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....

Global sales of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have shifted dramatically toward the developing world as growth stagnates in wealthy nations, raising urgent questions about fairness, food sovereignty, and public health across the Global South — with India, Brazil, and Mexico at the centre of the debate.

  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.

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.

  The U.S. Justice Department is planning to drop criminal fraud charges against  Gautam Adani , India's richest man, following an unusual private meeting in Washington in which his lawyers offered to invest $10 billion in the American economy if prosecutors closed the case, the  New York Times reported  on May 14.

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.

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." 

  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.

  Civil society organisations and stakeholders from across India have presented stark evidence before the  Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj , alleging systemic violations of the  Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 , particularly in  Scheduled Areas  and tribal regions.

  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.”

  The global health landscape is witnessing a decisive shift toward aggressive regulation of the food industry, a movement highlighted by two significant policy developments shared by Dr. Arun Gupta of the Nutrition Advocacy for Public Interest (NAPi). 

Has the Government of India finally moved to completely change important provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, that too without bringing about any amendment in the top transparency law? It would seem so, if one is to believe well known civil society leaders' keen observations on the nuclear energy Bill passed in the Lok Sabha.  Senior RTI activist Amrita Johri has sharply criticised the recently passed Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025, saying that it has effectively “nuked” the Right to Information (RTI) Act through the back door. 

  By Rajiv Shah   In what might be interpreted as a move to globalise the contentious issue of India's judicial independence, a new academic study published in a  research journal  associated with the  Heidelberg University, Germany , "Indian Politics & Policy", delivers a devastating verdict on the  Supreme Court of India ’s performance during  Narendra Modi ’s tenure from 2014 to 2025. 

  An online petition seeking a legal ban on  polygamy  has been floated by Javed Anand, co-editor of  Sabrang  and National Convener of Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD), inviting endorsements from citizens, organisations and activists. The petition, titled “Indian Muslims & Secular Progressive Citizens Demand a Legal Ban on Polygamy,” urges the Central and State governments, Parliament and political parties to abolish polygamy through statutory reform, backed by extensive data from the 2025 national study conducted by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA).

I have been forwarded a report titled “Profit and Genocide: Indian Investments in Israel”. It has been prepared by the advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) and authored by Hajira Puthige. The report was released following the Government of India’s signing of a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with Israel.

  A  new report , "Who Controls the Narrative? Legal Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in the Commonwealth", prepared by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), the Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA), and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, approvingly quotes Access Now, which has named India the “world’s internet shutdown leader,” with at least 116 recorded shutdowns in 2024.

  Taking a fresh look at the last Lok Sabha elections, a new paper published in "Indian Politics & Policy" (Vol. 5, No. 1, Summer 2025), a research periodical of the Washington DC-based think tank Policy Studies Organization, has claimed that the 2024 polls brought the politics of caste and inclusion to the forefront as never before.

  In a comprehensive analysis published in "Indian Politics & Policy" (Vol. 5, No. 1, Summer 2025), a research periodical of the Washington DC-based think tank Policy Studies Organization, author Milan Vaishnav, Senior Fellow and Director, South Asia Programme, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has raised questions over the fairness of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in conducting Lok Sabha elections. Titled “Assessing the Integrity of India’s 2024 Lok Sabha Elections,” the  analysis  acquires significance as it precedes recent controversies surrounding the ECI’s move to revise electoral rolls.

  As trade negotiations between India and the United States continue, a prominent advocacy group, the Coalition for a GM-Free India, has voiced strong concerns regarding potential concessions on genetically modified (GM) crops, seeds, and related products. In a letter addressed to Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Piyush Goyal, Rajesh Krishnan, Co-Convenor of the Coalition, has urged the Indian government to resist American pressure and uphold the interests of Indian farmers, consumers, and exporters.

    The Government of India has refused to disclose any information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act related to its controversial decision to block over 8,000 social media accounts—mostly on X (formerly Twitter)—during Operation Sindoor, as well as to restrict access to several digital news platforms, including The Wire, in early May.