A few days ago, as the Moon was sighted, text messages popped up on our overscrolled mobile phones wishing us Ramzan Mubarak. Amongst all the warm greetings were two clips that the algorithm couldn’t push down. First, the Chief Minister of Assam calling for a community to be harassed to such an extent that they are forced to leave not just the state, but also the country. Second, a 28-second video where the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly responds to a question about infrastructure development with a call for religious segregation. We have strayed really far from any kind of constitutional morality.

With the upcoming assembly elections in five states, the rhetoric will only get more toxic. The Muslim community has frequently been the target of virulent communal attacks. Today, let me focus on a subsect of the community in India, the Dawoodi Bohra Shia Ismaili Muslims. Recent estimates suggest the population of Muslims in India is 20 crore. Of this, only 5 lakh are Dawoodi Bohra Shia Ismaili Muslims. The Dawoodi Bohras trace their heritage to the Fatimi imams, direct descendants of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. Members repose their faith in the al-Dai al-Mutlaq, the spiritual leader of the community — a representative of the Imam who is today in seclusion. Intriguingly, the word Bohra comes from the Gujarati word vohrvu or vyavahar, which means “to trade”. The Bohras are primarily a mercantile community, deeply rooted in business and trading. They have a near-100 per cent literacy rate among members worldwide. Their presence might be minuscule, but they are a progressive community. Their per capita income is higher than that of other Muslim communities.

Why does a community that makes up 0.25 per cent of even the Muslim community matter to the world’s largest political party? As always, the devil is in the details. About half of all the Bohras in India live in Gujarat. The Prime Minister speaks their language. True to form, the BJP was quick to identify this link and use it to earn political brownie points. Days after the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed in Parliament months ago, the Prime Minister contrived a photo-op with members of the community, with the delegation praising the Waqf law. Subliminal messaging: Muslims in India were backing the legislation. What the photograph did not tell you was that the hugely successful Bohra community comprises just 5 lakh of a 20 crore population.

That the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 is fundamentally anti-federal and anti-minority is not lost on anyone. Muslim (and non-Muslim) Members of Parliament from non-NDA parties (including AITC, INC, AIMIM, SP, DMK, RJD) challenged the Bill foundationally. Interestingly, the Dawoodi Bohras made a representation to be excluded from the Mussalman Waqf Act as early as 1923. Their rationale was simple. The Bohras as a community repose their faith in the al-Dai al-Mutlaq — the sole trustee administering all the properties of the community. The minuscule minority requires that members be permitted to establish and manage properties in accordance with their beliefs. This autonomy is fundamentally challenged by the Waqf Board proposed by the Waqf Amendment Act. The big question then: Why did a delegation from the community agree to meet with the Prime Minister and thank him for backing a piece of legislation that they (and the larger community they are part of) were historically against?

That the BJP may have involved itself in the community’s internal functioning in trade for support on the Waqf Act is part of a subtle divide-and-rule strategy. Unlike the unabashed display of bigotry, bias and prejudice against minorities, this tactic is slightly more covert. A closer reading of events from the past 10 years might tell you this: The BJP is on a quiet mission to pit minorities against each other, amongst each other. With ears firmly to the ground, it identifies gaps in the internal functioning of these groups and offers “assistance” in order to eventually leverage it for support on matters widely controversial — most times against the very ethos of these communities.

After Indonesia and Pakistan, India is home to the third-largest Muslim population in the world. According to Census 2011, the community constitutes around 15 per cent of the country’s population. The “world’s largest political party” does not have a single Member of Parliament, elected on its party symbol, who is Muslim. (Gulam Ali Khatana was one of the 12 members in the Rajya Sabha under the “nominated” category. Within the six-month window, he wrote to the Chairman to be included as a BJP member.)

It gets more brazen. Twenty per cent of the population of Uttar Pradesh is Muslim. Even with the largest Muslim population — 4 crore — of any state in the country, the Yogi Adityanath government does not have a single Muslim MLA in the 403-seat Legislative Assembly. How could it? Not a single Muslim got a ticket from the BJP.

P.S. Bangladesh, with an 8 per cent minority Hindu population, recently elected a minister who is from the Hindu community.

This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, February 27, 2026]

“Ask no questions, and you will be told no lies”, an old proverb.

Last week, your columnist chose 12 questions from among the 4500 questions asked in the first half of the Budget Session. 2750 questions in Lok Sabha, 1760 questions in Rajya Sabha, were ballotted to be asked during Question Hour. The column got an overwhelming response, especially from students. So here are 12 more questions that MPs popped to the Union government.

1. Mukul Wasnik (Indian National Congress) raised a question on the allocation towards health research in the country since 2021. The government’s reply stated that the annual allocation of the Department of Health Research has been around 0.02% of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 2021 to 2025.
2. Vijay Hansdak (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) asked for the proportion of candidates from marginalised communities offered internships under the PM Internship Scheme. The government’s answer revealed that across both rounds of the PM Internship Scheme, less than 1% of the selected interns were persons with disabilities, 14% belonged to Scheduled Castes and just 5% were from Scheduled Tribes.
3. Abhishek Banerjee (All India Trinamool Congress) raised a question on the faculty strength in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) across the country. The government’s response was that two out of five faculty posts are vacant across all AIIMS.
4. ET Mohammed Basheer (Indian Union Muslim League) questioned the government on the outstanding agricultural debt. The government replied that the average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household across the country is more than Rs 74,000.
5. Renuka Chowdhury (Indian National Congress) sought details on the extent of forest land diverted for non-forestry purposes. The government admitted that around one lakh hectares of forest land had been approved for non-forestry purposes in the last five years by the Union government.
6. Raja Ram Singh (Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation) raised a question on the shelter homes currently functional across the country. The government’s reply disclosed that no Shakti Sadans (an Integrated Relief and Rehabilitation Home for women in distressful situations) were functional in the states of Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and the Union Territories of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Ladakh, Lakshadweep Islands.
7. Saket Gokhale (All India Trinamool Congress) enquired about the number of cyber crime complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and the financial loss incurred. The government’s answer revealed that the number of financial fraud complaints and amount defrauded has increased by 814% and 3983% respectively from 2021 to 2025.
8. Anand Bhadauria (Samajwadi Party) asked questions on the fund utilisation under various schemes under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The government’s answer revealed that more than 65% of the funds allocated under the Atal Jal scheme, and over 75% under the Jal Jeevan Mission remained unutilised in RE 2025 as compared to BE 2025.
9. Karti P Chidambaram (Indian National Congress) asked a question on the cases pending on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) SAMADHAAN Portal. The government admitted that just 12% of the 1.5 lakh cases filed by MSMEs for resolution of pending payments between FY 2022-23 till February 2026 on the SAMADHAAN Portal, have been disposed of.
10. Matheswaran V S (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) enquired about the number of complaints received by the Supreme Court against sitting judges. The government responded that over two complaints per day were received in the Office of the Chief Justice of India against sitting judges in the last 10 years.
11. Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) questioned the government on the number of road accident fatalities on National Highways in the country. The government’s reply stated that 170 deaths per day had occurred in the last three years on National Highways.
12. Your columnist asked a question on the vacancies in the National Dam Safety Authority. The government’s answer admitted that seven out of 10 sanctioned posts in the National Dam Safety Authority are vacant.

On 9 March, the second half of the Budget Session will resume. Question Hour will be held everyday in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Following the Rules of Procedure, members of Parliament will again raise a few thousand questions. These have to be answered by Union Ministers, orally, on the floor of the House, or in writing.

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth”, a famous Buddhist saying.

[This article was also published in NDTV | Friday, February 20, 2026]

Over 2400 years ago, Euripides, the last of ancient Greece’s three great tragedians argued: “Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing”.

Cut to 2026, the same words feel uncannily apt for the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament, now taking a three-week break. Of course Opposition parties, in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, will strive to hold the Union government accountable every day. During Question Hour, five days a week, the Opposition asks questions, the public looks for accountability, while the government ducks – very often giving unsatisfactory answers.

From the hundreds of questions put forth by MPs from the Opposition, here is a compilation of a dozen questions fired to the treasury benches.

1. Mallikarjun Kharge (Indian National Congress) questioned the government on road connectivity in tribal areas. The government’s reply revealed that just 23% of the sanctioned road projects under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) in areas inhabited by Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), have been completed.
2. Abhishek Banerjee (All India Trinamool Congress) asked for the number of airports developed under the UDAN scheme that are currently non-operational. The government reply stated that 14 of the 93 airports developed under UDAN are non-operational, including 6 in Uttar Pradesh. These airports had been developed at a cost of over Rs. 800 crore.
3. K.C. Venugopal (Indian National Congress) enquired about the utilisation of funds under the PM Internship Scheme. The government admitted that the scheme had utilised only 0.5% of the funds allocated in Budget Estimate 2025-26, and less than 35% of the candidates accepted offers in Round I of the scheme.
4. Neeraj Maurya & Lalji Verma (Samajwadi Party) asked questions on the number of National Highway (NH) projects that have not been completed within the stipulated time since 2014. The government answered that there are 653 under construction National Highway projects, started since April 2014, that have spilled beyond their original completion schedule, without attaining any of the various stages of project completion.
5. Dr. S. Jagathratchakan (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) raised a question on the onboarding of ministries and departments on the SHe-Box portal. The government stated that only 40% of the government departments and offices onboarded on the SHe-Box portal have updated their Internal Committee details till date.
6. June Maliah’s (All India Trinamool Congress) question on the Prime Minister’s international travel revealed a 500% increase in expenditure on the Prime Minister’s foreign trips between 2014 and 2025.
7. Rajeev Rai (Samajwadi Party) enquired about the functioning of schemes for the tribal welfare. The government’s answer stated that 31% of the Eklavya Model Residential Schools sanctioned are not yet functional across the country.
8. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Indian National Congress) sought information on the number of film certification decisions challenged before Revising Committees and High Courts. The government response revealed that while the number of films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had increased by 10% between 2021-22 and 2025-26 (till date), the number of such certification decisions being challenged before Revising Committees and the High Courts had increased by over 120% and 400% respectively.
9. Prof. Manoj Kumar Jha (Rashtriya Janata Dal) enquired about the percentage of farmers benefitting from Minimum Support Price (MSP) backed procurement. The government admitted that only about 15% of paddy farmers and 9.6% of wheat farmers sold their output to procurement agencies.
10. Dr. John Brittas (Communist Party of India-Marxist) asked a question on the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflow in the banking sector. The government stated that FDI equity inflow in the banking sector had decreased by 87% between 2022-23 and 2024-25.
11. Anil Yeshwant Desai (Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) enquired about the deportation of Indians, especially students from abroad. The government answered that 453 Indian students have been deported by foreign immigration authorities between 2021 and 2025.
12. Your columnist raised a question on the number of candidates enrolled and certified under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 (PMKVY 4.0). The government’s reply stated that over 2 out of 5 candidates enrolled under the PMKVY 4.0 were not certified.

When Parliament is in session, the Opposition is trying all it can to hold the government accountable. What is the government doing?

This article was also published in NDTV | Tuesday, February 17, 2026

This is one of the harder columns I have written. No insights on public policy. No breakdown of federal schemes. No analysis of ill-thought-out tariffs, examination of vote margins, or commentary on a session in Parliament. No, none of that noise. This column today is about silence. Silence that long existed deafeningly. Silence that was once broken courageously. And a silence that seems to have made its way back in… silently.

Eight years ago, women in India spoke out. They drew their breath in, steadied themselves and spoke truth to power. These truths were spoken with the hope that they wouldn’t just delete delusions, but tear down entire structures. The MeToo movement wasn’t simply a moment in time, but a moment of reckoning. But today, when predators masquerading as television panelists, among others, make their way back into the public mainstream, a moment of reflection seems imperative.

Senior Advocate Rebecca John fought the MeToo battle from the legal frontlines. She explained to me: “The MeToo movement was premised on the survivors breaking the veil of silence that sustained routine abuses of power in the workplace and elsewhere. Many women faced serious backlash, including being sued. However, even in those cases where survivors emerged successful, the men have faced no consequential loss of social or cultural power.

On the contrary, we have witnessed the quiet but seamless rehabilitation of these men within their circles of power. In some of the more prominent cases in the past few years, the survivors suffered abhorrent instances of sexual violence and made the hard choice to report them. However, their cases failed to meet the forensic standards of judicial scrutiny, owing to gaps in investigation that were either deliberate or stemming from incompetence. Simultaneously, the survivors have been subjected to public campaigns of relentless vilification, compounded by the unsuccessful outcomes of prosecution.

This experience of double victimisation — of violence and vilification — must account for two things. One, there is a staggering differential in social capital and class power between survivors and perpetrators. And two, the institutional culture in courts and investigating agencies has resisted any significant change.”

Critics often say that India has already addressed workplace harassment through the POSH Act. The Act was progressive in 2013, presuming a formal employer and fixed workplace. But large segments of today’s economy, including the gig economy, media and entertainment, operate through contractual, freelance or informal arrangements. An advocate of the Calcutta High Court who preferred to remain anonymous explained: “We’ve all faced this evil at some point in our work lives; the legal fraternity cannot be left far behind. Whether it’s been a gentle question being asked by a judge of the High Court why a woman advocate wears the ‘pants’, or being asked for lewd favours by chamber seniors for ‘goodies’ in return, who do we address our concerns to? The SHe-Box is missing. POSH training is avoided as it is perceived to give women ideas to exploit the law.”

There is no statute in India that addresses public disclosures of sexual misconduct in contexts of power. India did not respond to MeToo with a new legal framework. Instead, existing laws, particularly defamation, came to govern what followed. Against the backdrop of the current context, senior journalist Saba Naqvi added, “Men who build acceptability within the current system have quietly resurrected their lives”.

Entrenched patriarchal mores are the reason for the conspicuous absence of genuine outrage against those accused in the MeToo movement. Instead of anger, anguish or indignation, there is a certain smirking complicity, a nudge-nudge wink-wink acceptance, a sly laughing brush-off, as if incidents of assault are nothing more than a locker-room joke. Where is the civil society pushback and condemnation against someone powerful who thinks nothing of taunting and mocking women leaders in public? When those accused of serious assault on women are still invited to lit fests and elegant soirées, we are faced with a glaring truth:

Misogyny has been mainstreamed in our society today.

This article was also published in The Indian Express| Friday, February 13, 2026

This fortnight’s column could have been about the historic appearance by a sitting Chief Minister in the Supreme Court. Or, a piece on the tepid Union Budget presented by the Finance Minister which even the stock markets gave a thumbs down – Sensex saw its worst Budget-day fall in six years. Or, we could have written about how the Election Commission have completely botched up the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Or, crafted a column on the canine habits of women MPs who were, absurdly, accused of being all set to injure the Prime Minister if he spoke in Lok Sabha. But, instead, let me write about how a state government, poised to comfortably win the forthcoming Assembly polls, turned out a Budget for the State that was low on hype, and high on substance.

Here are 15 stats you cannot ignore.

• State finance. West Bengal’s Gross State Domestic Product grew almost five times in the last 15 years.
• Reducing unemployment. According to the Union government’s PLFS data, unemployment in Bengal, among the age group 15 years and above, has been cut by almost half in the last eight years.
• Jobs. 2.5 crore jobs have been created in the state across private sector, public sector, and self-employment.
• Youth. Banglar Yuba Sathi scheme, introduced for unemployed youth between 21-40 years, ensures that Rs 1500 is transferred into their bank accounts every month till they get a job. In contrast, for the PM Internship Scheme, where Rs 10,800 crore was allocated, only 5% of that has been spent.
• Industry. 93 lakh MSMEs, the second highest in India, operate in Bengal. The state also has the highest share of women-led MSMEs in the country.
• Information Technology. IT sector exports have recorded growth of a whopping 677% in the last 15 years.
• Poverty alleviation. Over 1.72 crore people have been brought out of poverty.
• Healthcare. Bengal’s Swasthya Sathi health insurance scheme was launched in 2016. The Union government’s Ayushman Bharat scheme followed two years later. 2.45 crore families in Bengal have been covered under the scheme, and more than one crore beneficiaries have availed services. The health card is in the name of the woman head of the family and parents of both spouses are included. Now, the scheme has been extended to gig workers as well.
• The girl child. Bengal’s Kanyashree scheme was launched in 2013. The  Union government’s Beti Bachao Beti Padhao followed two years later. You can put a hard number to the Kanyashree scheme: financial assistance has been provided to over one crore girls. In comparison, the Union government’s Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme has no data available to indicate how many lives have been touched.
• School transport. Students do not have to walk miles to reach school. The Sabooj Sathi programme has provided bicycles to one and a half crore students. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s Prathichi Trust, in their assessment of the scheme, notes “a perfect union of policy, based on ideological commitment, and a sound implementation mechanism makes the program unique”.
• Food security. Now ensured to nine crore people by providing them subsidised foodgrains.
• Women empowerment. The success of the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme,  where money is transferred directly into the accounts of women, has inspired many states to adopt similar models. Over two crore women will now receive Rs 1500 per month, a 50% increase from the existing payout.
• Housing. This financial year, 32 lakh households have been provided housing under the Banglar Bari scheme. Overall, one crore families have benefitted.
• Roads. Over two lakh kilometres of roads have been constructed, and another 30,000 kilometres are being built under Pathashree-Rastashree – one of the 95 schemes rolled out by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the last 15 years.
• Water. Functional tap water connections have increased from two lakh in 2011 to nearly one crore households today.

Beyond these statistics, some stories are worth telling. A girl from a poor family being able to continue her studies because she is now provided with real financial assistance. A student from a remote village cycling to school on her  bicycle. A home-maker receiving money every month to augment her household finances. A farmer sleeping peacefully because he knows that schemes from the State government protect him. A professional being admitted to a hospital knowing her medical insurance is covered.

“But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep.”

– Robert Frost

[This article was also published in NDTV | Monday, February 9, 2026]

When communal violence broke out in Manipur three years ago, incidents of physical and sexual violence made their way to our news feeds. Manipur witnessed a barbarity whose effects will be suffered even decades later. Earlier this month, a 20-year-old woman who was gang-raped during the ethnic violence succumbed to her injuries. Devastating. The victim’s sister’s words, spoken at Delhi’s Constitution Club, remain with me : “Nobody could give her justice.” What does justice look like for women in India? I examine how lacunae in key laws continue to undermine women’s consent.

Marital rape exception

Codified in the Indian Penal Code of 1860 and retained in Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the law continues to exempt non-consensual sexual intercourse by a man with his wife from the definition of rape.

This exception fundamentally negates women’s consent within marriage by presuming irrevocable and perpetual sexual access. While women may seek civil remedies under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, the denial of criminal redress for rape entrenches a hierarchy in which marital status overrides bodily integrity. The 42nd Law Commission Report in 1971 recommended criminalising marital rape. Yet, the BNS retains it.

Different marital ages

Under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and allied statutes, the minimum age for marriage is 18 years for women and 21 for men. The differentiation has no scientific basis. If the objective is to prevent early marriage or ensure maturity, the same age should apply to all genders. If the objective is to protect women, lowering their marriage age defeats that purpose. It legitimises age gaps, and reinforces dependency and curtailed education. A law that institutionalises inequality at entry cannot claim to promote dignity, equality, or meaningful consent.

Restitution of conjugal rights

Restitution of Conjugal Rights (RCR) allows one spouse to compel the other to resume cohabitation if they have withdrawn from the marriage without proving “reasonable cause”. Codified under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act and Section 22 of the Special Marriage Act, the remedy treats cohabitation in marriage as an enforceable duty rather than one based on consent.

The burden is placed on the withdrawing spouse, most often women, to justify their decision, even where withdrawal is driven by emotional, psychological, or sexual abuse. Given that marital rape is not criminalised, RCR can force women back into situations that compromise bodily integrity and dignity. By prioritising the preservation of marriage over consent, the law conflicts with the rights to life, privacy, bodily autonomy, and equality. Conversely, there are situations where women and girls expressly give consent, yet the law refuses to recognise it.

Criminalisation of consensual underage relationships

Under the POCSO Act, 2012, offences like sexual assault do not require proof of non-consent. This implies that consent becomes irrelevant when a person below age 18 is involved in a sexual act. Large proportions of POCSO prosecutions stem from romantic relationships among adolescents. These cases are often initiated by families seeking to control young women’s choices, especially in instances of inter-caste, inter-faith, or socially disapproved relationships. Without distinguishing exploitation from consensual intimacy, the law sacrifices adolescent autonomy without meaningfully strengthening protection against abuse.

Marriage assurance

Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 criminalises sexual intercourse obtained by a false promise of marriage. This rests on the presumption that women’s sexual consent is tied to the expectation of marriage. Consensual non-marital relationships are thereby reframed as sites of deception or victimhood, even when both parties entered the relationship voluntarily. Intentions in relationships evolve, and the absence of clear legal standards invites inconsistent enforcement and potential for misuse. So long as consent remains conditional in law, justice for women will remain conditional in reality, in direct defiance of the Constitution’s promise of dignity, equality, and personal liberty.

[This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, January 30, 2026]

In about 10 weeks, four states and one Union Territory go to elections. There will be campaign songs, reels, trails, tactics and more. Policies will be launched and re-launched. From jingles to jumlas. From public rallies to podcasts. If the 2019 polls were India’s first “WhatsApp Elections” and 2024 India’s first “digital forward” elections, then 2026 ought to be characterised by a potpourri of both. They say 2029 will be the AI election. Here are some thoughts on the intersection of media and politics from an ever-eager student of both.

Fake news may be described as yellow journalism on steroids — sensationalism amplified by technology to spread at algorithmic speeds with little to no accountability. The impact of fake news on elections today can be understood by going back to the basic journalistic framework of the “five Ws”.

What: While the term does not have any legal definition in India, the Australian government’s eSafety Commissioner describes fake news as “fictional news stories that are made up to support certain agendas”.

Who: With three out of five internet users in India accessing news and information online, the rapid proliferation of fake news is particularly worrying. A Pew Research Centre study of 2025 found that 65 per cent of those surveyed viewed made-up news and information as a huge concern, among the highest globally.

Why: Fake news has become a structural feature of Indian elections. While the votes are cast offline, the battle for those votes increasingly unfolds online. With over 90 crore internet users in India in 2025, influencing perception and shaping narratives has become possible with just a few clicks. A study by the Indian School of Business and CyberPeace revealed that 46 per cent of all fake news was political in nature.

When: Fake news peaks around elections, with the National Crime Records Bureau recording a 70 per cent rise in fake news cases in 2019, an election year, over the previous year.

Where: Digital platforms including social media platforms and messaging apps like Facebook, X and WhatsApp enable the rapid spread of fake news. Doctored videos, AI-generated pictures and clips blur fact and fiction while algorithms provide the push that makes such content go viral.

India has close to 900 private television channels, and nearly half of them are news channels. Television still has a deep reach — 23 crore homes own a TV set. In recent years, though, there has been a marked shift to the digital mode. A Reuters Institute report shows that seven out of 10 Indians now prefer to consume news online. Of those, half get their news from social media. Fifty-five per cent rely on YouTube for news consumption, 46 per cent on WhatsApp, 37 per cent on Instagram, and 36 per cent on Facebook. Even with these media consumption patterns, newspapers, both in regional languages and English, still remain comparatively high on the credibility quotient.

Influencers

With the increasing use of social media, “influencers” have considerable heft in this space. These individuals, who are supported by strong research and production teams, have built a large following buoyed by their personal brand equity.

Among Gen Z, only 13 per cent prefer to follow “celebrities’ and over 86 per cent prefer to follow influencers. In fact, the reach of these influencers has been so crucial that many senior politicians have actively reached out and have given them interviews. Even the Union government has not left this channel untapped. The government has engaged with influencers by empanelling “influencer agencies” on MyGov. Four influencers were empanelled in 2023, of which one’s CEO is a vocal supporter of the ruling dispensation.

Deepfakes

The deceased patriarch of a regional party from the south “showing up” in trademark attire for a party meeting. Two leading actors of the Hindi film industry criticising the Prime Minister and supporting the largest opposition party. These are the kind of artificially created, digitally altered videos that popped up before the last Lok Sabha elections.

Deepfakes, the technical term for such pieces of content, have increasingly become one of the most potent tools deployed by political parties and agencies who help them design campaigns. Consider this. In the 60 days before voting began during the last general elections, 5 crore AI-generated calls were made to voters, where the voice of a political leader was synthetically generated to come across as if directly speaking to the voter. During the same elections, Meta approved 14 AI-generated electoral ads calling for violence against Muslims and an opposition leader. The Election Commission of India (ECI), as the constitutional authority responsible for administering election processes, ought to have stepped in to set up guardrails regulating the dissemination of such content. However, if the implementation of the recent SIR process is anything to go by, we may be praying to the wrong god.

This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, January 16, 2026]

“My faith is in the younger generation, the modern generation, out of them will come my workers.” – Swami Vivekananda

Here are 26 reasons why Gen Z will back Mamata Banerjee in 2026.

1. The number of universities in Bengal has increased from 12 in 2011 to 47 now. 14 new medical colleges, 51 new government colleges, and 500 new ITIs have been established.
2. Over two crore employment has been generated in the last 14 years.
3. Bengal Silicon Valley Tech Hub, spread over 200 acres in Rajarhat New Town, is home to 41 Information Technology (IT) companies.
4. Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Cognizant, IBM, Ericson, Cap Gemini, Tech Mahindra, Accenture, ITC Infotech, British Telecom and other leading global IT companies operating.
5. Land has been taken by 11 companies for data centres, six have been completed, one of which is by a Japanese company.
6. The world’s third largest chip manufacturer Global Foundries Inc has a semi-conductor facility in Kolkata.
7. TCS alone employs 54,000 people. Building another campus which will employ 20,000 more.
8. Total direct employment of almost three lakh IT professionals.
9. IT exports from West Bengal crossed Rs 25,000 crore showing a growing knowledge economy
10. 3400 recognised start-ups launched in the last five years, created over 30,000 direct jobs.
11. 47 lakh youth have been skilled under Utkarsh Bangla scheme.
12. In the last six years, over 44,000 have been companies incorporated in Bengal.
13. West Bengal has over 20 lakh registered MSMEs which is the second highest in India.
14. Bhyabisyat Credit Card scheme for young entrepreneurs, offers subsidy linked and collateral free loans for setting up new ventures.
15. The Industry Sector registered a growth of 7.3%, higher than the national figure of 6.2%.
16. Bengal was ranked first nationally by SKOCH in Ease of Doing Business.
17. Eight editions of Bengal Global Business Summit (2015-2025) attracted cumulative investment proposals worth Rs 23,94,595 crore (USD 278 billion).
18. Two examples. Reliance invested Rs 50,000 crore in the last decade. There will be fresh investment of Rs 50,000 crore in next 10 years. ITC invested Rs 7500 crore. The group will be investing another Rs 1800 crore in the next three years.
19. Over 19 crore international and domestic tourists came to the state in 2024. Second highest number of international tourists visited Bengal among all states. Revenue of Rs 1 lakh crore generated from festivals alone.
20. Since 2011, 58 stadiums, 42 youth hostels, 5 indoor stadiums, 795 mini-indoor stadiums, over 4,000 multi-gyms, and 423 playgrounds have been established.
21. 1352 coaching camps have been given Rs 1 lakh each, and 34 sports organisations are being provided Rs 5 lakh annually.
22. 13 hostels have been established to provide safe and affordable rental housing for unmarried working women.
23. Lakshmir Bhandar scheme provides Rs 1200 per month to women from Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes and Rs 1000 to other women.
24. Between 2014 and 2023, while cyber-crime cases increased by 800% across the country, they decreased by 13% in Bengal.
25. Winners, a specially trained all-woman police squad, patrol the city on motorcycles, to check crimes against women.
26. Kolkata has been deemed by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) as the safest city for women, four years in a row.

This article was also published in NDTV | Thursday, January 15, 2026

“News is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress, all the rest is advertising.” – Alfred Harmsworth, founder of the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror.

Now consider this: A minister in a State government gives an outrageously arrogant reply to a senior journalist who asks the minister a specific question on deaths due to contaminated drinking water. The journalist shares the clip on social media. The media house also shares the clip from its official handle. What follows is an outpouring of support for the journalist for his courage and commitment. The media house deletes the social media post.

To be fair, the media house did not delete the story, nor did they act against the reporter. And the reporter did a follow-up story as well. However, to give context to what happened in media terms, consider these numbers. India has about 900 private television channels, half of which are dedicated to news coverage. 21 crore homes have television sets. Then there is social media, which has become the primary source of news consumption for a sizable portion of the population. A report by Reuters Institute revealed that seven out of ten people in India prefer to consume news content online, with half of them relying on social media. 54% consume news on Youtube, 48% on WhatsApp, and 35% on Facebook. These numbers will give you a fair idea about the ramifications of deleting a post that had gone viral on social media.

Let’s say it like it is. When a media house deletes a video clip from their social media handle, it is effectively like using water to douse flames. That raises the question: is editorial independence often sacrificed at the altar of corporate media ownership? When powerful conglomerates, who run big businesses, across sectors, also have stakes in media companies, is it only but natural that they would not want to rock the boat?

Here is some interesting data. In 2024, a pre-election analysis of the stories carried by news channels revealed that over half had anti-opposition themes, 27% were pro-government, and just over 1% were on substantive issues like jobs or education. As your columnist said on the floor of Parliament, “There is an old Zulu proverb. The problem with the media owners. A dog with a bone in its mouth cannot bark”.

India ranks 151 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index 2025. Here is the verbatim quote from the profile on India by Reporters Without Borders, which states that, “With an average of two to three journalists killed due to their work every year, India is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media. Journalists who are critical of the government are routinely subjected to online harassment, intimidation, threats and physical attacks, as well as criminal prosecutions and arbitrary arrests. They can be victims of violence, from police officers and political activists, as well as criminal groups and corrupt local officials”.

There are stories one would hear in (the now defunct) Central Hall of the not-so-subtle influence of the ruling party in setting the agenda for news outlets. The late Arun Jaitley had a whacky sense of humour; so even when we called him Plantation Manager (for allegedly planting pro-BJP stories in the media), he would laugh it off and even order a second round of toast with butter and coffee.

This is no laughing matter. If the fourth pillar of democracy is coerced and bludgeoned into submission, the very essence of democracy in India will be weakened.

Postscript: Any commentary on the Indian media would be incomplete without one factoid: the Prime Minister of India, now in his third term, is yet to make his debut at a press conference.

The Christian community must not fall into the trap of being only sucked into the headlines for “negative reasons”. Positive messaging is the key.

One country, two Christmases. Scene one: Kolkata, West Bengal. The resident of Calcutta (no, we are not touchy about the name) looks up, and there is definitely a snatch of song, a swiftly moving nip in the air. Before she can catch it, it is gone. But the Calcuttan knows that special feeling will return at the end of 2026. It will be back with the Christmas-themed lights on Park Street (now Mother Teresa Sarani), in the singing of carols on stages erected in parks, by buskers on city pavements, in cathedrals and chapels. The city’s iconic main street becomes “pedestrians only” for two nights. Churches shine bright with the light at the advent of a new season. Few cities in the world can match the festive fervour of togetherness and community. Christmas in Kolkata is not an occasion that pops by and goes away without leaving a trace. Like Durga Puja, and like Eid in the city, it takes its time, settles in, and savours the joy.

The Kolkata Christmas Festival, now in its 15th year, continues to uphold the centuries old tradition of the Boro Din (“big day”, as Christmas is traditionally referred to in Bangla). In the days leading up to it and the New Year, the festival is embraced by everyone. The lights, the decorations, the food. The choirs, the bands perform for anyone who will stop awhile and listen — and smile and sway to the music.

Scene Two: Somewhere in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan. No, this is not the Christmas we know. Harassing those earning a living selling Santa Claus caps on the roadside. Beating up those wearing them. Tearing down Christmas trees in malls. Ransacking decorations put up for the New Year. Threatening a congregation as they worship.

The images were in sharp contrast.

Father Cedric Prakash, a Gujarat-based senior Jesuit priest and rights activist, told your columnist: “What is happening to Christians in India today is not only unacceptable but blatantly unconstitutional. This is hypocritical. On one hand the Prime Minister pretends that all is well and does photo-ops in churches on Christmas Day, and then does not condemn the attacks on religious and social symbols associated with Christmas. It is also shameful that some of the Christian hierarchy and clergy are ensnared by the BJP’s wiles and selfish interests.”

A few hours after your columnist called out the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, the head of the largest body of Catholic bishops in India — for the first time in recent memory — put out a scathing message on video: “Peaceful carol singers and faithful gathered in churches have been targeted, causing fear and distress among law-abiding citizens who seek only to celebrate their faith in peace. Such incidents deeply wound the spirit of our Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion. I unequivocally condemn these acts of hatred and violence.”

The Christian community must not fall into the trap of being only sucked into the headlines for “negative reasons”. Positive messaging is the key. The community has made a significant contribution, especially in education and healthcare. Every year, 6 crore students are enrolled in the 54,000 Christian-run institutions across the country. At least three out of four students in these institutions are non-Christians — Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Sikh, Buddhist. There is a long list of Union Cabinet ministers who are alumni of Christian-run institutions. J P Nadda, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman, Ashwini Vaishnav, Jyotiraditya Scindia (and, of course, L K Advani) are just a few examples.

Healthcare institutions run by the community serve about 2 per cent of India’s population. Eighty per cent of this work is done in remote, medically unserved regions. During the pandemic, 60,000 inpatient beds were offered in over 1,000 hospitals. The Catholic Health Association of India, with over 3500 institutions, is the largest non-governmental healthcare network in India. The association consists of 76,000 health professionals, 25,000 nurses, 10,000 paramedics, and 15,000 social workers.

Colin Gonsalves, advocate, Supreme Court, points out: “Right from the Kandhamal riots, till today, allegations have been made against Christians. But no one will be able to show you a single conviction by a single court that even one person has forcibly converted somebody. It is all political propaganda, now rising to the level of violence. These kinds of attacks on Christians that are taking place across the country are akin to terrorism. There are 600 attacks per year on Christians. If the judiciary keeps silent, we have no one to protect us, and these kinds of terrorists carry on, because judges are silent.”

Amen.

[This article was also published in The Indian Express | Friday, January 2, 2026]