The recent ghastly incident in Ahmedabad's sprawling Maninagar (East) area, in which a 10th-class student of the Seventh Day Adventist School was stabbed to death by a boy from the 9th (or 8th?) standard, made me look up what kind of school it is. I found it to be part of the larger Adventist movement, which began in the United States in the 19th century within the Protestant Christian framework.

For some strange reason, I closely followed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) during its formative years in Gujarat . I personally knew several of those who had initiated themselves into the new party in the state. These included child rights activist Sukhdev Patel , who was appointed as convener; well-known danseuse and cultural personality Mallika Sarabhai ; senior journalist Nachiketa Desai ; former BJP MLA Kanu Kalsaria ; and Dalit rights leader Jignesh Mevani . My interactions with a few of them suggested that they were all driven by a strong yearning to create an alternative to the BJP, particularly at a time when the Congress appeared to be losing political grip in Gujarat. All of them—except perhaps Kalsaria, who seemed more of a grassroots campaigner for environmental protection—had strong left-of-centre leanings, and were not politicians as we know them today. Having such ideological leanings, they often didn’t even agree with each other on different issues. Not without reason, the ...

This is a follow-up to my news story in Counterview about why Morbi, India’s ceramic hub, has become a major cause of concern for health rights organisations. The other day, Jagdish Patel, who heads the People’s Training and Research Centre (PTRC) – an organisation that has been working with occupational hazard victims, especially those suffering from deadly silicosis, for the last few decades – called me.

It was a pleasant surprise to come across a short yet crisp article by the well-known Gujarat-based scholar Gaurang Jani , former head of the Sociology Department at Gujarat University , on a remarkable grand old lady of Vedcchi Ashram —an educational institute founded by Mahatma Gandhi in South Gujarat in the early years of the freedom movement.

 A new study by the Gujarat-based health rights organisation, Peoples Training and Research Centre (PTRC), warns that most workers in Morbi district’s ceramic industry—which produces 90% of India’s ceramic output—are at high risk of contracting silicosis, a deadly occupational disease.

It was the mid-2000s when my children wanted me to take them to the municipal market on CG Road — Ahmedabad’s posh upmarket area — where they said Kentucky Fried Chicken had opened a shop. I was reluctant, but eventually had to drive them in my Maruti Frontie car from Gandhinagar , 35 kilometres away, where we lived. After finding a suitable place to park, we went in search of the high-profile restaurant. After roaming here and there, and even asking other shopkeepers in the market area, we still couldn’t find our supposed destination. So, we decided to return to our car and drive to some other place for lunch. Suddenly, a stray dog jumped on me, catching hold of my pant. While I managed to free myself immediately — with people around shooing away the dog — I sustained a few scratches on my leg. I immediately rang up a doctor in Gandhinagar, who advised me to take an initial injection in Ahmedabad right away, which I did. I took three more shots on my return to Gandhinagar. I have ne...

  In a passionate defense of Urdu’s rich heritage and its rightful place as a language of India’s heart, in an article shared on his  Facebook wall , former Supreme Court Justice Markandey Katju delves into its origins, evolution, and cultural significance, describing it as a uniquely Indian language with a dual character—both aristocratic and rooted in the common man's experience. Titled "What is Urdu," the piece challenges the notion that Urdu is a foreign language, asserting its indigenous roots and its deep connection to the Indian populace.

A few weeks back, a prominent environmentalist, Himanshu Thakkar, sent me a message stating — and let me quote: “There is one issue that you can research and write about, this is a suggestion. The Narmada dam is called Sardar Sarovar Dam and they have also put up that huge statue at the dam site. But to the best of my information, Vallabhbhai did not advocate such a dam. Did he?”

This one was a shocker for me. I was talking with the principal of a government-supported school, and this person told me that the district education office (DEO) of Ahmedabad insists on having details of the high school examinations conducted in his school in a video format—and only on compact discs (CDs)!

  Taking a fresh look at the last Lok Sabha elections, a new paper published in "Indian Politics & Policy" (Vol. 5, No. 1, Summer 2025), a research periodical of the Washington DC-based think tank Policy Studies Organization, has claimed that the 2024 polls brought the politics of caste and inclusion to the forefront as never before.

I was recently forwarded a memorandum submitted to the Governor of Gujarat, dated November 8, 1998. It instantly transported me back to a time when I was settling into Gandhinagar as the Times of India correspondent. The document was sent to me by Lankesh Chakravarti, a well-known Gujarat-based activist who has long led campaigns against superstition across the state, staging demonstrations and skits to raise awareness among ordinary people. The memorandum documents what it calls an "attack by an armed Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) mob on NGOs and social organisations campaigning against atrocities on Adivasi women (dakan or witch-hunting) at Shamlaji (District Sabarkantha, Gujarat) on 3rd and 4th November 1998."

  In a comprehensive analysis published in "Indian Politics & Policy" (Vol. 5, No. 1, Summer 2025), a research periodical of the Washington DC-based think tank Policy Studies Organization, author Milan Vaishnav, Senior Fellow and Director, South Asia Programme, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has raised questions over the fairness of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in conducting Lok Sabha elections. Titled “Assessing the Integrity of India’s 2024 Lok Sabha Elections,” the  analysis  acquires significance as it precedes recent controversies surrounding the ECI’s move to revise electoral rolls.

  While the suspension of 25 members of Parliament (MPs) for creating “ruckus” in the Lok Sabha may have created a flutter in Delhi among political observers, those who are in Gujarat are not surprised. In fact, the event is being described as nothing but Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking to follow the so-called Gujarat model.

It is natural to feel a sense of loss when an economist of the stature of Meghnad Desai—Professor Emeritus at the London School of Economics and a British Labour Lord— passes away. However, such moments also offer an opportunity for a more objective assessment of his life and legacy. Desai was a figure admired both by civil society activists in India and those close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—a rare duality.

  On a blistering summer evening in Nagpur, nearly a thousand men in brown trousers, white shirts, and black caps stood in formation as a saffron flag was raised, marking a graduation ceremony for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers. This vivid scene, described in a recent FT Weekend Magazine article, “A hundred years after it was founded, India's Hindu-nationalist movement is getting closer to its goal of a Hindu-first state,” captures the enduring presence of the RSS, a century-old Hindu-nationalist organization.