from visiting a friend in Kolkata’s Chinar Park neighbourhood. They asked him to accompany them to the nearby police station. When he refused, they verbally and physically assaulted, and tried to force him on to their bike.

“They said they were with the police, but I thought they were goons,” says Mondal. “When I kept refusing to believe they were with th
The Wire •

Overworked and Underpaid: The Lives of Kolkata's Crematorium Workers During the Pandemic

The name Dhapa conjures up images of garbage trucks and the stench emanating from waste. It is a locality in the eastern fringe of Kolkata where the city’s garbage is dumped. A road near the Science City crossing takes one past the cauliflower and corn plantations grown in these lands. Further down the road, garbage trucks are weighed on a platform by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) employees before they dump the waste.

A little down the dusty road one can spot the tall chimneys of the Dhap
Firstpost •

The big LGBTQ hurdle: Why trans persons face violence, legal and medical discrimination

In our society, transgender people face violence at the slightest provocation. Not many show up to help them cope with the after-effects. And then there are systemic barriers trans people face when they try to access legal and medical help.

For instance, take the case of Tista Das, a well-known transgender rights activist, actor and writer. Tista, who identifies as female, resides in the outskirts of Kolkata with her husband Dipan, a trans man. In 2019, they tied the knot in a traditional Benga
Firstpost •

Where Instagram goes wrong when it comes to safeguarding the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community

For the queer community in India, instant hate has become a lingering problem on Instagram. And there’s precious little that the social media platform can — or apparently will — do about it.

Ask Indrajeet Ghorpade, founder of the digital LGBTQ awareness platform, Yes, We Exist. On June 5, Ghorpade hosted an event on Instagram Live event encouraging the queer community in India to share their best coming out experiences. “It is to give a safe space (to the queer community) and allow other audien
the Guardian •

What drove 200 women to stab a gangster to death? Netflix series revisits crime that shocked India

The doors and windows of all the tin shacks in Kasturba Nagar slum in Nagpur, were tightly shut, the streets eerily empty. An overcast sky threatened rain. Ashu Saxena, a social activist, was going from house to house, urging people to come out and talk to her. But the doors remained closed.

Three days before, on 13 August 2004, about 200 women from the slum had killed a man on the marble floor of a district court room in the central Indian city. As police and court officials fled, witnesses sa
Digital Rights Monitor •

India: Moderating Hate In A Polarized Society

In June 2021, 56 shanties housing around 270 Rohingya refugees were destroyed in a fire in the Kalindi Kunj area of South Delhi, near the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.

Noor, a reporter for an online news platform, went to the Rohingya camp to report on the incident. There she learned that the camps were set up on land belonging to the Uttar Pradesh government. Moreover, the Rohingya refugees told her that Uttar Pradesh (UP) government officials had visited the camp earlier in the day and asked th

4 Years After SC Decriminalised Homosexuality, Police Violence Against LGBTQIA+ People Hasn’t Stopped — Article 14

Kolkata: When Hridaan, 19, a gender-fluid person who was born female came out to their parents in West Bengal in August 2021, they were abused and beaten. Eventually, they decided to move in with their partner Siddhartha, 24, a binary trans man.

Hridaan immediately began to receive threats from their family. A police officer from the local police station in Haringhata in Nadia district, on the border with Bangladesh, also called and asked them to return home.

“The officer threatened to frame S
The Wire •

No Jobs, No Family Support, No Status in the Eyes of Law: How Queer Couples Live in 2021

Kolkata: Shonali* is frustrated with spending her days cooped up in a small room with only a bed. But she has no other option.

It was at school that Shonali, a cis woman, met Agnes*, a trans man, and their relationship slowly blossomed. Last year, at 21, Shonali revealed her feelings for Agnes, 24, to her family. She was physically abused, put under house arrest and pressured into an engagement with another man.

They hail from rural Behrampur in West Bengal, where Agnes’s gender identity is ac

Health | Science

Tech2 •

Ozone pollution from Asia isn't well understood, but may be damaging Arctic plants- Technology News, Firstpost

Ozone pollution in the Arctic can take anywhere between a few days to several weeks and months through slower mixing in the high latitude troposphere, says Professor Frode Stordal, Department of Geosciences, University in Oslo (UiO).

"Ozone can be formed in Asia and transported to the Arctic, or the ozone precursors can be transported to the Arctic and ozone being formed there. Asian contribution to Arctic ozone is thus a complex issue, which is not well quantitatively characterized," he says.
CNN •

Epilepsy is personal for 'Hamilton' star

Miguel Cervantes and his wife, Kelly, welcomed daughter Adelaide in October 2015. They sensed that something was amiss early on.

“She wasn’t developing on a regular trajectory,” said Cervantes, who stars as Alexander Hamilton in the hit musical theater production “Hamilton” in Chicago. Soon after, Adelaide had a seizure.

“Then the terminology ‘epilepsy’ starts coming into the conversation about what’s wrong with her,” he said.

When she was just 7 months old, Adelaide started having multiples
CNN •

Beware these Halloween safety ghouls

Halloween is usually full of fun and adventure – and candy – making it a favorite holiday for many.

Cloee Cooper, a research analyst in Boston, remembers it that way. “You get to dress up as someone else, walk all over town, attend haunted house parties and celebrations at school,” she said.

But Cooper says that when she was growing up in Mount Shasta, California, her parents had a few rules: “Don’t go inside a person’s house unless you know them. Don’t take unwrapped candies, and I had to be

Sodium-Ion Batteries May Power the Next Big Break In Tech | SHyNE

Sodium-Ion Batteries May Power the Next Big Break In Tech

When researchers at Northwestern University started researching sodium-ion batteries, they had one uniform goal – find commonly abundant materials for a cheap alternative to lithium ion batteries. The depletion of lithium sources makes it essential to find alternative sources of battery power – soon.

Researchers in the Department of Material Science and Engineering at Northwestern University are developing and testing a sodium-selenium

3D printed bone may hold key to treating birth defects and accidents | SHyNE

3D printed bone may hold key to treating birth defects and accidents

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that each year, about 2,650 babies are born with a cleft palate and 4,440 babies are born with a cleft lip with or without a cleft palate in the United States. It is a birth defect where a missing bone in the upper palate leaves the newborn with a hole between the nose and the mouth. Pediatric doctors do not have a lot of options to fill that hole right now. Metal
Asian Scientist Magazine •

Stress Might Be Making Your Jaw Pop

Asian Scientist Magazine (Nov. 30, 2022) — One morning in early 2018, 38-year-old Namrata, who lives in Mumbai, noticed that the area around her jaws and ears was swollen. It was mildly painful in the beginning. But very quickly, it started to hurt so much that she could barely talk, chew, or even open her mouth. The pain had reached her skull, and she could hardly function. The painkillers Namrata took, didn’t help.

Namrata met a dentist almost immediately. When the dentist pressed the point n
ADP ReThink Quarterly •

Hidden carers

The pandemic has been an extraordinary stressor for unpaid caregivers who are also working. Carers share how companies can better help them.

When the Indian government announced a complete lockdown in March 2020, Jasleen was at her wit’s end.

Before the pandemic, the communications professional at a Delhi-based think tank mostly focused on her professional work. She was gone from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. each day including her commuting time. Hired help minded the house while she was away so she
News9live •

A new digital health clinic on a boat is addressing Sundarbans' healthcare challenges

An older study done in 2010 by the Institute of Health Management Research in Jaipur found that Sundarbans suffered from poor health indices. At the time, about half of the children below the age of five years were malnourished; the general morbidity rate was higher than in the rest of the state and there was a high reliance on quacks.

While things have improved, a lot more needs to be done.

Besides the PHC in Gosaba, the people of Kamakhyapur rely on Canning sub-divisional hospital in RGE sou
The Swaddle •

Scientists to Test An Antibiotic to Treat Women With Endometriosis

Researchers at The Washington University School of Medicine, in the U.S. have found metronidazole, an antibiotic, can inhibit the growth of endometriosis in mice by regulating the mice’s gut microbiome. The finding opens up the potential of a new, cost-effective treatment for women with endometriosis.

“We used a cocktail of four different antibiotics, and later treated the mice with each individually, and found out that only the antibiotic metronidazole was able to suppress the growth of the en
Tech2 •

Ozone pollution from Asia isn't well understood, but may be damaging Arctic plants- Technology News, Firstpost

Ozone pollution in the Arctic can take anywhere between a few days to several weeks and months through slower mixing in the high latitude troposphere, says Professor Frode Stordal, Department of Geosciences, University in Oslo (UiO).

"Ozone can be formed in Asia and transported to the Arctic, or the ozone precursors can be transported to the Arctic and ozone being formed there. Asian contribution to Arctic ozone is thus a complex issue, which is not well quantitatively characterized," he says.
CNN •

Epilepsy is personal for 'Hamilton' star

Miguel Cervantes and his wife, Kelly, welcomed daughter Adelaide in October 2015. They sensed that something was amiss early on.

“She wasn’t developing on a regular trajectory,” said Cervantes, who stars as Alexander Hamilton in the hit musical theater production “Hamilton” in Chicago. Soon after, Adelaide had a seizure.

“Then the terminology ‘epilepsy’ starts coming into the conversation about what’s wrong with her,” he said.

When she was just 7 months old, Adelaide started having multiples
CNN •

Beware these Halloween safety ghouls

Halloween is usually full of fun and adventure – and candy – making it a favorite holiday for many.

Cloee Cooper, a research analyst in Boston, remembers it that way. “You get to dress up as someone else, walk all over town, attend haunted house parties and celebrations at school,” she said.

But Cooper says that when she was growing up in Mount Shasta, California, her parents had a few rules: “Don’t go inside a person’s house unless you know them. Don’t take unwrapped candies, and I had to be

Sodium-Ion Batteries May Power the Next Big Break In Tech | SHyNE

Sodium-Ion Batteries May Power the Next Big Break In Tech

When researchers at Northwestern University started researching sodium-ion batteries, they had one uniform goal – find commonly abundant materials for a cheap alternative to lithium ion batteries. The depletion of lithium sources makes it essential to find alternative sources of battery power – soon.

Researchers in the Department of Material Science and Engineering at Northwestern University are developing and testing a sodium-selenium

3D printed bone may hold key to treating birth defects and accidents | SHyNE

3D printed bone may hold key to treating birth defects and accidents

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that each year, about 2,650 babies are born with a cleft palate and 4,440 babies are born with a cleft lip with or without a cleft palate in the United States. It is a birth defect where a missing bone in the upper palate leaves the newborn with a hole between the nose and the mouth. Pediatric doctors do not have a lot of options to fill that hole right now. Metal
Asian Scientist Magazine •

Stress Might Be Making Your Jaw Pop

Asian Scientist Magazine (Nov. 30, 2022) — One morning in early 2018, 38-year-old Namrata, who lives in Mumbai, noticed that the area around her jaws and ears was swollen. It was mildly painful in the beginning. But very quickly, it started to hurt so much that she could barely talk, chew, or even open her mouth. The pain had reached her skull, and she could hardly function. The painkillers Namrata took, didn’t help.

Namrata met a dentist almost immediately. When the dentist pressed the point n
ADP ReThink Quarterly •

Hidden carers

The pandemic has been an extraordinary stressor for unpaid caregivers who are also working. Carers share how companies can better help them.

When the Indian government announced a complete lockdown in March 2020, Jasleen was at her wit’s end.

Before the pandemic, the communications professional at a Delhi-based think tank mostly focused on her professional work. She was gone from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. each day including her commuting time. Hired help minded the house while she was away so she

Art|Culture

NewsClick •

Interpreting India's Freedom Movement Through Art

"My grandfather was dancing on the roads of Sylhet, modern-day Bangladesh. He was very happy on that night. After all, the country was being liberated (sic)."

This message was one of many written on postcards and pinned to a table alongside hundreds of postcards documenting personal stories about the Indian independence movement at the Indian Museum in Kolkata, the capital of the British Indian empire, until 1911.

On August 15, 1947, while many celebrated the formation of an independent India,
CNN •

The complicated gender history of pink

Editor’s Note: This feature is part of Colorscope, an award-winning series exploring our perception of color and its use across cultures, one shade at a time.

When you think about the color pink, you are probably conjuring up images of little girls in pink dresses, with pink toys like Barbie or a Disney princess in a pretty gown.

The color is overwhelmingly associated with delicacy and femininity.

That, however, is a recent development.

“If you go back to the 18th century, little boys and li
CNN •

Orange: The color of warmth and comfort

Editor’s Note: This feature is part of Colorscope, an award-winning series exploring our perception of color and its use across cultures, one shade at a time.

It is the color of fall, of beautiful sunsets, of a warm fireplace in the dreary winters and of marigold flowers.

Frank Sinatra called orange the happiest color. Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky described orange as “red brought nearer to humanity by yellow.”

It is a sacred color in many Eastern religions. Hindu and Buddhist monks wear o
CNN •

The psychology of gold and why it has that allure

Editor’s Note: This feature is part of Colorscope, an award-winning series exploring our perception of color and its use across cultures, one shade at a time.

When you think of the color gold, images of grandeur and extravagance are likely to come to mind.

For millennia, the metal has adorned crowns and hilts of swords. It has been used to enhance paintings and ornaments to increase their value.

In some cultures, gold is a predominant feature of festivals and celebrations. In Eastern cultures
NewsClick •

Interpreting India's Freedom Movement Through Art

"My grandfather was dancing on the roads of Sylhet, modern-day Bangladesh. He was very happy on that night. After all, the country was being liberated (sic)."

This message was one of many written on postcards and pinned to a table alongside hundreds of postcards documenting personal stories about the Indian independence movement at the Indian Museum in Kolkata, the capital of the British Indian empire, until 1911.

On August 15, 1947, while many celebrated the formation of an independent India,
CNN •

The complicated gender history of pink

Editor’s Note: This feature is part of Colorscope, an award-winning series exploring our perception of color and its use across cultures, one shade at a time.

When you think about the color pink, you are probably conjuring up images of little girls in pink dresses, with pink toys like Barbie or a Disney princess in a pretty gown.

The color is overwhelmingly associated with delicacy and femininity.

That, however, is a recent development.

“If you go back to the 18th century, little boys and li
CNN •

Orange: The color of warmth and comfort

Editor’s Note: This feature is part of Colorscope, an award-winning series exploring our perception of color and its use across cultures, one shade at a time.

It is the color of fall, of beautiful sunsets, of a warm fireplace in the dreary winters and of marigold flowers.

Frank Sinatra called orange the happiest color. Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky described orange as “red brought nearer to humanity by yellow.”

It is a sacred color in many Eastern religions. Hindu and Buddhist monks wear o
CNN •

The psychology of gold and why it has that allure

Editor’s Note: This feature is part of Colorscope, an award-winning series exploring our perception of color and its use across cultures, one shade at a time.

When you think of the color gold, images of grandeur and extravagance are likely to come to mind.

For millennia, the metal has adorned crowns and hilts of swords. It has been used to enhance paintings and ornaments to increase their value.

In some cultures, gold is a predominant feature of festivals and celebrations. In Eastern cultures
NewsClick •

Interpreting India's Freedom Movement Through Art

"My grandfather was dancing on the roads of Sylhet, modern-day Bangladesh. He was very happy on that night. After all, the country was being liberated (sic)."

This message was one of many written on postcards and pinned to a table alongside hundreds of postcards documenting personal stories about the Indian independence movement at the Indian Museum in Kolkata, the capital of the British Indian empire, until 1911.

On August 15, 1947, while many celebrated the formation of an independent India,
CNN •

The complicated gender history of pink

Editor’s Note: This feature is part of Colorscope, an award-winning series exploring our perception of color and its use across cultures, one shade at a time.

When you think about the color pink, you are probably conjuring up images of little girls in pink dresses, with pink toys like Barbie or a Disney princess in a pretty gown.

The color is overwhelmingly associated with delicacy and femininity.

That, however, is a recent development.

“If you go back to the 18th century, little boys and li
CNN •

Orange: The color of warmth and comfort

Editor’s Note: This feature is part of Colorscope, an award-winning series exploring our perception of color and its use across cultures, one shade at a time.

It is the color of fall, of beautiful sunsets, of a warm fireplace in the dreary winters and of marigold flowers.

Frank Sinatra called orange the happiest color. Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky described orange as “red brought nearer to humanity by yellow.”

It is a sacred color in many Eastern religions. Hindu and Buddhist monks wear o
CNN •

The psychology of gold and why it has that allure

Editor’s Note: This feature is part of Colorscope, an award-winning series exploring our perception of color and its use across cultures, one shade at a time.

When you think of the color gold, images of grandeur and extravagance are likely to come to mind.

For millennia, the metal has adorned crowns and hilts of swords. It has been used to enhance paintings and ornaments to increase their value.

In some cultures, gold is a predominant feature of festivals and celebrations. In Eastern cultures

Politics

Firstpost •

Lok Sabha polls: Demonetisation, Transgender Bill among key issues which will drive trans community's vote-India News ,

Editor's Note: A network of 60 reporters set off across India to test the idea of development as it is experienced on the ground. Their brief: Use your mobile phone to record the impact of 120 key policy decisions on everyday life; what works, what doesn't and why; what can be done better and what should be done differently. Their findings — straight and raw from the ground — will be combined in this series, Elections on the Go, over a course of 100 days.

Read more articles from the series here
Governance Now •

Left seats set to go up but what's in store for future?

In complete disarray after 2011 assembly poll drubbing, the Left Front in Bengal tried to regroup before the general elections. A few more seats in this Lok Sabha won’t matter much. The question is, are they in it for the long haul?

It is a hot April afternoon in Chapa Dalir More, a partly commercial residential area in Barasat on the outskirts of Kolkata, and it is business as usual: the roads are more or less empty, yielding to the pressure of afternoon siesta. A few metres off the main road,
Governance Now •

Why Mamata has fielded so many celebs, stars

One in every four Trinamool candidates in Bengal is a celeb, mostly from the film world. A look at the strategy behind Mamata Banerjee’s masterstroke to contain faction fighting

Only the most ardent of fans would recognise Deepak Adhikari even in West Bengal. Unless, of course, you add a.k.a. Dev. These days, Adhikari, among the biggest stars reigning over Bengali cinema, is also known by another acronym, this one within a bracket - (TMC) – to point up the party he is representing from Ghatal L
Governance Now •

A day with aam aadmi

Governance Now follows Kejriwal’s volunteers as they move through lanes in a New Delhi locality, collecting signatures for their campaign against inflated power and water bills

An Aam Aadmi Party volunteer helps a Delhi resident put her stamp on the letter to the Delhi CM. The letters, “accepted” by Sheila Dikshit, purportedly state that these residents would not pay what they call are inflated bills.

A day after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sent what it claims were 10.5 lakh letters from the aam
Indiaspend •

How West Bengal Is About To Lose Its Demographic Opportunity

Kolkata: The son of farmers for whom farming was no longer viable, Tapan Das left home 20 years ago. Today he is 42, illiterate, earns about Rs 4,000 a month working on construction sites--Rs 3,000 if you deduct the rent he pays for a mud house without electricity and water in an illegal slum.

Sometimes, his wife and he survive on fena bhaat, a watery, boiled rice. His two children get a more nutritious lunch at the local government-run anganwadi or creche here in India’s 7th most populous city
Firstpost •

Lok Sabha polls: Demonetisation, Transgender Bill among key issues which will drive trans community's vote-India News ,

Editor's Note: A network of 60 reporters set off across India to test the idea of development as it is experienced on the ground. Their brief: Use your mobile phone to record the impact of 120 key policy decisions on everyday life; what works, what doesn't and why; what can be done better and what should be done differently. Their findings — straight and raw from the ground — will be combined in this series, Elections on the Go, over a course of 100 days.

Read more articles from the series here
Governance Now •

Left seats set to go up but what's in store for future?

In complete disarray after 2011 assembly poll drubbing, the Left Front in Bengal tried to regroup before the general elections. A few more seats in this Lok Sabha won’t matter much. The question is, are they in it for the long haul?

It is a hot April afternoon in Chapa Dalir More, a partly commercial residential area in Barasat on the outskirts of Kolkata, and it is business as usual: the roads are more or less empty, yielding to the pressure of afternoon siesta. A few metres off the main road,
Governance Now •

Why Mamata has fielded so many celebs, stars

One in every four Trinamool candidates in Bengal is a celeb, mostly from the film world. A look at the strategy behind Mamata Banerjee’s masterstroke to contain faction fighting

Only the most ardent of fans would recognise Deepak Adhikari even in West Bengal. Unless, of course, you add a.k.a. Dev. These days, Adhikari, among the biggest stars reigning over Bengali cinema, is also known by another acronym, this one within a bracket - (TMC) – to point up the party he is representing from Ghatal L
Governance Now •

A day with aam aadmi

Governance Now follows Kejriwal’s volunteers as they move through lanes in a New Delhi locality, collecting signatures for their campaign against inflated power and water bills

An Aam Aadmi Party volunteer helps a Delhi resident put her stamp on the letter to the Delhi CM. The letters, “accepted” by Sheila Dikshit, purportedly state that these residents would not pay what they call are inflated bills.

A day after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sent what it claims were 10.5 lakh letters from the aam
Indiaspend •

How West Bengal Is About To Lose Its Demographic Opportunity

Kolkata: The son of farmers for whom farming was no longer viable, Tapan Das left home 20 years ago. Today he is 42, illiterate, earns about Rs 4,000 a month working on construction sites--Rs 3,000 if you deduct the rent he pays for a mud house without electricity and water in an illegal slum.

Sometimes, his wife and he survive on fena bhaat, a watery, boiled rice. His two children get a more nutritious lunch at the local government-run anganwadi or creche here in India’s 7th most populous city
Firstpost •

Lok Sabha polls: Demonetisation, Transgender Bill among key issues which will drive trans community's vote-India News ,

Editor's Note: A network of 60 reporters set off across India to test the idea of development as it is experienced on the ground. Their brief: Use your mobile phone to record the impact of 120 key policy decisions on everyday life; what works, what doesn't and why; what can be done better and what should be done differently. Their findings — straight and raw from the ground — will be combined in this series, Elections on the Go, over a course of 100 days.

Read more articles from the series here
Governance Now •

Left seats set to go up but what's in store for future?

In complete disarray after 2011 assembly poll drubbing, the Left Front in Bengal tried to regroup before the general elections. A few more seats in this Lok Sabha won’t matter much. The question is, are they in it for the long haul?

It is a hot April afternoon in Chapa Dalir More, a partly commercial residential area in Barasat on the outskirts of Kolkata, and it is business as usual: the roads are more or less empty, yielding to the pressure of afternoon siesta. A few metres off the main road,
Governance Now •

Why Mamata has fielded so many celebs, stars

One in every four Trinamool candidates in Bengal is a celeb, mostly from the film world. A look at the strategy behind Mamata Banerjee’s masterstroke to contain faction fighting

Only the most ardent of fans would recognise Deepak Adhikari even in West Bengal. Unless, of course, you add a.k.a. Dev. These days, Adhikari, among the biggest stars reigning over Bengali cinema, is also known by another acronym, this one within a bracket - (TMC) – to point up the party he is representing from Ghatal L