The Assam government’s decision to issue arms licences to “indigenous” residents in remote areas, under the pretext of protection from “illegal immigrants,” marks a retreat from the state’s core responsibility to ensure public security. It also legitimises exclusion and replaces public trust and institutional justice with a politics rooted in fear.

China is operating a vast network of “colonial” boarding schools across Tibet that forcibly removes children—including those as young as four—from their families, a new report released Wednesday claims. The report, published by the U.S.-based Tibet Action Institute, says the system is designed not for education access but for political assimilation, cutting children off from their language, culture and religion.

The central government now requires NGOs that receive foreign funding and engage in any form of publication to declare that they do not circulate “news content” — and to obtain a certificate from the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) confirming this. This could amount to the use of financial regulation to curb the speech and advocacy roles of civil society groups.

A court in Delhi has cleared Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, former president of India’s wrestling federation, in a case filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The case was lodged by a minor female wrestler in 2023. The development comes at a time when the conviction rate under the child protection law stands at just 3%, according to official data.

A global study has tried to answer this question by looking closely at how people across four countries—India, France, the U.K. and the U.S.—react to news, especially in the age of social media, looking at people’s emotional reactions, thinking patterns and how their background affects the way they process information. What the study found about India is worrying—but it’s reassuring that it also points to clear solutions.

A new COVID-19 variant, JN.1, has been detected in several parts of India and abroad, with rising cases and at least one death reported in Maharashtra. Here's what is known so far about the strain, its symptoms and how to stay protected.

As citizens debate freedom of speech—amid serious charges over social media posts and alleged selective blocking of news websites—it’s worth examining censorship through the lens of political science rather than ideology, which often reduces complex issues to partisan battles and obscures deeper understanding.

Many people today feel pessimistic about life and the world around them, largely because the news tends to focus on conflict, crisis and division. But a new research suggests this gloomy outlook may be misleading. The world appears to be far kinder—and more interconnected—than we often assume. Generosity, empathy and trust are widespread across societies, including in India.

As security forces wage an all-out war against Maoist rebels in Chhattisgarh, citizens remain divided over how governments should handle insurgencies—whether to respond decisively with military force or first sit down for talks. The answer isn’t as straightforward as we’d like, because rebellions and insurgencies are almost always messy, complex affairs. But let’s unpack this clearly.

A new study has found that many personal care products used daily by women—like body lotions, shampoos, soaps and cosmetics—contain chemicals that release formaldehyde, a substance known to cause cancer. These chemicals are especially common in products used by African-American and Latina women in the United States, but some of these brands are sold widely, including in India.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reportedly issued a new directive to states and Union Territories, setting a 30-day deadline to verify the citizenship status of “suspected” undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar. This move is likely to create bureaucratic bottlenecks and trigger long-term humanitarian and geopolitical complications with no resolution mechanism in sight.

The recent detention of Bahubali Shah, co-owner of Gujarat Samachar, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has led to accusations of political vendetta. Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have condemned the move as part of a pattern of intimidation against media critical of the government.

Three independent fact-finding missions conducted in Odisha between March and April 2025 have pointed to an alarming rise in targeted attacks, coercion and violations of constitutional rights against Christians—especially Adivasi and Dalit communities.

A new biopic on 19th-century social reformer Jyotirao Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule, titled “Phule,” is now running in Indian theatres, drawing attention to enduring divides over caste, education and equality nearly 150 years after his death.

Hate distorts what we expect from our governments. It teaches us to demand emotion over reason, revenge over restraint and spectacle over seriousness. It normalises irrationality. And when governments allow or tacitly support this hate to spread unchecked, it doesn’t remain focused on the supposed enemy—it turns inward, undermining public servants, weakening institutions, and sabotaging the very public interest it claims to defend. The online targeting of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is a clear example.