Common Ground
In-depth reporting on the stories that bind us.
The unlikely success of a novel justice delivery system in Bihar
Despite lingering problems, the state’s village courts have an impressive disposal rate, and help settle a wide range of local disputes.
Anuradha Nagaraj
Why drones are surveying Indian villages
The Svamitva scheme seeks to use drones to map out landholdings in inhabited rural areas. But so far, work has been opaque and riddled with errors.
Vaishnavi Rathore & Nolina Minj
How Kerala’s trade unions have failed women
Kerala is the bastion of left movements and organisations in India. But within them, women have had to wage fierce battles to be heard and represented.
Johanna Deeksha
The murky, unregulated world of psychological counselling in India
Indian law only recognises clinical psychology. The omission has allowed a boom in unqualified counsellors online and offline.
Nolina Minj
For Jharkhand’s Asurs, the present matters more than a mythic past
Though some of their cultural beliefs are widely known, the community’s extreme deprivation receives little attention.
Nolina Minj
On the Great Nicobar island, why the future is fearful
The government has ambitious plans to build a shipping hub on the island. But are its native tribal communities on board? I travelled to the island to find out.
Vaishnavi Rathore
Why India needs to rethink its love for pigeons
The practice of feeding the birds has led to unnatural spikes in their population. Their close proximity to humans poses grave risks to pulmonary health.
Vaishnavi Rathore
The dangerous world of Tamil Nadu’s alcohol deaddiction centres
Families who send loved ones to these centres learn too late of the brutal, violent treatment that is often meted out to them.
Johanna Deeksha
Why lightning kills more people in India than any other natural disaster
Those who are most vulnerable to being struck cannot easily access information about protective measures, or medical help in an emergency.
Nolina Minj
In Ladakh, a massive energy project is shrouded in mystery
With Ladakh under central rule, locals say their concerns about loss of land and livelihood have gone unheard.
Vaishnavi Rathore & Safwat Zargar
A government scholarship took them abroad. But then left them in a lurch
The National Overseas Scholarship helps students from marginalised groups study abroad. But the low stipend leaves them struggling even for food and clothing.
Johanna Deeksha
How the government undercut TISS over the past decade
The storied institution has made crucial contributions to social sciences research and policy. Now, faculty say, the government is choking its autonomy.
Johanna Deeksha