AI Is Becoming a Therapist for Millions; the Consequences Could Be Serious
It often starts in the same way. Someone is feeling anxious, lonely or emotionally overwhelmed and reaches for their phone, not to call a friend but to open an app instead. They type out their feelings to a system that responds with warmth and understanding, using language that makes them feel listened to. And for a moment, they feel heard and comforted. However, relying on artificial intelligence for emotional support or psychotherapy may carry psychological risks that many users barely recognise.
CJI’s ‘Cockroach’ Remarks and the Need for Judicial Restraint
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant recently made remarks reportedly comparing social media critics and people who “attack the system” to “parasites of society,” and unemployed young people to “cockroaches” who become activists, media figures, or online critics and “attack everyone.” Though he later said he was misquoted, the language used by holders of the country’s highest constitutional office carries obligations different from ordinary political speech.
The Problem With West Bengal’s Election Officer Becoming the Chief Secretary
The new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal has appointed Manoj Agarwal, the state’s former Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), as the next Chief Secretary, the highest-ranking bureaucrat in the state administration. The decision draws attention because Agarwal was the official responsible for overseeing the electoral process in the state, including the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, before being elevated into the executive structure of the government that later won the election.
Killing of Pastors in Manipur Was a ‘Proxy’ Attack, Kuki-Zo Groups Claim
Three Kuki-Zo Christian pastors were shot dead on May 13 after armed gunmen ambushed two vehicles travelling through Kangpokpi district in Manipur. The killings led Kuki-Zo organisations to suspect that a Naga militant faction may have carried out the attack in coordination with valley-based Meitei insurgent groups.
Muslim Gig Workers: His Name Was Bad for Business, So He Buried It
There is a specific kind of humiliation that disguises itself as practicality. Gig workers, especially Muslims, have been changing their names on professional apps, not for amusement, but because their real names cost them customers. The decision has become larger than a personal adjustment, pointing to a larger social reality hidden behind these choices. I have come across this issue at least three times in recent months.
Why West Bengal and Assam Election Results Are Being Viewed With Suspicion
In the 2026 state assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance returned to power comfortably in Assam and swept the West Bengal election, ending the 15-year rule of the Trinamool Congress. Some of this can certainly be explained through familiar electoral trends, voters rewarding an incumbent government in Assam and turning against one in Bengal. However, the debates surrounding constituency delimitation in Assam and voter roll revisions in Bengal have also led many people to ask whether state institutions and electoral procedures themselves may have tilted the playing field in favour of the ruling party at the Centre.
How Journalists Can Protect Themselves Against a Global Surveillance Industry
Governments worldwide are deploying sophisticated spyware against journalists through methods that are growing cheaper, more powerful, and harder to detect, according to a recent report by the International Federation of Journalists (IJF). For journalists who want to understand what they are up against and what they can do about it, the report also offered a set of recommendations, based on interviews with digital security specialists.
Press Freedom Situation in India ‘Very Serious’: Reporters Without Borders
India has ranked 157th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, which rated the country’s press freedom situation as “Very Serious,” the highest level of threat in the annual index.
‘We Push Them in the Dark’: Assam CM’s Statements and Their Implications
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s appearance on ABP News on April 15 may have triggered a minor diplomatic row, with Bangladesh formally objecting to offensive remarks and summoning India’s acting High Commissioner, but his answers in the interview point to a much more troubling set of issues.
Commercial Spyware, Once a Military Tool, Is Now Routinely Deployed Against Journalists
Governments worldwide are systematically deploying commercial spyware against journalists, and the business of building and selling such tools has grown into a global industry operating with little regulation or accountability, according to a study by the International Federation of Journalists, or IFJ, a Brussels-based organisation representing journalists globally.
U.S.-Israel-Iran War: Will India’s Fuel Prices Rise as Crude Oil Prices Climb?
As the Strait of Hormuz remains shut for nearly two months due to the Israel-U.S.-Iran war, crude oil prices have climbed by over 80%. India’s four-year freeze on domestic fuel prices may no longer be sustainable, with the state-owned companies mandated to hold those prices down already recording losses at a scale that points to a deepening profitability crisis.
India’s Monsoon Creates Fatal Mix of Heat and Humidity; How You and Government Can Stay Prepared
A study has found that India’s summer monsoon systematically produces the conditions for dangerous moist heatwaves, with humidity playing a larger role than temperature in pushing the body past its cooling limit and raising the risk of fatal heatstroke for a population already facing a worsening trend.
The Question Is Not Why Raghav Chadha Left AAP, But Where He Went
Raghav Chadha, a founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and one of its most prominent Rajya Sabha faces, has left the party along with six other MPs from the same party to join the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The question his departure raises is not whether his stated grievances about AAP’s inner functioning were genuine, but whether those grievances, even taken at face value, explain why he chose to join the BJP.
India Pays Double for Fertiliser Imports as Middle East War Disrupts Supply
India has agreed to import 2.5 million metric tons of urea at prices ranging from $935 to $959 per ton, nearly double the $508 to $512 per ton paid in its previous tender just two months ago. For ordinary Indians, a near-doubling of urea import prices will eventually translate into higher food costs.
Why Citizens Participate in the Erosion of Democracy Election After Election
As West Bengal and Tamil Nadu prepare for polling, much of the public discussion has turned, as it routinely does in election seasons, to parties, candidates, alliances and campaign arithmetic. Allegations of cash for votes, political intimidation, partisan use of institutions, extraordinary security deployment, and the blurring of state power with party power appeared well before voting day. Isn’t it surprising that amid such blatant undermining of democracy, we, as citizens, continue participating in systems we know are compromised? In fact, sometimes we help reproduce the very practices we criticise.
Menstrual Discrimination Alarming Among Dalit Sanitation Workers, a Report Suggests
Dalit women working as manual scavengers or housemaids in Delhi face severe menstrual discrimination from their employers and within their own families, with some workers seeing their wages cut and others hiding their periods to avoid punishment at work, according to a report by the Kathmandu-based advocacy organisation Global South Coalition for Dignified Menstruation (GSCDM).
Is Heavy Central Forces Deployment in West Bengal Election Justified?
The Election Commission has deployed more than 240,000 Central Armed Police Forces personnel for Phase 1 of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election, covering 152 of the state’s 294 constituencies, with a further 500 companies to remain after counting and 200 guarding voting machines and counting centres. The scale of this deployment, relative to what the state of security in West Bengal actually warrants, is a question worth putting to the Commission directly.
‘Apology’ Accepted for Not Implementing Women’s Reservation
After the Lok Sabha rejected the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which sought to activate the 33 percent reservation for women by raising the House’s strength to 850 seats, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued an apology, placed responsibility on the opposition, and vowed to remove every obstacle to women’s reservation. However, the most consequential barrier arises from within his own party.
Lok Sabha Expansion Will Weaken Effect of Women’s Reservation
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, proposes to raise the sanctioned strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 and also expand state legislatures to accommodate the 33 percent reservation of seats for women. The trouble with enlarging the House, rather than reallocating seats within it, is that existing arrangements of power would be left intact, which in turn would mean male-dominated networks carry on with only limited change.
Smoking Linked to Brain Changes That Can Increase Dementia Risk
A new study has found that smoking may increase the risk of dementia by triggering a chain of biological events that starts in the lungs and ends up damaging brain cells. The findings offer the clearest biological explanation to date for a link that population studies have observed for years without being able to fully explain.