RajivSpeak

The heavy military presence and frequent communication blackouts in Jammu and Kashmir are taking a disproportionate toll on female education, reversing years of progress and driving up school dropout rates for girls, according to a recent analysis published in The Conversation . ​Writing for the publication, Shambhavi Siddhi , a PhD candidate in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at Western University , highlights that while the Indian government cited " women's empowerment " and the eradication of gender discrimination as key motivations for revoking Jammu and Kashmir's semi-autonomous status in August 2019, the reality on the ground has told a vastly different story for young women seeking an education. ​Rising Dropout Rates and Low Literacy ​According to data presented before the Indian parliament in March 2026, the secondary-level dropout rate for girls in the region peaked at 12.6% during the 2023–24 academic year—surpassing India’s national average of 9....

The death of Rajesh Awasthi , a long-serving employee of Dainik Jagran , has left the journalistic fraternity shaken. His suicide, reportedly by consuming sulphas tablets, was not just an isolated tragedy but a reflection of the silent struggles faced by countless journalists across India .  

A comprehensive investigative report published by BehanBox and authored by Sarasvati Thuppadolla reveals the pervasive, systemic caste-based discrimination faced by Dalit Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) across rural India. Even though India’s one million ASHA workers were collectively honored by the World Health Organization with the Global Health Leaders Award in 2022 for their pivotal role in reducing maternal and infant mortality, their marginalized caste identity frequently dictates the harsh terms of their acceptance by the communities they serve. 

  In a significant setback for transparency advocates, the Central Information Commission (CIC) ruled on May 18, 2026, that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not a "public authority" under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, reversing its own 2018 decision. The order has sparked sharp criticism from transparency activist Venkatesh Nayak, who has released a detailed critique accusing both the CIC and Union government ministries of acting as "night watchmen" to insulate the BCCI from public scrutiny.

By Rajiv Shah   The Ahmedabad unit of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has released a detailed field research report titled "Are we not Indians? The Development Politics of Uprooting Citizens and Shattering Lives at  Chandola Lake ," documenting the mass demolitions in the city's periphery that took place between April 27 and May 2, 2025.

A comprehensive new study from Deakin University in Australia has delivered a sobering verdict on the Health Star Rating (HSR) system: after more than a decade of operation and multiple algorithm "improvements," the voluntary front-of-package labelling scheme continues to classify a significant proportion of ultra-processed foods and discretionary foods as healthy.

India faces an accelerating heat crisis that threatens the health, livelihoods, and economic stability of hundreds of millions of people — and current policy responses are failing to keep pace, according to a new white paper published in April 2026 by Harvard University's Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability.

A panel of urban planners, academics and grassroots practitioners has warned that  India’s urban crisis  is increasingly becoming “a crisis of dignity,” driven by deepening inequality, ecological destruction and the growing marginalisation of the urban poor, according to a discussion hosted by the  Balwant Sheth School of Architecture ,  NMIMS University .

A stunning failure in transparency has been uncovered in Gujarat, where only 75 out of 11,883 public authorities have submitted mandatory compliance certificates for proactive disclosure under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. This revelation comes from an analysis of an official government press note and related RTI correspondence obtained by a citizen. 

I receive a lot of unsolicited material in my line of work — op-eds, press releases, open letters, manifestos. But the document that landed in my inbox recently gave me pause in a way that most don't. It came formatted as a formal submission, signed by a Chandigarh resident called Sumeet, addressed to me in my capacity as someone who works with editorial and public interest content. The subject line read: Submission as Cyber and Human Rights Volunteer – Cyber Ethics and Human Rights Concerns.

A preliminary working paper by Arvind Virmani, economist and member of the Government of India think tank NITI Aayog, has concluded that the Right to Education (RTE) Act — enacted to guarantee free and compulsory schooling for children between six and fourteen — has actually worsened learning outcomes rather than improved them. The paper, published in March 2026 and reported by The Print on 16 April, has drawn sharp pushback from education rights advocates, who argue it builds a politically motivated narrative against constitutionally guaranteed entitlements.

  A perfect storm of geopolitical crisis and policy paralysis is pushing India’s poorest into a devastating double-bind. The ongoing war in Iran has sent shockwaves through global oil markets, and as LPG prices skyrocket and factory slowdowns ripple across urban centers, a massive exodus of migrant workers is underway.  But for millions fleeing the city’s hardships, the safety net of rural employment has all but vanished, leaving them stranded without work or income, says a detailed report prepared by the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, a coalition of NGOs and unions, quoting individual migrants.

  Over the past decade and a half,  Gujarat  has witnessed a remarkable resurgence of Dalit agitations that mark a decisive shift from accommodation to confrontation, according to a major new study published in the journal  National Identities . The research, conducted by  Mahendra Parmar  of the  Central University of Gujarat , draws on 18 in-depth interviews with victims and activists to document how  B.R. Ambedkar ’s radical thought has become the central political resource shaping Dalit identity and mobilisation in the state.

  In a candid and wide-ranging conversation, three generations of feminist activists from Maharashtra have taken stock of the women's movement in India, tracing its evolution from the labour struggles of the 1970s to the complex, identity-driven challenges of the present day. Hosted by  Gagan Sethi  and  Minar Pimple , the discussion, featured on the podcast  Unmute , brought together veteran activists to reflect on 50 years of mobilization, legal battles, internal debates, and the daunting political landscape that lies ahead.

The  Gujarat Information Commission ’s  annual report  for 2024-25 presents a striking paradox: an institution that is technologically modernizing at a rapid pace, yet remains fundamentally undermined by the very government apparatus it is meant to hold accountable.

  A violent confrontation between Adivasi residents and a joint team of Forest Department, Revenue, and Police officials in Padaliya village, Banaskantha district, on 13 December 2025, was not a mere law and order breakdown but a direct consequence of the state's systemic failure to implement the Forest Rights Act (FRA), according to a damning fact-finding report released by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Gujarat.

  The other day, a discussion broke out among ten friends on love marriages—a contentious issue in Gujarat following moves in the corridors of power to regulate them by making parental consent mandatory. One of us claimed that, unlike in the past, nearly 70 percent of weddings today are love marriages. Another person, who had eloped to get married years ago, remarked, “Problems exist everywhere, whether it is a love marriage or an arranged one.”

  By Rajiv Shah  A recent book, " Luminous Footprints: The Christian Impact on India ", authored by two Jesuit scholars,  Dr. Lancy Lobo  and  Dr. Denzil Fernandes , seeks to counter the current dominant narrative on  Indian Christians , which equates  evangelisation  with conversion, and education, health and the social services provided by Christians as meant to lure -- even force -- vulnerable sections into Christianity.

The other day, I was talking with Martin Macwan, a well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader. He revealed to me an interesting chapter of the Gandhian movement in Gujarat — how Ravishankar Maharaj (1884–1984), a prominent Gandhian social reformer of the state, played a pivotal role in the struggle for temple entry for Dalits (then referred to as Harijans) in the late 1940s.

The recent report, " State of Finance in India Report 2024-25 ," released by a coalition including the  Centre for Financial Accountability , Focus on the Global South, and other organizations, paints a stark picture of India's burgeoning digital economy, particularly highlighting the exploitation faced by  gig workers  on platform-based services.