Anando Bhakto

Anando Bhakto, Special Correspondent, reports on Kashmir and politics in the Hindi heartland. He has a special interest in covering human rights issues in Kashmir. In a career spanning nine years he has authored well-researched stories on custodial killings, arbitrary detentions under the Public Safety Act and juvenile detainees for Al Jazeera, Dawn , Asia Times and The Wire , besides Frontline . Prior to joining Frontline , he worked with The Hindu , the IANS and The Sunday Guardian . He has a master’s degree in journalism from Cardiff University, U.K.

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh on March 9

Madhya Pradesh: Picking up the pieces

The Congress in Madhya Pradesh is banking on MSP promises and the tribal vote to make a dent in the BJP bastion.

NC leader and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at a public rally in Kulgam district on December 9, 2023.

Kashmir: Valley of contention

Unable to arrive at an agreement, the major parties are going solo in Kashmir, while the BJP’s “proxies” are queering the pitch.

Ladakh’s citizens face despair as talks in New Delhi fail to secure Sixth Schedule guarantees for protecting cultural identity.

‘People are readying themselves to give BJP a befitting reply through ballot’: Leh’s Congress leader Tsering Namgyal

Congress member and Leader of Opposition in Ladakh Hill Council (Leh) says the Centre is reneging on its promise to extend Sixth Schedule guarantees.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Samajwadi party national president Akhilesh Yadav meet supporters during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, in Agra, on February 25.

Uttar Pradesh: Not yet a done deal

Despite claims of a no-contest, the BJP and Congress-SP alliance are actively vying for the OBC vote while also courting the Scheduled Castes.

Officials display electronic voting machines at an awareness drive ahead of the Lok Sabha election in Jorhat, Assam. A file photo.

Election Commission announces seven-phase Lok Sabha election starting April 19

The announcement comes amidst a heated debate over electoral bonds, with opposition accusing Modi government of undermining democratic processes.

A farmer sits on a drum in front of police barricades, at a protest site at the Shambhu border, en route to New Delhi, on February 23.

Farmers’ protest 2.0: On the difficult road to MSP

The movement for a legally backed MSP has the potential to give the opposition a second wind before the Lok Sabha election.

People holding placards take part in the ‘”Leh Chalo Andolan” called by Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) and Leh Apex Body (LAB) demanding the implementation of the 6th Schedule, Statehood, Land, and job security and separate Lok Sabha seat in Parliament for Kargil and Leh, in Leh in January 2024.

Ladakh talks: Civil society leaders disappointed after second meeting with Centre

Talks focus on demands for statehood, Sixth Schedule guarantees, and job-land safeguards, but delegation is disappointed over lack of concrete action.

Congress leader Manish Tewari addresses the Democracy Convention 2024 in New Delhi on February 10. The Convention was addressed by academics and activists such as Romila Thapar, Apoorvanand, Ganesh Devy, Jayati Ghosh, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah and CPI-M General-Secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Civil society influencers join hands to fight ‘democratic backslide’

Prominent academics, activists, and politicians unite to oppose the authoritarian character of the Modi regime and protect constitutional rights.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his former deputy Tejashwi Yadav during the birth centenary celebrations of former Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur, in Patna on January 24.

Nitish Kumar’s opportunistic alliance with BJP could hurt INDIA bloc’s OBC strategy in Bihar

But the BJP’s swift embrace of JD(U) lays bare its all-too-real anxieties heading into the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Pakistani vehicles being unloaded at the Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre in June 2014.

How suspension of cross-LoC trade shattered Uri’s economy

With businesses collapsing and families under debt, the abrupt freeze on cross-LoC trade in 2019 has thrown thousands of lives into a tailspin.

Security tightened ahead of Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande’s visit to Rajouri district on December 25 to review the security situation.

Custodial deaths of Gujjars in Poonch puts Army and BJP in a spot

Gujjar-Bakarwals demand criminal prosecutions as unrest boils over, threatening the BJP’s key voter base in an election year.

Paramilitary soldiers patrol the main market in Srinagar on December 11 after the Supreme Court upheld a 2019 decision by the Modi government to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370.

Supreme Court’s Kashmir ruling upholds Hindu majoritarian pride and prejudice

Article 370’s abrogation opens a Pandora’s box of concerns about federalism, democracy, and human rights in Kashmir and beyond.

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