Section

Leaders & Accountability

Holding power to its own promises.

15 stories

India’s press-freedom ranking keeps falling. Why it matters to you.

Reporters Without Borders ranks India 157th of 180 in 2026, down from 151st. A free press is how citizens find out what governments would rather hide.

3 May 2026 · 5 minRead →

How a privacy law quietly weakened your Right to Information

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act amended the RTI Act — removing the public-interest test that let citizens access officials’ records.

10 Mar 2026 · 5 minRead →

"Digital arrest": the scam that cost Indians ₹22,000 crore

Fraudsters posing as police "arrest" victims over video call and drain their savings. The losses are staggering — but a public-awareness push actually worked.

16 Feb 2026 · 4 minRead →

India switches off the internet more than almost anyone

India ordered 84 internet shutdowns in 2024 — the most of any democracy, second only to military-run Myanmar.

14 Feb 2026 · 4 minRead →

The agency that raids everyone and convicts almost no one

The Enforcement Directorate files money-laundering cases that dominate headlines — but secures convictions in under 5% of them, and 95% of politicians it probes are from the opposition.

12 Feb 2026 · 5 minRead →

Manipur: two years on, tens of thousands still can’t go home

Ethnic violence that began in May 2023 left hundreds dead and tens of thousands in relief camps. A look at the human toll and the road back.

10 Feb 2026 · 6 minRead →

A global index calls India an "electoral autocracy." What that means.

The V-Dem Institute has classified India as an "electoral autocracy" since 2017. The government rejects the label — so it’s worth understanding what the data actually measures.

6 Feb 2026 · 5 minRead →

India will count caste for the first time since 1931

After a four-decade demand, the government agreed in 2025 to enumerate caste in the next census — the first such count since 1931.

31 Jan 2026 · 4 minRead →

After the farm-law repeal: the MSP promise still unkept

The three farm laws were repealed in 2021. The central promise that followed — a committee on MSP — has yet to deliver, and farmers are back at Delhi’s borders.

28 Jan 2026 · 5 minRead →

A crime against a woman is reported every 70 seconds

The government’s own crime bureau recorded 4.45 lakh crimes against women in 2022 — about 51 every hour, and rising.

22 Jan 2026 · 4 minRead →

Electoral bonds: what the Supreme Court actually found

A five-judge bench struck down the electoral bond scheme as unconstitutional, and ordered the donor data published. Here’s the plain-English version.

20 Jan 2026 · 6 minRead →

Agnipath: the four-year soldier, and the questions it raised

A 2022 overhaul made most new soldiers four-year contract recruits. It sparked nationwide protests and a debate that hasn’t settled.

18 Jan 2026 · 5 minRead →

EVMs and VVPATs: what the Supreme Court actually ruled

In April 2024 the Supreme Court rejected demands for 100% VVPAT counting — and explained why. Here’s the verified version, minus the WhatsApp panic.

15 Jan 2026 · 5 minRead →

Lateral entry into the bureaucracy: announced, then withdrawn

In August 2024 the government advertised 45 senior bureaucratic posts via lateral entry — then withdrew the ad within days amid a reservation row.

12 Jan 2026 · 4 minRead →

Balasore: 275 dead, and a safety warning that went unheeded

India’s deadliest rail disaster in decades was traced to a signalling error — months after an official had warned of exactly that risk.

28 Dec 2025 · 5 minRead →