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Does Nitish’s Free Power Promise Before Polls Amount to Voter Coercion?
Does Nitish’s Free Power Promise Before Polls Amount to Voter Coercion?

The promise made by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to provide free electricity up to 125 units per month ahead of the Assembly elections invites serious scrutiny under both constitutional law and the principles of fair electoral practice. It raises the question of where to draw the line between legitimate welfare policy and unlawful inducement or voter coercion.

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Sangeetha’s Silent Battle with Mental Illness
Millions Uprooted: Inside India’s Alarming Rise in Climate and Conflict Displacement
Home Is Not a Place: A Young Woman Traces Her Community’s History of Bride Kidnapping

Newsreel Asia is an independent news media committed to rigorous journalism and narrative storytelling across governance, democracy, economy and society, focused currently on India. Founded on World Press Freedom Day 2021, we work to cut through the noise and bring clear, truthful reporting to the forefront. Our perspective is humanitarian — we look at how issues shape the lives of ordinary citizens, not through the lens of political ideologies.

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Does Nitish’s Free Power Promise Before Polls Amount to Voter Coercion?

The promise made by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to provide free electricity up to 125 units per month ahead of the Assembly elections invites serious scrutiny under both constitutional law and the principles of fair electoral practice. It raises the question of where to draw the line between legitimate welfare policy and unlawful inducement or voter coercion.

New Maharashtra Law May Allow State to Declare Any Group ‘Unlawful’

Maharashtra has passed a new law that grants sweeping powers to the state to outlaw organisations and criminalise various forms of dissent. While presented as a response to Left-wing extremism, the law signals a deeper shift in how the state defines threat, power, and democratic opposition.

Uttarakhand Targets ‘Fake Sadhus,’ Risking State Overreach into Religious Identity

The Uttarakhand government has launched Operation Kalanemi, a state-wide police campaign to identify individuals posing as saints and Kanwariyas. The stated aim is to preserve the religious and cultural sanctity of the state. This raises a serious constitutional concern, because it suggests the government is stepping into the role of deciding who counts as a legitimate religious figure, a function it has no authority to perform in a secular democracy.

Woman Journalist Beaten on Camera, Power Appears to Shield the Accused

A journalist, Sneha Barve, was violently assaulted while reporting on suspected illegal construction along a riverbed in Pune district. The main accused, local businessman, struck her repeatedly with a wooden rod while she was filming a video report. That such an act was carried out in broad daylight, against a woman journalist, while the camera was rolling, shows how deeply the culture of impunity has taken root among individuals who operate close to political power.

Student’s Self-Immolation Shows Officials Act Only Under Pressure, Not Duty

Soumyashree Bisi, a college student in Balasore, Odisha, is fighting for her life after setting herself on fire. She had spent months seeking a fair inquiry into her sexual harassment complaint against a professor. Like many such cases in India, hers drew official attention only after her extreme act. Authorities – from college staff to police and politicians – acted only once pressure mounted, not when the complaint was first raised.

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The Quiet Power of a 90-Year-Old Monk That China Cannot Silence
The Quiet Power of a 90-Year-Old Monk That China Cannot Silence

China stands as a global giant, with the world’s second largest economy, an expanding military footprint and growing influence in international diplomacy. Yet for all its power, it remains deeply unsettled by a monk living in exile in the Indian Himalayas – the Dalai Lama, who will turn 90 on July 6. The reason lies in what he symbolises and what China has failed to control despite decades of effort.

Why Work and Descent Still Define Human Worth for Millions Worldwide
Why Work and Descent Still Define Human Worth for Millions Worldwide

Caste is not new to Indians or many South Asians. For centuries, Dalits have faced deep-rooted discrimination, exclusion and poverty because of a rigid social order that links a person’s descent to their assigned work. But this kind of inherited inequality is not just an Indian story. Over 260 million people across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and even North America face similar treatment. Addressing it will require both building a coordinated, global institutional response and confronting the deeper human impulse to rank and divide.

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Stunted Futures: Malnutrition in Rural Karnataka
Stunted Futures: Malnutrition in Rural Karnataka

Kavitha, a mother in Raichur district, doesn’t follow the nutrition charts or growth tracking numbers. What she understands is hunger. The rice from the public distribution shop lasts less than a week. On some nights, there’s nothing but water and silence. For families like hers, malnutrition isn’t just a report—it’s dinner time. In Raichur, all women aged 15–49 are anaemic at a rate of about 57%, combining both pregnant and non‑pregnant groups, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5). Among children under five, 36.8% are stunted, 31.3% are underweight and 21.6% are wasted—figures that point to persistent, long-term nutritional deprivation.

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Is Nationalism Splitting Communities in Assam?
Is Nationalism Splitting Communities in Assam?

In Assam’s Morigaon district, Jamal Uddin, a madrasa teacher from Borbori, still carries the trauma of the 1983 Nellie massacre over alleged illegal immigrants. He lost his mother, brother and sister, who were among an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims, who were killed in a matter of hours. The issue of illegal immigration from Bangladesh remains deeply contentious in the state’s politics and society. Successive governments have carried out actions in the name of anti-terror measures, targeting the minority Muslim community and fuelling widespread suspicion against it.

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Exploited Women Workers of Assam’s Tea Industry
Exploited Women Workers of Assam’s Tea Industry

Neeta Oraon lives in Nazira, a small town in Assam’s Sibsagar district. At 27, she has already spent more than a decade working in a tea garden. Her dream of becoming a nurse gave way early to the demands of poverty, debt, and family survival. She now works long hours under the sun, earning 250 rupees a day while caring for her ailing mother. Like Neeta, thousands of women in Assam’s tea gardens remain trapped in cycles of generational hardship and unseen labour.

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Meet India’s Youngest Journalists: Living and Reporting from the Streets
Meet India’s Youngest Journalists: Living and Reporting from the Streets

Among the tens of thousands of newspapers published in India, one stands truly unique — Balaknama (Children’s Chronicle). Curated by street children, the Delhi-based Balaknama brings powerful stories about underprivileged children and their surroundings in several cities across India. These children have lived the hardships they write about, giving their journalism rare authenticity and depth. Through Balaknama, they now have a platform to voice their issues and challenges.

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Dinner With a Tribal Woman: ‘My Sons Weren’t Maoists’
Dinner With a Tribal Woman: ‘My Sons Weren’t Maoists’

An elderly woman, Shanti Devi, who lost two of her sons in a shootout by security personnel, resides alone in a Maoist-affected region of Chhattisgarh. This episode of The Dinner Table explores her story.

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Sangeetha’s Silent Battle with Mental Illness
Sangeetha’s Silent Battle with Mental Illness

Sangeetha's journey with bipolar and borderline disorder, from a suicide attempt to healing. It’s a story of resilience, recovery and mental health awareness. Globally, more than 40 million people live with bipolar disorder, according to the World Health Organisation. It is marked by episodes of mania and depression that can last days, weeks or longer. These “mood swings” can alter a person’s ability to function, make decisions and maintain a sense of self. 

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Millions Uprooted: Inside India’s Alarming Rise in Climate and Conflict Displacement
Millions Uprooted: Inside India’s Alarming Rise in Climate and Conflict Displacement

Newsreel Asia producer Jyoti Jangra takes us across India – from ghost villages in Uttarakhand to flood-ravaged coasts of Odisha, conflict zones in Manipur and submerged hamlets in Himachal Pradesh – to uncover a silent, growing crisis: distress migration.

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Unequal Earnings in Salt Farming
Unequal Earnings in Salt Farming

Gujarat stands as India’s foremost salt-producing state, contributing 85% to the nation's total salt output. Within Gujarat, 31% of this production originates from the Agariya community living within the Little Rann of Kutch. Despite being the primary contributors to the salt industry, the Agariya people find themselves receiving the smallest share of profits. Furthermore, they grapple with the adverse effects of climate change, directly impacting their livelihoods. In this narrative, Bhopa and Gunand, two Agariya salt farmers, shed light on the disparity in earnings within the salt farming sector.

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UNEQUAL LIVES | Everyday Struggles of Dalits in Gujarat
UNEQUAL LIVES | Everyday Struggles of Dalits in Gujarat

Bhupat Bhai Sekhaliya, a diligent and hardworking rickshaw driver from Gujarat, belongs to the Dalit community. Despite his unwavering dedication, the respect he deserves eludes him, particularly from individuals of "upper" castes in his vicinity. Many daily activities, deemed "normal" for any resident, remain inaccessible to him. Defiance can lead to physical assault. However, Bhupat's story is not an isolated incident. In Gujarat, the spectre of violence against Dalits looms large, with an average of four cases reported daily. The past seven years have seen a staggering total of over 9,000 documented instances of such violence.

Videos
BREATHLESS IN DELHI | The Human Cost of Air Pollution
BREATHLESS IN DELHI | The Human Cost of Air Pollution

If you are living in Delhi, you might lose 12 years of your life because of air pollution. Jyoti Lavakare Pande, an author and a journalist from Delhi, writes an open letter to highlight the intensity of pollution in Delhi. She reflects on her mother's vibrant and resilient life, filled with smiles and melodies. Her mother, Kamale Pande, a classical vocalist, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, struggling for every breath in Delhi's pollution. She pens down her mother’s journey to raise awareness about the invisible killer looming in Delhi’s air.

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Challenges of Reporting Conflict From the Frontlines
Challenges of Reporting Conflict From the Frontlines

To mark four years since its founding on World Press Freedom Day, Newsreel Asia hosted an online discussion with frontline journalists who have reported from some of India’s most volatile conflict zones. The conversation took place just days before the latest escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, which saw the use of missiles, drones and artillery fire along the Line of Control.

‘Revisiting Childhood,’ with Screenwriter, Lyricist and Filmmaker Shashwat Dwivedi
‘Revisiting Childhood,’ with Screenwriter, Lyricist and Filmmaker Shashwat Dwivedi

This video is from the third episode of our online event series, “Newsreel Asia Conversations,” which gives you a chance to interact with filmmakers who explore social, economic and political themes in their works. It all came together from our team's interactions with these creative minds at the 2024 Dharamshala International Film Festival. In this episode, we featured screenwriter, lyricist and filmmaker Shashwat Dwivedi, and our conversation centred on “Revisiting Childhood,” based on his latest film “Bobby Beauty Parlour.”

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