Dear Reader,

In the last few months, the Indian government has made a concerted effort to identify and deport illegal immigrants, especially from Bangladesh. This drive has been especially stringent in states such as Assam, Haryana, Gujarat, West Bengal, and Maharashtra. Unfortunately, this drive has also seen Bengali-speaking Indian citizens, who have migrated to urban centres in these states to earn a living, seemingly and unwittingly caught in the crosshairs of the clampdown.

The Migration Story chronicles the nightmare of a migrant couple in Mumbai, who were detained by the police, flown to Assam, and forcibly pushed into Bangladesh. The story records their ordeal over a nightmarish ten days, as they struggled, and finally succeeded, in procuring their proof of citizenship from their village in West Bengal, and managed to return home. An episode which is allegedly being repeated in increasing instances.

In 2022, the Chhattisgarh government announced the construction of a bridge over the Kotari River in south Kanker, at a cost of Rs 9 crore, to connect nearly 70 tribal villages in the forest on the other side of the river. The Adivasis residing in these forest dwellings are virtually marooned during the monsoons and are dependent on makeshift boats to access life’s necessities. However, not a single brick has been laid, as most of the Adivasis staunchly oppose the project.

While they acknowledge that the coming of the bridge will provide them access to rations, education, and healthcare, their fears of the potential loss of their forest, of the erosion of their identity due to the ingress of outsiders, and of being displaced from their forests, outweigh the benefits. मैं भी भारत reports that while it is apparent that the villagers’ resistance is partly borne out of pressure from Maoists in the area, it is also at once a telling illustration of the Adivasis’ lack of trust in the State to protect their lives, their forests, and their identity.

Eighty per cent of makhana (fox nut), a superfood, is produced in India. However, in Bihar, from where eighty-five per cent of India’s production comes—56,000 tonnes annually from 27,800 hectares of cultivation in ponds, lakes, and marshy wetlands—the seed is under serious threat.

Climate change-induced unseasonal and deficient rains, abnormally high temperatures (copious rainfall before the monsoons but significantly deficient during it), and reduced humidity are severely impacting its production. This has not only affected the remuneration of farmers who cultivate makhana but also impinges on the health of farm workers. Makhana cultivation is an extremely labour-intensive and time-consuming process, with workers having to stand waist-deep in water under a scorching sun for the greater part of five hours each day—affecting their health and wellness. मैं मीडिया reports from Purnea district on the increasing challenges involved in bringing makhana from the farms to your table.

Kerala, long lauded for its progressive welfare model, is now grappling with preventable fatalities among inter-state migrant workers. Between May and July 2025 alone, a spate of quarry accidents, landslides at construction sites, and structural collapses of housing units, resulting in deaths and revealing glaring systemic failures in safeguarding migrant lives. These workers—drawn from some of the most marginalised regions of India—are the backbone of Kerala’s thriving construction, infrastructure, and industrial sectors.

The Keraleeyam Masika asserts that these are not isolated tragedies but symptoms of a deeper, structural crisis. They underscore the persistent ignoring of hazardous working conditions, the apathy of trade unions, and the continued invisibility of migrant workers in the formulation of public policy.

For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.

Warmly,

Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF