As species and habitats edge towards extinction, India continues to ignore the red flags.

15-04-202532 STORIES

In this issue

A captive-bred, GSM-tagged white-rumped vulture

Lost in the Wild — The Lede

The sixth mass extinction is here—and it’s killing humans too

India’s vanishing wildlife is no longer just a biodiversity crisis—it is a public health emergency born of human-induced ecological collapse.

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Lost in the Wild

Editor’s Note: A sanctuary for the few, a graveyard for the many

Public habitats are vanishing, while private ventures flaunt luxurious animal care. Meanwhile, the state retreats from ecological responsibility.

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Lost in the Wild

Indian grey wolf: Persecuted guardian of the grasslands

Rarer than tigers, the endangered predator is nearly forgotten. Once killed as vermin, its biggest threat now is hybridisation with domestic dogs.

Mihir Godbole,Abi Tamim Vanak

C.R. Bijoy.jpg

Lost in the Wild

Human-wildlife conflict can reduce only if community rights are recognised: C.R. Bijoy

Despite the FRA, forest departments still control forests, not forest-dwellers and gram sabhas, says the researcher of natural resource conflicts.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin

FROM THE SIDELINES

Tamil Nadu is BJP’s toughest test against cultural uniformity

The Dravidian template of rationalism, social justice, and regional pride challenges BJP-RSS in ways that other unconquered territories do not.

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How BSP’s decline changed Dalit politics in Uttar Pradesh

Dalit voters are now divided among SP, BJP, and Chandrashekhar Azad’s party. The future of Dalit politics is more open—and more contested—than ever.

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EPIC lapse deepens Election Commission’s credibility crisis

The Election Commission of India faces tough questions for ignoring a decades-old voter ID flaw, now exploding into a full-blown controversy.

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ECI says EPIC-Aadhaar link is voluntary—but is it really?

The Election Commission revives the plan to link voter ID with Aadhaar, raising concerns over privacy, citizenship, and voting rights.

Nilakantan R.S.

The only answer is to decentralise: Nilakantan R.S.

The data scientist and author argues that extreme decentralisation is key to addressing the North-South divide and the looming delimitation crisis.

Inmates at a de-addiction and rehabilitation centre in Daulatpur village on the outskirts of Patiala attending a counselling session on January 21, 2017.

Punjab’s war on drugs: A crisis deferred, not defeated

AAP, elected on its “war on drugs” promise, lurches from deadline to deadline as it struggles to escape a deepening administrative morass in Punjab.

Ashutosh Sharma

Main street of Ajmer

Rajasthan’s anti-conversion law: A deliberate assault on constitutional liberties

Criminalising personal faith under the guise of combating ‘unlawful conversion’, the new law institutionalises harassment, empowers vigilantes.

T.K. Rajalakshmi

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ED spikes the punch

Latest spell of “liquor” raids in opposition-ruled States reignites accusations of “political vendetta”.

R.K. Radhakrishnan

Inside a home in Gujarat’s Kutch region

The women employment mirage

The Time Use Survey reveals how Indian women shoulder unpaid care work—undermining their agency and challenging official labour force claims.

T.K. Rajalakshmi

Jadavpur University students protest.jpg

HIGHER EDUCATION

Violent face-off at Jadavpur University reveals the rot within

The clashes have drawn attention to the university’s deep financial struggles, political tensions, and governance failures.

Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay

Modi and Trump.jpg

ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES

India’s new trade gamble

India is pursuing fresh free trade agreements under US pressure. This could hurt growth, productivity, jobs, and trade and current account deficits.

C.P. Chandrasekhar

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Sabarmati Riverfront project’s neoliberal dream leaves thousands displaced and abandoned

Stripped of both livelihood and shelter, many have resorted to selling their blood for survival.

Shehbaz Sharif and Muhammad Yunus

What does a relationship reboot between Bangladesh and Pakistan mean for India?

It means heightened security risks for India, strategic realignment in South Asia, and potential weakening of India’s influence in its neighborhood.

Float portraying the leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union

Carl Schmitt was right: The sovereign decides the exception

His idea of sovereignty as the power to declare exceptions explains today’s political crises better than the fading certainties of liberal theory.

Karthick Ram Manoharan

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Crescent of hope: Ramzan in Srinagar

Kashmir, reeling under hardships, has kept intact its spirit of Ramzan.

Ilaiyaraaja: A symphonic return of the king

With the success of Symphony No. 1 (Valiant), the maestro reaches another peak, proving he is among the country’s most extraordinary musical minds.

Ramesh Chakrapani

“Varanasi in the Morning” by S.G. Thakar Singh.jpg

The divine and the mundane: Banaras down the ages

An exhibition at DAG in Delhi, on the visual representation of Banaras from colonial times to the present day, captures the city’s vibrant essence.

Rm. Palaniappan’s art probes the precision and philosophy of error

New exhibition “Mapping the Invisible” showcases the artist’s printmaking, influenced by maths, architecture, and his philosophical concept of error.

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COUNTER CULTURE

Ukraine’s truth is in the present tense

Two documentaries about the Russian invasion of Ukraine revel in the details of everyday life, moving away from grand narratives and neat identities.

Prathyush Parasuraman

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We should be curious about our enemies: Amitava Kumar

The novelist, essayist, and professor of English talks about his hopes, fears, and latest work of non-fiction, The Green Book: An Observer’s Notebook.

Aditya Mani Jha

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Gaza and the triple impasse of history, humanity, and hegemony

Despite its monumental scope and extensive research, the book falls short due to a lack of analysis or commentary.

Arun Shourie’s cut-and-paste iconoclasm

Shourie tries to debunk myths about V.D Savarkar but leans too much on reproducing his writings, lacking fresh analysis or critique.

Surajkumar Thube

Koregaon Bhima war memorial

Bhima Koregaon and Dalits’ search for remedies rooted in dignity, not dominance

The book exposes the strategies of hate politics and violent populism and shows how democracy is being wrecked from within.

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Desire, loneliness, and danger in Delhi

Anisha Lalvani’s novel captures a restless portrait of young womanhood in urban India, challenging morality and convention with brutal honesty.

A Forest (Representative image)

Jeet Thayil’s poetry offers a spurt of loved blood amid loss and outrage

The collection marking Thayil’s return as a poet after a decade has grief, joy, and madness, all gesturing at truths to be earned the hard way.

Rizio Yohannan Raj

New books on the shelves

The biggest and most ambitious collection of Indian short fiction, a tribute to the “sound of India”, and many more.

Our Convent

Translated from the Telugu by Gita Ramaswamy.

Dystopian Times by Appupen

‘The Dystopian Times’ by Appupen

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