RajivSpeak

A massive gathering in the national capital last month has thrust a long-simmering political demand into the mainstream — the removal of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status from tribal individuals who convert to Christianity or Islam. The development has set off alarm bells across Northeast India , where tribal identity, religion, land, and political autonomy are inseparably intertwined.

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. 

This blog is in continuation of one of my previous blogs , in which I quoted a retired Gujarat cadre IAS bureaucrat telling me that I ought to stop using the word “Dalit” because it is “derogatory.” He advised me instead to use the “constitutional term, Scheduled Caste (SC).” This was in reference to my earlier story , titled India's Muslims' and Dalits' segregation levels are almost similar to the US Black-White segregation, based on a Chicago study.

Recently, I wrote a story titled "India's Muslim, Dalit segregation nears US Black-White levels: Chicago study", based on a working paper authored by Sam Asher, Kiritarth Jha, Paul Novosad, Anjali Adukia, and Brandon Tan. The paper documents how Scheduled Caste (SC) and Muslim communities in India are concentrated in neighborhoods with fewer schools, clinics, and basic infrastructure.

When 65-year-old  Jitu Munda  walked into the  Odisha Gramin Bank ’s Malliposhi branch on the afternoon of April 27, carrying a jute sack on his shoulder, no one expected what lay inside. The sack contained the skeletal remains of his sister, Kalra Munda, whom he had buried on January 26.

A comprehensive new study examining 1.5 million urban and rural neighborhoods across India has uncovered deep patterns of residential segregation and systematic inequality in access to public services, with findings that researchers say rival the scale of racial segregation in the United States.

A new World Bank flagship report reveals that  human capital accumulation  in India is being critically undermined by severe deficits in child health, home-based care, and educational quality, with stark disparities linked to gender, birth order, and  environmental pollution . The report,  Building Human Capital Where It Matters: Homes, Neighborhoods, and Workplaces , argues that without urgent policy action targeting the home, neighborhood, and workplace, India risks perpetuating a cycle of low productivity and stagnating economic growth.

  A comprehensive review of the  after the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (PM-SGMBY)  by the advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has found that the scheme is structurally unsuitable for  low-income families  and has largely benefited relatively affluent households instead.

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 sweeping policy report released by the Foundation for Economic Development (FED) argues that India’s minimum wage regime has become counterproductive, pricing millions of workers out of formal employment and costing the economy an estimated $60 billion in unrealised low-skill exports annually.

A new  National Sample Survey  (NSS) report on  household health consumption  reveals that  private healthcare facilities  account for the majority of  hospitalisations in Gujarat , placing a significant financial burden on families. 

India’s human capital outcomes in health and education remain below global averages, with the latest World Bank report warning that learning levels and health indicators are stagnating compared to peer countries such as Vietnam and Peru. The report highlights persistent gaps in maternal education, child nutrition, and learning outcomes, underscoring the urgent need for investment in homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.

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 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.

Following my recent blog on former IAS bureaucrat Atanu Chakraborty’s sudden exit as non-executive chairman of HDFC Bank, a few colleagues from the Gujarat cadre — mostly those I interacted with during my Gandhinagar stint (1997–2012) as the Times of India representative — reacted rather sharply. Most of them sent their responses directly on WhatsApp, touching upon on the merits and demerits of Chakraborty’s controversial move. One former IAS officer, a Dalit, however, went further, raising a broader question: why do some officials like Chakraborty secure plum post-retirement assignments, while others are overlooked?

Dr. Narasimha Reddy Donthi, a noted public policy expert and public interest campaigner, in a  detailed critical analysis  of two Bills introduced in Parliament in April 2026—the  Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026  and the  Delimitation Bill, 2026 , has warned that the twin bills "raise significant constitutional, political and methodological concerns — most critically, a structural inconsistency in the census basis used for Parliament versus State Assemblies, and an over-reliance on population as the sole parameter for delimitation." 

  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.

  A recent report published in the British media outlet  The Guardian , titled “Workers carved the largest modern Hindu temple in the west. Now, some have incurable lung disease,” took me back to my visits to the  New Jersey mandir —first in 2022, when it was still under construction, though parts of it were open to visitors, and again in 2024, after its completion.

A new report published in March 2026 by the  Centre for Financial Accountability  and the Tax The Top campaign paints a stark picture of deepening economic disparity in India, documenting a concentration of wealth that it argues is “comparable to colonial times.” Titled  Wealth Tracker India | Tax the Top. Close the Gap , the compilation presents data from the  World Inequality Database  and the  Hurun Rich List  to illustrate the meteoric rise of the ultra-wealthy alongside the stagnation and debt burdens of the majority.

Following  my recent blog on Dalit cuisine —where I argued, citing several studies, that it is deeply shaped by the caste system and the history of untouchability—I received an intriguing response on a private WhatsApp chat from a retired Gujarat-cadre bureaucrat. A likeable and thoughtful official, I have known him since the early 2000s, when I was covering the Gujarat Sachivalaya for The Times of India.