Inside the invisible highways of labour that connect the heartland to the metros a data-backed anatomy of who moves, where they go, what they earn, and how the state is finally learning to see them On the morning of 24 March 2020, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown with four hours’ notice,…
Migration & Urbanisation: Movement, Opportunity and the Search for Belonging When we hear the words migration and urbanisation, our imagination often moves towards a familiar picture — a worker leaving a village, moving to a city in search of employment, living in an informal settlement, and becoming part of the urban workforce. This picture is…
Neha Dixit’s The Many Lives of Syeda X is the most important Indian nonfiction debut in years. It is also the kind of book that makes you feel a little guilty for not having noticed sooner. There is a woman who shells your almonds. She trims the loose threads off your jeans, sews the panels…
The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme has transformed India’s Public Distribution System by making food security portable across states. While the initiative has significantly benefited migrant workers, challenges related to awareness, technology, and implementation continue to shape its future.
Neha Dixit’s The Many Lives of Syeda X chronicles the life of an invisible migrant worker to reveal three decades of India’s social, political, and economic transformation through powerful narrative journalism.
Ask most people what Surat is known for, and they will say diamonds, or silk, or perhaps the fact that it is one of India’s cleanest cities. Almost nobody will say the real answer: Surat is, more than anything else, a city built entirely by people who came from somewhere else. At various points over…
A Film Rooted in Real Lives A journey shaped by real moments takes form in Homebound, India’s pick for the Oscars this year. Not polished stories but quiet struggles fill its scenes. Neeraj Ghaywan guides this story, one where hopes bend under hardship. Lives often overlooked become visible here. Poverty does more than limit chances…
