Dear Reader,

An investigation by The Reporters’ Collective has found that the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) top official in West Bengal issued key directions for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls through WhatsApp messages to state officials. Orders that, in several instances, contradicted the ECI’s own formal written instructions. The controversy first surfaced when political parties flagged these communications in a petition before the Supreme Court, alleging procedural impropriety and arbitrary conduct in the voter roll revision exercise.

Independent verification by The Reporters’ Collective confirms the existence and content of these WhatsApp orders, raising serious questions about transparency, accountability, and adherence to established protocol in a constitutionally sensitive process. The findings suggest that crucial decisions affecting voter verification and inclusion were conveyed informally, bypassing documented channels meant to ensure uniformity and legality. At a time when electoral integrity is under intense scrutiny, the episode underscores concerns about parallel decision-making within the ECI’s administrative machinery and the potential impact of such deviations on voters’ rights and democratic trust.

Kerala's reputation as a beacon of fair wages for blue-collar migrant workers from across the country took a dark turn at the end of 2025, with the widely publicised killing in December of Chhattisgarhi worker Ramnarayan Baghel, whom locals accused of being an illegal immigrant and an offender. Baghel, who had reached Palakkad district in Kerala just five days before his tragic death, had travelled to the southern state in the hope of earning enough to finish roofing his half-built house and paying off a mortgage on his land back home, reports The Migration Story from Karhi village in Chhattisgarh's Sakti district, where Baghel is survived by his mother, wife, and two sons.

While there is no consolidated data on incidents of attacks on migrant workers, in recent years, people from eastern India who travel to other parts of the country have begun to face heightened suspicion of being Bangladeshi—a dog whistle for Bengali-speaking migrants who are accused of being in the country illegally—and are often targets of physical attacks. This is exacerbated by the prevalent, simmering distrust of any worker who comes from outside a state's borders. Workers like Baghel, who are simply trying to earn honest wages, have to brave hostility and violence, sometimes at the cost of their own lives, pushed outwards by the abysmal lack of opportunities closer to their homes and social networks.

The allotment of a 2,600-hectare coal block in 2021 to a subsidiary of the Adani group has brought the spectre of deprivation and surveillance to Adivasis living in Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli region. This sense of threat has only intensified in recent years. Most recently, in December 2025, Singrauli police barricaded all roads leading to Dhirauli village. Here, protests against land acquisition and the cutting of forests have been underway since 2022. These barricades have prevented non-locals from lending support to the resistance. Notably, Adivasis in particular have been halted and profiled, finds Ground Report. This raises questions about why such protection is provided to a private company by the state.

Public opposition to the coal block has been brewing since 2022, when local gram sabhas denied permission to the company to cut trees—approximately six lakh trees are proposed to be cut for the mine, of which 33,000 have been felled so far—citing their reliance on their relatively substantial incomes from forest produce, and the existence of protected wildlife. At the heart of the protests is a beleaguered assertion of the rights of indigenous people under the Fifth Schedule, which devolves permissions for self-governance—including permission for tree felling—to local gram sabhas. In coal-laden areas such as Singrauli, the interests of impoverished landholders who depend on forests have once again collided with the inexorable engine of development.

मैं भी भारत travels to the tribal heartland of Nandurbar, Maharashtra, to explore a unique rural economy centred on bull rearing and traditional agriculture. In local bull markets, small and marginal tribal farmers invest in young calves, raising them with care and training them for agricultural labour. For nearly two years, these bulls are utilised in farming activities, helping families cultivate their land while reducing their dependence on costly machinery. The process reflects a deep knowledge of animal care, seasonal rhythms, and sustainable farming practices that have been passed down through generations.

Once the bulls are fully grown, strong, and well-trained, they are taken to larger regional markets and sold to bigger farmers who rely on animal power for cultivation. The sale provides critical income to tribal households, enabling them to meet daily needs and reinvest in farming. This cyclical system sustains local markets, strengthens rural livelihoods, and keeps animal-based agriculture alive in an era of rapid mechanisation, highlighting resilience, self-reliance, and continuity of tradition.

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

Warmly,

Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF