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Monday, April 29, 2024
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Ground Reports

Sahitya Akademi is promoting Ramayana, Modi policies. But also queer & Dalit writers now

A number of cultural institutions have come under the scanner for shrinking autonomy and fluid identities in Modi's India. For some writers, Sahitya Akademi is the last remaining frontier.

Red lipstick, macroni dinner, and the smell of aspiration in this OBC family in UP

A resident of village Maita in UP’s Unnao, Ramu was the first one among his family to get a free cylinder, PM Kisan support, an Ayushman card, as well as a toilet.

History, heritage, hustle—Bengali filmmaker Prataya Saha’s 5-min movies on big cities go global

Prataya Saha’s short films have become hot favourites at international festival circuits like the Oscars, BAFTA, and the New York Asian Film Festival.

Surinder Sonia made Chamkila famous but Imtiaz Ali’s film reduces her to a footnote

Amar Singh Chamkila glosses over the fact that Surinder Sonia was a powerful figure in Punjab’s pop culture milieu in the 1980s.

Portable MRI, water from air—Indian deep tech startups thriving with incubators, govt funding

Uravu Labs makes water from air, Saaf Biogas makes zero-emission gas & Voxelgrids has built the first made-in-India MRI. Innovation thrives in intersection of academia, entrepreneurship, and govt funding.

Muslims say law and order has improved in western UP. ‘But voting for BJP against our imaan’

Muslims under the Yogi Adityanath govt 'feel secure' when stepping out of the home at night, and acknowledge that incidents of snatching, looting, and molestation have reduced. But voting is a different issue.

Purvanchal’s migrant workers are desperate & poor. But they are determining India’s politics

Purvanchal's workers travel with hopes and hardships on ‘migrant trains’, leaving their families behind. Their labour fuels the economy and their vote shapes the political landscape.

Tired and invisible—India’s mental health caregivers are now forming support groups

The Mental Healthcare Act says that a patient can’t be forced to get admitted to a hospital and that they have the right to refuse treatment –except in severe cases. However, it remains silent on what the caregiver should do in such cases.

Election fever & extreme heat alert—state govts yet to learn from Kharghar deaths

On 16 April last year, heat complications killed 14 people after a political event in Maharashtra’s Kharghar. But peak-heat rallies with large crowds are still a cause for concern.

Chamkila died over 3 decades ago but in his Punjab village bitterness, regret linger

In Chamkila’s village there is an undercurrent of bitterness, regret — Mehsampur has the reputation of being a killing field.

On Camera

America’s out-of-control militarised police forces are a threat to democracy

The world watched aghast as police armed with tasers, tear-gas masks—and in one case backed up by snipers—arrested hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters at universities across the United States.

Asia’s growth outlook remains positive despite external uncertainties, says ADB

The Asian Development Outlook 2024 report suggests that policymakers in the region should monitor a number of risks. These include escalating conflicts and geopolitical tensions.

Germany removes restrictions, India can now buy small arms from its firms

Germany’s erstwhile Christian Democratic Union govt, led by Angela Merkel, prevented sale of small arms to police forces in states they perceived had ‘bad human rights record’.

Frontrunner is letting the challenger define this poll campaign. Modi still hasn’t found a big theme

A theme has not yet emerged for BJP & people see lack of a contest, which makes it unexciting. For all these reasons, 2024 is turning out to be an unexpectedly theme-less election.