Dear reader,

We began November with an important investigative report by Tabassum Barnagarwala on India’s shockingly dismal record of tracking adverse events from Covid-19 vaccines and helping those who were harmed by them. The government has acknowledged the deaths of 1,148 people from vaccine adverse events, but experts said this was a massive undercount. Barnagarwala’s report, published in our Common Ground section, revealed distressing details of how the families of those who died were left out in the dark. 

How India failed those who were harmed by the Covid-19 vaccine

More than 89,000 individuals suffered adverse reactions, of whom 1,148 died. The government’s inefficient response left families without information or support.

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Also in Common Ground, Johanna Deeksha wrote about the plight of the Tamil families, mostly Dalits, taken to Sri Lanka during British rule, to work in the quickly expanding tea estates on the island. In the 1980s, against a backdrop of violence between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority, many of them came back to India and were settled by the Indian government in a hilly region on the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Decades later, they are still struggling to secure their land rights. 

India’s failure to protect Tamils sent back from Sri Lanka

Since the 1960s, lakhs have returned, hoping for a secure future in India. Instead, their lives and livelihoods are threatened by a convoluted 1969 land law.

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Johanna Deeksha also reported from Chhattisgarh on the state government’s English-medium school programme, one of several initiatives launched by states, including Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, to expand English-medium education in government school systems. Currently, there are 1,30,000 students studying in 247 of these schools in Chhattisgarh. What has been their experience so far? How are the schools faring? Deeksha’s report offers some answers. 

Lessons from Chhattisgarh’s new English-medium school programme

Since 2020, the state has poured resources into a chain of English-medium schools. But has the government’s strategy been unfair to some students and teachers?

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In Assam, Rokibuz Zaman spoke to historians protesting against the celebrations organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party government to commemorate the birth anniversary of the legendary 17th-century Assamese general, Lachit Borphukan. The historians explained how Borphukan’s story has been communalised, and the war between the Ahom kingdom and the Mughal empire recast as a battle between Hindus and Muslims.

Why Assamese historians and writers are protesting against the BJP’s celebration of Lachit Borphukan

The Ahom general is increasingly projected as a Hindu nationalist hero.

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In November, Zafar Aafaq joined our news reporting team. Among other stories, he wrote about the feud within the Muslim personal law board that led to the suspension of its women’s wing. 

Why has the Muslim personal law board suspended its women’s wing?

A disagreement over the hijab ban and other political matters may lie behind the rift.

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The high point of our November coverage was Arunabh Saikia’s reporting from Gujarat. As you know, assembly elections are underway in the state. Saikia spent several weeks travelling through Gujarat to understand why a state obsessed with “dhandho” or business has overlooked rising economic distress to remain faithful to the Bharatiya Janata Party for 27 years – and most likely for another five years.  

His dispatches, published as part of a series called “Dhandho elections”, offer rich insights about the state of the economy as well as the social faultlines that have made the BJP hegemonic in the state.

GST has hit Gujarati tobacco farmers and traders hard – but it is caste that decides their vote

Most Patel farmers absolve the BJP government of any blame while the Koli Rajputs, classified as an OBC in the state, are less forgiving.

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Modi said the Statue of Unity would change local Adivasis’ lives. Most say it has – for the worse

The resentment is driven by a feeling that big businesses are making a windfall even as local residents struggle to eke out a living.

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Surat’s textile business is plummeting – but support for the BJP remains as high as ever

Muslims account for only around 10% of Surat’s population – but Hindutva sentiment still powers voting choices among traders.

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How communalism and climate change destroyed the lives of Muslim fishermen in a Gujarati village

The community had approached the high court seeking permission to collectively kill themselves.

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How the BJP’s cow protection politics may cost it the vote of Gujarat’s Dalits

Cow skinners’ incomes have plummeted to unprecedented levels.

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Outside Adani’s Mundra port, national security trumps discontent over ‘outsiders’ taking away jobs

Even most of those who grumble about the port and the industries not serving their purpose seem to be disposed towards the BJP.

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In Gujarat’s Palanpur, diamond trade is in decay but few think solution lies in the ballot box

Most people in the trade seem to believe the nature of the business is such that they cannot expect much institutional help.

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Gujarat’s model dairy industry once gave the nation Amul – but today is struggling to survive

At the heart of the crisis is the sky-rocketing of fodder and feed prices.

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Will the Aam Aadmi Party change Gujarat’s two-party politics?

It has run a loud and spirited campaign in Gujarat in the last couple of months. But detractors say most of the noise is on social media.

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