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As Operation Kagar’s lethal deadline looms over the land, the bodies pile up.

30-04-202531 STORIES

In this issue

Security personnel with the bodies of naxalites
State vs Citizen — THE LEDE

Bastar: Blood on our hands

Far removed from the national conscience, a danse macabre unfolds in Bastar. The deadline-driven war on naxalism is a euphemism for erasing Adivasis.
karnataka anti naxal force vikram gowda killing.jpg
State vs Citizen

Editor’s Note: Dead end deadline

Amit Shah’s war on Maoism has a body count, not a plan.
Soni Sori.jpg

‘Paramilitary forces dance after killing Adivasis’: Soni Sori 

Leader, prisoner, survivor, and activist from Dantewada, Sori says that the state is killing Adivasis in Chhattisgarh by labelling them Maoists.
Muria Gond tribe.jpg
STATE VS CITIZEN

In Chhattisgarh, the war on Maoists becomes a war on Adivasis

Is the overwhelming presence of security forces a veiled attempt to prioritise corporate mining at the expense of tribal communities?
Ramesh Badranna.jpg
STATE VS CITIZEN

Prioritise a timeline to eliminate poverty and exploitation: Ramesh Badranna

Former Maoist guerrilla commander says the government’s militarised approach is doomed to fail unless it addresses the root causes behind naxalism.
Noor Sridhar.
State vs Citizen

‘Many naxalites are willing to join the mainstream’: Noor Sridhar

Former leader of the People’s War and CPI (Maoist) says respectful reintegration, not repression, is key to ending Naxal violence.
Basant Ponwar.jpg
STATE VS CITIZEN

Those who choose guns become enemies of the nation: Basant K. Ponwar

Constitution forbids taking up arms against the state. Grievances must be addressed democratically, not through violence, says the retired Brigadier.
Devendra Fadnavis Gadchiroli.jpg
STATE VS CITIZEN

Gadchiroli: A different minefield

Behind Maharashtra’s ‘development and ambush’ strategy lies a push to exploit tribal lands, sacrificing indigenous livelihoods for mining interests.
A combing operation ahead of “PLGA week”
State vs Citizen

Maoists in Andhra and Telangana: Once a revolution, now a reminder

Undivided Andhra Pradesh was the cradle of India’s radical left movement, but in both successor States, it is now just a pale shadow of its past.
Bela Bhatia.jpg
STATE VS CITIZEN

The Adivasis bear the brunt: Bela Bhatia

Bastar-based lawyer says tribal communities of the region have been living under the shadow of the gun for close to two decades now. 
A street vendor
From the Sidelines

Digital India must not deny the unlettered access to their own money

When OTPs replace literacy and KYC overrides identity, the economic rights of the vulnerable disappear into a digital maze they cannot navigate.
Nagpur riots.jpg
MAHARASHTRA

Old formula, new laboratory: Hindutva finds fresh ground in Maharashtra

The Sangh Parivar is testing an old playbook in a once reformist State. Hate speech, street violence, and cultural flashpoints signal the shift.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat
POLITICS

The Sangh-sevak reunion: A strategic recalibration for BJP and RSS

Modi’s visit to RSS HQ shows BJP still needs the Sangh’s ground game—and the Sangh still hasn’t found a better bet than Modi, despite the discomfort.
Maharashtra Buddhist monks protest.jpg
BIHAR

The battle for Bodh Gaya’s sacred heart

An old dispute over control of the Mahabodhi Mahavihara enters a new phase, as Buddhists and Hindus dig in amid growing calls for change.
delimitation debate joint action committee march 2025.jpg
Federalism

Delimitation debate: Why southern States fear losing political voice after 2026

States fear delimitation based on population will reduce their parliamentary representation, punishing them for successful population control efforts.
Vishwajit Rane Goa TCP Minister BJP leader.jpg
CONTROVERSY

Goa Minister Vishwajit Rane faces civil society ire over land transfer law

Calls for Rane’s resignation intensified after the High Court struck down the controversial amendment, but he remains defiant.
Bonda tribe.JPG

Anthropological Survey of India’s tribal identity project is not just about research

Given the sensitivity of the issue and its politico-electoral overtones, the exercise warrants caution.
Digital billboard displaying IndusInd Bank advertisement
Economic Perspectives

IndusInd bank crisis: A wake-up call for private banking reforms

A Rs.1,530 crore loss from mispriced derivatives and delayed disclosures raises concerns about weak oversight and risky strategies in private banking.
turkiye anti erdogan protests ekrem imamoglu arrest.jpg
Türkiye

An ill-judged arrest in Türkiye spurs largest anti-Erdoğan protests in over a decade

As prominent opposition leader Ekrem İmamoğlu is jailed, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s iron grip faces its most formidable challenge yet.
Narendra Modi and Donald Trump

Democracy’s dark spiral

Democracy in India and the US is caught in a vortex of oligarchy, driven by hatred and despair, leaving its ideals gasping for survival.
Rithika Merchant.jpg
Art

We all stand on the shoulders of our ancestors: Rithika Merchant

The award-winning visual artist says her work channels the energy of her female ancestors.
Kunal Kamra.jpg
Counter Culture

No jokes please, we’re Indian 

Kunal Kamra’s jokes are not in service of their punchline. The mere telling of his joke is the punchline.
Vinod Kumar Shukla.jpg
ESSAY

Vinod Kumar Shukla: The poet who sees the infinite in the ordinary

Honoured with the 59th Jnanpith Award, the Hindi poet transforms small moments into deep questions about life, language, and justice.
RSS band.jpg
Book Review

Golwalkar: From Hindu guide to Hindutva machine

How the RSS’s most influential yet enigmatic leader established the roots of Hindutva politics.
Sri Lankan army soldiers displaying weapons.JPG
Book Review

Latest account of LTTE’s demise provides valuable details, but readers should mind the source

That said, “The Rout of Prabhakaran” delivers a meticulous examination of how Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war ground to its bloody conclusion in 2009.
Gaddar, the revolutionary balladeer
BOOK REVIEW

Rama Bhima Soma pushes the boundaries of Kannada cultural discourse

Srikar Raghavan’s book romances a Karnataka beyond Bengaluru, a pluralist culture beyond religion, and a society beyond the self-centred individual.
Vaadivaasal Panel
Book Review

Bull, man, power: Vaadivaasal and the politics of pride

Perumal Murugan and Appupen’s collaborative book serves as a model for future graphic adaptations of the jewels of Indian literature.
Jeju Island south korea tourist destination.jpg
Book Review

Jeju’s snow does not forget

Nobel Prize winner Han Kang’s haunting novel turns readers into memory-keepers of the 1948 Jeju massacre.
bookshelf.jpg
BOOKSHELF

New books on the shelves

A blackly comic Booker Prize-longlisted novel, a history of a tree-hugging people, and much more.
Nehru in Trivandrum3.jpg
White Space

Nehru comes to town

India’s first Prime Minister spoke fast and clearly. I couldn’t fully grasp all that he said, but he certainly had a tremendous presence. 
The Dystopian Times by Appupen
BACK PAGE

‘The Dystopian Times’ by Appupen

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