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Dear Reader,
The degree of sharpness and bite of political cartoons are generally acknowledged as a barometer of freedom in a society - able to subtly convey the angst, disquiet and ironies to the powers that be, more effectively than mere words can. By that measure, the absence of political cartoons in Kashmir is reflective of the unfreedom that cartoonists and the media face.
Article 14 reports on the conspicuous demise of political cartooning in Kashmir, given the state’s intolerance of criticism and consequent censorship, and likens drawing cartoons in Kashmir to “sitting inside the crocodile’s jaws”.
In the fourth of an eight-part series on using technology for social good, India Development Review dwells on the relative tentativeness of the non-profit sector to technology. Most times, it is seen as an “overhead” rather than a tool - innate and fundamental to an organisation’s functioning and growth. The story tells how tech can and should be integrated into the working of the social sector.
The scope of the ‘right to protest’ has been a matter of judicial review by the Supreme Court in recent weeks – both in the farmer agitation and earlier during the Shaheen Bagh protest. The Supreme Court Observer places the ‘recast’ of the right to protest in its context and how the ‘rights’ have evolved over the years.
The rocketing rates of petroleum products in India in recent months have generally been panned as “extortionist” and seen to be an undue burden on the common citizen. Swarajya, however, argues that the government’s reluctance to intervene to curtail them is “good for India” and provides you with ten reasons why.
And, as by-polls to three Lok Sabha and 30 assembly seats loom, the proposed international airport at one of the seats going to polls – Mandi in Himachal Pradesh – has become a hot-button election issue. The Citizen analyses why building the airport is likely to be a human and environmental disaster.
For these and more stories from the grantees this week, please read on.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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