The India Forum

Walking with Gandhi in Our Times What lessons can we draw from Gandhi's marches into our political practice in the present?

What lessons can we draw from Gandhi's marches into our political practice in the present? Janaki Nair writes
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Estimating Worker Population Exposed to Silica Dust in India Estimates based on Periodic Labour Force Survey data point to over 55 million Indians employed in silica-exposed occupations , mainly in construction. The vulnerability of this workforce is a major pu...

Estimates based on PLFS point to over 55 million Indians employed in silica-exposed occupations, mainly in construction. The vulnerability of this workforce is a major public health challenge, demanding improved exposure data & stronger epidemiological research.
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Algorithms Don't Need Your Surname to Guess Your Caste. That's a Problem A Dalit student graduating in the mid-2020s will encounter screening systems built on decades of unequal hiring, skewed promotion data, and biased public records. Unless institutions change how algori...

A Dalit student graduating in the mid-2020s will encounter screening systems built on decades of unequal hiring and skewed promotion data. Unless institutions change how algorithmic systems are built, tested, and audited, inequality can only harden.
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Partitions and the Making of Modern South Asia South Asian states have obscured longstanding cross-border ties in order to consolidate national control. This history shows that dominant national identities crystallised only in the 20th century, le...

Sam Dalrymple shows that dominant national identities crystallised only in the 20th century, leaving questions of citizenship, belonging, and inclusion deeply contested across the region. Gita Ramaswamy writes
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Modi Government's Ill-Conceived Policy on West Asia Jeopardises India’s Interests and Credibility ‘The strategic geometry and security architecture of West Asia will undergo important changes after this war as countries look for new partners. By our unseemly embrace of Israel and post-haste dumpin...

‘The strategic geometry and security architecture of West Asia will undergo important changes after this war as countries look for new partners. By our unseemly embrace of Israel and post-haste dumping of Iran, we have dented our future credibility as a partner.’
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Marketing Muck and Rahu Kalams — The Underbelly of the 2026 T20 World Cup The cricket on the field has been full of joy, but the cricketers have played under the shadow of an overbearing BCCI; the Board's uber-nationalism has sullied the game and its carte blanche to the mo...

Sharda Ugra writes: The cricketers have played under the shadow of an overbearing BCCI; the Board's uber-nationalism has sullied the game and its carte blanche to the money men. The ICC , on its part, has been rendered powerless.
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In Pune’s Skies, Parrots are a Sign of How Caste Shapes Cities The historical allocation of land and who inherits it dictates why some neighbourhoods have birds, tree-lined avenues and far better civic amenities.

The historical allocation of land and who inherits it dictates why some neighbourhoods have birds, tree-lined avenues and far better civic amenities.
www.theindiaforum.in/caste/punes-...

Legal Uncertainties of Equity in Higher Education The UGC’s controversial 2026 Equity Regulations, now kept in abeyance by the Supreme Court, contained ambiguities and provisions for stringent sanctions without clear safeguards. The debate narrowed d...

The UGC’s regulations, now kept in abeyance by the Supreme Court, contained ambiguities and provisions for stringent sanctions without clear safeguards. The debate narrowed down to whether upper-caste students can be recognised as victims of caste discrimination.
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Empathy without Illusions: André Béteille and Sociology as a Vocation "André Béteille represented a world that now seems to have vanished. Re-reading his work after his passing, I realise how much I missed, how many conversations I should have had with him, and how very...

"André Béteille represented a world that now seems to have vanished. Re-reading his work after his passing, I realise how much I missed, how many conversations I should have had with him, and how very lucky I was to have known him."
www.theindiaforum.in/society/empa...

Rethinking Capitalism beyond Markets Capitalism is a system embedded in politics, power, and nature, shaped by evolving state forms rather than markets alone. ‘Capitalism: A Global History’ argues that the system’s historical adaptabilit...

Capitalism is a system embedded in politics, power, and nature, shaped by evolving state forms. ‘Capitalism: A Global History’ argues that the system’s historical adaptability is key to understanding its post-neoliberal future. @penguinpress.bsky.social
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What the ‘Rebirth’ of an Indigenous Cow Breed Tells Us About Science Narratives around the revival of Kerala's Vechur cow serves as a lens to examine how public engagement and societal values influence the establishment of scientific facts.

Narratives around the revival of Kerala's Vechur cow serves as a lens to examine how public engagement and societal values influence the establishment of scientific facts.
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I don't think anyone else in global media has looked at this

Prosperity Without Parity: Economic Growth and Women Empowerment in Haryana Haryana shows that growth does not automatically ensure gender equity. Districts closer to Delhi or highways are wealthier, yet they do not always demonstrate better outcomes for women. Without focuse...

Haryana shows that growth does not ensure gender equity. Districts closer to Delhi or highways are wealthier, yet they don't always demonstrate better outcomes for women. W/o focused public policy, rising incomes may not dismantle entrenched patriarchal norms.
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UNESCO's Muted Response to Decimation of Gaza's Cultural Sites "When the world’s foremost body on the protection of cultural heritage limits itself to cautious generalities, it fosters a permissive environment. It allows the destruction in Gaza to be treated as r...

When UNESCO, the world’s foremost body on the protection of cultural heritage limits itself to cautious generalities ... it allows the destruction in Gaza to be treated as regrettable collateral damage of war, rather than an actionable crime.
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The Right Man: Vajpayee and His Party Was Vajpayee indeed the right man in the wrong party, as popular lore and a new biography suggest?

Was Vajpayee indeed the right man in the wrong party, as popular lore and a new biography suggest?
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A Law Only on Paper: Welfare for Construction Workers The Building and Other Construction Workers Act struggles to reach India’s mobile construction workforce. Informality and circular migration undermine registration and access. Reimagining social prote...

The Construction Workers Act struggles to reach India’s mobile construction workforce. Informality & circular migration undermine registration & access. Reimagining social protection demands portability, simple procedures, worker representation & accountability.
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Investor Confidence and the Remaking of Labour Rights India’s four Labour Codes, implemented in November 2025, consolidate a long-term shift privileging capital interests over collective bargaining. By legalising decades-old practices, they recast citize...

India’s Labour Codes, implemented in Nov 2025, consolidate a long-term shift privileging capital interests over collective bargaining. By legalising decades-old practices, they recast citizenship for working people in an economy marked by informality & precarity.
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Can India Power the AI Dream? As India rushes to embrace artificial intelligence, the technology's impact on jobs, electricity consumption, and water usage needs to be taken into account.

As India rushes to embrace artificial intelligence, the technology's impact on jobs, electricity consumption, and water usage needs to be taken into account.
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What Does It Mean When the State Pays Women to Be “Women”? Cash transfers to women may seem to acknowledge unpaid female labour but without the redistribution of care work, they remain default caregivers. Meaningful change requires shifting responsibilities a...

Cash transfers to women may seem to acknowledge unpaid female labour but without the redistribution of care work, they remain default caregivers. Meaningful change requires shifting responsibilities alongside resources...
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Sexual and Reproductive Justice at the Margins A set of studies explores how marginalised women in India navigate health systems. The essays advance a broader understanding of sexual and reproductive justice and case studies show how patriarchy an...

It explores how marginalised women in India navigate health systems. The essays advance the understanding of sexual and reproductive justice and case studies show how patriarchy and material inequalities embed injustice in health care & restrict sexual autonomy.
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Why Does Odisha not have a Strong Dalit-Bahujan Movement? Odisha has largely been untouched by the kind of Dalit and OBC movements that shifted the political landscape in other states. Consequently, these groups have had lesser shares of political power even...

Odisha has largely been untouched by the kind of Dalit and OBC movements that shifted the political landscape in other states. Consequently, these groups have had lesser shares of political power even as caste hierarchies and exploitation prevail.
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Vigil with ChatGPT A daughter’s vigil beside her dying mother becomes a meditation on what fills the void when care systems thin out — and how, in moments of vulnerability, even algorithmic eloquence can begin to feel l...

A daughter’s vigil beside her dying mother becomes a meditation on what fills the void when care systems thin out — and how, in moments of vulnerability, even algorithmic eloquence can begin to feel like care.
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When Research Is Invisible to Patients Clinical trials shape the medicines and treatments we rely on every day. India runs thousands of clinical trials every year, yet most patients never hear about them. This lack of information affects p...

Clinical trials shape the medicines and treatments we rely on every day. India runs thousands of clinical trials every year, yet most patients never hear about them. The lack of information affects patients who can get access to new treatments | Ponnari Gottipati
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Reviving Public Vaccine Manufacturing in the BioE3 Era India’s BioE3 policy envisions nationwide biomanufacturing hubs to drive bio-innovation. However, a key unresolved issue is whether the hitherto ignored public sector vaccine manufacturers will secure...

India’s BioE3 policy envisions nationwide biomanufacturing hubs to drive bio-innovation. However, a key issue is whether the hitherto ignored public sector vaccine manufacturers will secure a meaningful role within India’s emerging sovereign vaccine value chain.
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Impact of New Labour Codes on Workers The new labour codes promised labour market reform but suffer major shortcomings, including on limited collective bargaining, flawed minimum wages, gender inequities, and inadequate social security. T...

The new labour codes promised labour market reform but suffer major shortcomings, including on limited collective bargaining, flawed minimum wages, gender inequities & inadequate social security. These require significant rethinking to align with int'l labour std
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VB-GRAMG and the Recasting of Rural Social Protection Replacing MGNREGA with the Viksit Bharat mission signals a shift from demand-driven entitlement to discretionary social protection with fiscal caps. Technology, and centralisation recast labour claims...

Replacing MGNREGA with Viksit Bharat signals a shift from demand-driven entitlement to discretionary social protection with fiscal caps. Tech & centralisation recast labour claims as compliance, reconfiguring state-worker relations & risking greater exclusion
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Inequality, Class, and Political Economy in India and China In China and India, economic disparity in the 1950s-70s was low and declining, but began rising thereafter. A new book explores the different drivers of inequality in the two countries and how winners...

In China and India, economic disparity in the 1950s-70s was low and declining, but began rising thereafter. A new book explores the different drivers of inequality in the two countries and how winners and losers were determined.
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A Politics Yet to Come: On the Significance of Sharjeel Imam Sharjeel Imam's ideas were built upon his critique of the dominant narrative of Partition being the 'original sin' of Indian Muslims, against which he argued that the community ought to shed this burd...

Sharjeel Imam's ideas were built upon his critique of the dominant narrative of Partition being the 'original sin' of Indian Muslims, against which he argued that the community ought to shed this burden that kept it anxiously self-restrained politically.

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Labour Codes and the Remaking of India’s Capital-Labour Contract India’s new Labour Codes relegate worker interests to state or employer discretion. This deepens precarity and wealth concentration. Addressing these outcomes requires more than amendments; it demands...

India’s new Labour Codes relegate worker interests to state or employer discretion. This deepens precarity and wealth concentration. Addressing these outcomes demands a strategic rethinking of the evolving capital-labour contract shaping India’s future workforce.
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Baba Adhav: Labour Activist, Social Lodestone Baba Adhav (1930–2025) was a multi-faceted personality who empowered unorganized sector workers through rights-based mobilisation. A sustained struggle secured landmark social security legislation and...

Baba Adhav empowered unorganized sector workers through rights-based mobilisation. A sustained struggle secured landmark social security legislation and fostered transformative initiatives ensuring security and dignity for workers in Maharashtra.
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