Dear Reader,

Bengaluru is famously cosmopolitan in its culture and spirit. However, in the recent past, there has been a tendency by some vested groups to rake up the lack of proficiency in Kannada among migrants, even though the city is proudly home to non-Kannada migrants in their millions and to 107 languages!

Backed by the initiatives of local volunteer groups, there is now a movement among migrants, especially the marginalised, to learn the local language Kannada as a livelihood skill, and a means of blending and integrating into the local culture, without any hint of coercion or inducement. This is especially true of the children of working-class migrants, who are increasingly attending Kannada-medium schools. The Migration Story talks to volunteer groups about how they attract and encourage new learners, using social media tools to ensure that the imperative to earn a livelihood does not deny migrants the opportunity to learn the local language. A template for other states to clone.

On May 25, 2025, the Liberia-flagged container vessel ‘MSC ELSA 3’ sank approximately 38 nautical miles off the Kerala coast while sailing from Vizhinjam, near Thiruvananthapuram, to Kochi. The incident was attributed to a failure in the ballast system and improper loading of the containers. The ship was carrying 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous materials such as calcium carbide and significant quantities of both diesel and furnace oil.

The Kerala government filed an ‘admiralty suit’ in the Kerala High Court against the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the owners of the vessel, seeking almost Rs 1,000 crore in compensation for environmental damage and loss of livelihood, which the company has contested. While the Kerala government declared the incident a ‘disaster’ and provided relief to more than one lakh affected families, environmental concerns remain over the after-effects of plastic pellets and other pollutants washed ashore, raising alarms about marine pollution and food safety. Keraleeyam Masika analyses in detail the impact of climate change, rising sea temperatures, and coastal erosion and their consequences, including shipping—portents which need to be addressed urgently.

Two recent suicides by students preparing for the UPSC exams—the gateway to some of the most vaunted and prestigious jobs in the country—have highlighted the toll these exams take on aspirants. This toll is attributed to the highly competitive nature of the exam, its high profile, and the significant stakes involved. The Probe tracks the two recent suicides of aspirants in Delhi and Indore, which are perceived to have been induced by the pressure of the exams. This pressure is largely unrecognised and unaddressed, leaving many aspirants in need of mental health support, yet bereft of any assistance while navigating a largely unforgiving system.

In Bihar’s border districts, numerous ‘Nepali’ women—locally called “bahus”—who have married Indian citizens and resided in India for years, now face uncertainty about their legal status. For instance, for two decades, Reena Devi, 40, has switched easily between two homes – her marital home in Bihar’s Kishanganj district and her maternal home in the Jhapa district of Koshi province in Nepal – by crossing the perennial Mechi River.

Now, the Election Commission of India’s (ECI’s) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which mandates that individuals added to voter lists post-2003 furnish comprehensive documentation—including proof of identity, birth details, and parental voter information from 2003—threatens to impact women like Reena Devi, who had hitherto been seamlessly integrated into Indian society, acquiring voter IDs and Aadhaar cards without formal citizenship registration. These women now confront the distressing possibility of not only being disenfranchised, but also being denied access to the PDS system rations—and even face deportation. मैं मीडिया reports from the region on the unique challenges that the SIR drive has brought upon cross-border communities.

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

Warmly,

Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF