The ‘Gujarat Model’ – The Rising Malnutrition Amid Economic ‘Growth’
Sheela, a tribal activist from Devgadh Mahila Sangathan, Anandi Foundation, has dedicated her life to fighting for the rights of Adivasi and Dalit communities in Gujarat’s Dahod district. Her work has revealed a grim reality that contrasts sharply with the glowing narratives of Gujarat’s economic success. She takes Newsreel Asia into the heart of this crisis, introducing us to Anita Naik, a mother in Lawaria Village. Anita, like many others, struggles to keep her children alive. One of her children tragically passed away, while her three-year-old son, Rajesh, was born blind and with severe physical deformities—a devastating consequence of the silent malnutrition crisis in the state.
Blood and Ballots: Political Violence in West Bengal
Ajaharuddin, a primary school teacher, witnessed his family's life take a devastating turn when his brother was allegedly attacked by workers affiliated with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, just a day before the 2023 Panchayat elections in West Bengal. The incident revealed the perilous state of democracy in their village.
Displaced Dreams – West Bengal’s Unemployment Crisis
Amal, 27, is a migrant worker from West Bengal’s Purulia district who was forced to leave his village due to a lack of local job opportunities. The recent halt in funding for schemes like MGNREGA in this state has worsened his struggles, pushing him to migrate to different states in search of work. Leaving behind his wife and ailing mother, Amal’s story reflects the harsh realities faced by rural workers dealing with unemployment, migration and the collapse of social safety nets.
Odisha Tribals Demand Justice For Their Land and Livelihood
Umakant Naik, a resident of one of the many villages tucked away at the foothills of Sijimali Hills, is a firsthand victim of an ongoing tussle between local tribal villagers, a mining giant and the State. Known locally as Tijimali, the Sijimali Hills are home to nearly 50,000 residents, primarily from Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, whose lives are deeply connected to the region’s forest, water and land resources. The mountain streams provide drinking water, while timber and wood offer shelter and fuel. Agriculture and forest resources sustain their daily needs. The “Tij Raja,” a spiritual presence believed to dwell in the hills, serves as a cultural and spiritual anchor for the community. But this harmonious way of life is now at risk.
Swallowed by the Sea: Odisha’s Climate Refugees Fight for Livelihood
Prasanna serves as the sarpanch of Satabhaya Gram Panchayat in Odisha. Satabhaya, once a cluster of seven villages, is believed to be the first region affected by climate change in India. Prasanna, who spent over two decades as a migrant worker in Kerala before returning to his village, recounts the heartbreaking story of his coastal home and delves into the relentless struggles of fishermen and farming communities who have lost lives, shelter, land and livelihoods.
Ageing Alone – Migration’s Toll on Families in Madhya Pradesh
Haret Kevat and his wife, Nawal Devi, reside in the Morena district of Madhya Pradesh. Their children have moved to other states, driven by the scarcity of jobs and economic prospects in their home state. Their lives, marked by loneliness, represent the predicament of tens of thousands of elderly parents across the region. In Madhya Pradesh, where 36% of rural residents live below the poverty line, nearly half of the male population migrates for work—almost twice the national average. According to the India Employment Report 2024, 50.9% of these male migrants leave Madhya Pradesh for employment opportunities.
Does Mumbai’s Middle Class Lack Empathy for Migrant Women?
Srimati, a Dalit migrant woman, lives on the streets of Mumbai with her son Shiv Sagar and her daughter after city authorities demolished her home in Jai Bhim Nagar. While she was worried about men leering at her daughter, she learned of a “Reclaim the Night” protest organised by women from a nearby housing society. That protest was in response to the August 2024, rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor in a hospital in Kolkata. Hoping to voice her own family’s safety concerns, she went with other displaced women from her hamlet. But what she experienced at the protest, left Srimati feeling that the middle class extends empathy perhaps only to its own.
HAUNTED AND GHETTOISED: Prolonged Aftermath
Khairunissa, along with her siblings and parents, spent years living in a multi-religious and multicultural apartment in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. When communal tensions and targeted violence against Muslims erupted in the city on February 28, 2002, her family initially felt secure, confident that their neighbours would be able to protect them. But then Khairunissa saw a mob approaching their building. In an instant, their lives and circumstances changed dramatically. More than 22 years later, the lasting impact continues to affect them and hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the state.
Jharkhand’s State Capitalism: Displacements by Mining
Madhusudan Mahto, a 60-year-old resident of Dhanbad district in Jharkhand state, is one of many paying the price for successive state governments' careless embrace of state capitalism. Coal mining has been ongoing in Jharkhand since 1901. Today, around 6,486 hectares of land in the state affected by the mining activity, while about 75% of the state’s population remains economically dependent on agriculture. Although mining is a lucrative source of revenue for the state and is prioritised over vital sectors like agriculture, it compromises the well-being of millions of residents who are not employed in the mining sector. And this is apart from significant environmental and health costs associated with the extraction of natural resources.
Power Crisis Deepens in Jammu & Kashmir Amid Winter
In the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, households commonly face frequent power outages and struggle with unaffordable electricity tariffs. This, despite the region's immense potential for hydroelectric power generation. Asad Ullah Mir describes the developmental injustices his community endures due to the extraction of hydroelectric power. Meanwhile, Abdul Hamid, a 50-year-old resident of Dal Gate in Srinagar, discusses the tough choices low-income families must make between electricity and basic necessities. This raises a pressing question: Why must the people of this region endure cold, dark winters?
The Price of Media Suppression in Jammu & Kashmir
Fahad Shah was a student in 2009 when he launched Kashmir Walla, a modest blog that would grow into a vital voice in the fraught landscape of Jammu & Kashmir. Over the years, Shah’s work came to embody a passionate dedication to journalism—until 2022, when he was arrested under India’s stringent anti-terror laws, accused of 'propagating terror.' He is not alone. Since the Indian government's abrogation of Article 370, which revoked Jammu & Kashmir's special status, journalism in the region has become increasingly difficult. In this account, Shah reflects on his journey, the evolution of Kashmir Walla, and the 600 days he spent as a prisoner.
WHEN HARDWORK ISN’T ENOUGH | Failed Aspirations of the Youth in Kashmir
Irshad, a 32-year-old cab driver from Kashmir, embodies the dreams and disillusionment of many in his homeland. Once a promising cricketer and a Master’s degree holder in English Literature, Irshad’s quest for meaningful employment for over a decade drew a blank. Unemployment, mostly fuelled by the political and economic instability in Jammu & Kashmir, has left the youth with unfulfilled aspirations. Recent data suggests Kashmir has an astounding unemployment rate of 24.6%, significantly higher than the national average of 6.1%. The ripple effects are tragic: rising crime, rampant drug addiction, and an alarming increase in suicides.
LIFE IN LAMKA | Economic Impact of Violence on Kuki - Zo Community in Manipur
Benjamin, a Kuki-Zo man and father of five in Manipur’s Churachandpur district, struggles daily to meet his family's needs amid ongoing ethnic violence. The unrest, which began over a year ago, has severely impacted the state's economy, with retail inflation soaring to 11.63% in November 2023, compared to the national average of 5.55%. The prices of essential goods have skyrocketed in this border district, which remains cut off from the commercial hub of the Meitei-dominant Imphal region, about 60 km away. All goods now come through mountainous terrain, covering a distance of over 800 km. How is Benjamin’s family – and other residents – surviving this economic crisis?
RELUCTANT WARRIORS | Why Manipur's Youth is Picking up Arms
Sawmte, a 17-year-old from the Kuki-Zo tribe in Manipur, is deeply affected by the ethnic violence that erupted involving the majority Meitei community and the Kuki-Zo tribal people on May 3, 2023. On witnessing the attacks on their community by Meitei extremist groups, who were allegedly joined by sections of state police, the Kuki-Zo youth – including some teenagers like Sawmte – have put their dreams on hold to defend their tribal homeland. The ongoing struggle casts a long shadow over Manipur’s future, threatening to shape a generation defined by conflict and division.
DIGGING FOR HOPE | A Farmer’s Suffering Due to Water Shortage
Sudhir Yadav is a farmer who lives in one of the 78 sub-districts of Haryana state where the groundwater is depleting faster than it can replenish. Yet, like other farmers, he had no option but to keep digging deeper and deeper into the ground in search of water for irrigation until he learned the hard way.
THE UNEQUAL HALF | Gender Discrimination in Rajasthan
A young woman, Barkha (not her real name), goes through discrimination and sexual abuse at home, which, an activist says, may serve as anecdotes about what many girls and women in the north Indian state of Rajasthan experience due to a high level of gender inequality.