-TheWire.in The documentary serves as an uncomfortable reminder of how ill-equipped we are to deal with the complex material realities of oppressed communities, especially when they implicate us at a fundamental level. Writing with Fire by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh is another addition to the bourgeoning mainstream media engagement with caste in India. The documentary has garnered accolades  – including an (ultimately unsuccessful) Oscar nomination – for its depiction of the...

-The Telegraph Akhilesh Yadav is trying to win over segments of these communities, and the extent of his success in the effort may decide his fate on March 10 Ghazipur (on UP-Delhi border), Mirzapur: Ramashankar Yadav, a retired block development officer chatting with fellow villagers at a tea shop in the Madhuban market, looks up suspiciously. “I hope you aren’t from the godi (lapdog) media?” he asks, referring to media outlets seen widely...

-The Hindu Spells of impoverishment during the pandemic were not infrequent, and lower castes and minorities bore the brunt of it Few observations survive the test of time. Fewer gain significance over time. Engel’s Law is a case in point. A version is that the poorer a family, “the greater the proportion of the total outgo which must be used for food. The proportion of the outgo used for food, other things...

-The Hindu Handbook sees prejudices and ignorance or deliberate misinformation campaign on the exercise The Registrar General of India (RGI) anticipates “organised movement” against the decennial Census exercise such as agitation for inclusion of Other Backward Classes (OBC) and court cases against the collection of data for the National Population Register (NPR). The concern is documented in the Census of India 2021 Handbook for Principal/District Census Officers and Charge Officers that has been...

-Press release by the Right to Food Campaign Secretariat dated February 23, 2022 * 66 percent respondents said that their income has decreased compared to the pre-pandemic period * 80 percent reported some form of food insecurity, 25 percent reported severe food insecurity * 41 percent said that nutritional quality of their diet deteriorated compared to the pre-pandemic period * 67 percent could not afford cooking gas in the month preceding the survey. * 45...