Ishita Chatterjee @Ish_Chatterjee

Dear fellow journalists, We are pausing freelance contributions for now until we clear all pending dues up to January 1. This is a difficult decision, but we cannot continue commissioning work while payments are delayed. Freelancers have played a huge role in shaping @MaktoobMedia . It is unfair that some of the country’s best journalists are waiting for their payments, and we take responsibility for that. Our priority right now is to settle what we owe. To our readers: if you value independent journalism, please consider subscribing to Maktoob. Your one-year subscription helps us pay journalists on time and continue publishing stories that tell the truth. Subscribe Maktoob page: maktoobmedia.com/subscription/ UPI: maktoobmedia@icici

Ramesh kept his documents in a blue plastic folder inside the cupboard. Electricity bills, insurance papers, tax returns all neatly arranged. Every March, he would sit at the dining table with a calculator and his reading glasses, making sure nothing was missed. His wife would tease him for being so particular. “Even the government doesn’t care this much,” she once laughed. But Ramesh cared.He believed that if you lived correctly, life would behave correctly in return. You pay your taxes. You buy health insurance. You don’t bribe. You stop at red lights. You build things slowly, properly. He had spent twenty-five years building small securities a modest flat in Mulund, a fixed deposit for his son’s education, a medical policy renewed every year without fail. He wasn’t rich, but he was careful. Careful felt close to safe. That afternoon, the sun was harsh. The kind that makes the road shimmer. He stopped at the signal on LBS Road and wiped sweat from his neck. Above him, the metro line stood unfinished concrete segments resting on pillars like heavy thoughts paused mid-sentence. It had been under construction for so long that no one really noticed it anymore. He had contributed to it too, in ways he never saw directly. Through deductions on his payslip. Through rising fuel prices. Through the idea that the city would become better for his son. The signal turned green. He moved forward with everyone else. The sound came suddenly a crack that didn’t belong to traffic. Some people later said they thought it was construction noise. Others said they felt the vibration before they heard it. There was no time for understanding. Just weight. Dust rose and covered everything in a pale cloud. For a few seconds, the afternoon disappeared. When the air cleared, people were running. Someone was shouting instructions. A helmet lay on the road, cracked neatly down the middle. By evening, traffic began moving again, squeezed around the debris. The metro pillars still stood. Work would pause, then resume. It always does. At home, the blue plastic folder remained exactly where he had kept it. The insurance policy was active. The tax returns were up to date. The investments were in order. All the careful planning remained intact. Only he did not. In the days that followed, there were announcements, suspensions, fines. Numbers were discussed. Compensation was calculated. The language was official and steady. But there is something unsettling about how quickly life can be translated into an amount. Ramesh had done everything he was told a responsible citizen should do. He had believed that responsibility created a thin shield between you and chaos. Yet that afternoon, beneath a structure meant to represent progress, the shield proved invisible. The city will move faster one day when trains run overhead. People will look up at the smooth concrete and think of efficiency, convenience, growth. Very few will think of the afternoon when something unfinished decided to fall. And in a small flat in Mulund, a blue plastic folder will remain perfectly arranged, carefully preserved presenting a quiet reminder that doing everything right does not always make a life heavier than concrete.

Say it loud: #IStandWithMuhammadDeepak In Uttarakhand, a mob of extremists gathered to pressure a Muslim elderly man into changing the name of his 30-year-old shop. At that moment, a man emerged like a shield standing firmly between the mob and the shopkeeper preventing the looting and intimidation. He introduced himself as Mohammad Deepak. Today, Mohammad Deepak is being called the Bhagat Singh of our times. After he stood up for the elderly shopkeeper, more than 150 extremists gathered near Deepak’s home, engaging in vandalism, threats, and verbal abuse. Yet Deepak remained calm and resolute. He spoke just one line that now echoes across the state: “I may live or I may not, but humanity will live on.” Right now, Deepak is standing almost alone across Uttarakhand, confronting extremist forces with nothing but courage, conscience, and humanity. This is the moment for all of us people of India 🇮🇳 to stand united with him. I will personally try to ensure that ground-level support reaches Deepak so that he does not feel isolated or unsafe in an environment poisoned by hate. In this city of rising intolerance, we need people like Deepak, and we will not allow him to be harmed in any way. Raise your voice. Stand for humanity. Say it loud: #IStandWithMuhammadDeepak

This small boy & his family are forced to sleep outside AIIMS in cold for days waiting for treatment “We are denied treatment for days. Will treatment happen after we die? This Govt & Modi are useless” 💔 Sorry kid, we failed you 😔💔

When many of us said what was happening in Palestine would end up on the streets of the US, ppl didn't believe us. They still don't. Remember when the IOF was parading hostages through the streets? Ppl continue to look the other way. Colonizers have one playbook.

Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده @RamAbdu

6 months ago

A show of force aimed more inward than outward—an unprecedented moral decline. Heavily armed U.S. forces paraded Nicolás Maduro through New York streets with van doors open.

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Jeffrey Sachs: U.S. Attacks Venezuela & Kidnaps President Maduro youtu.be/LhZuTOuwKGA

The blatantly unlawful U.S. attack on Venezuela is just the latest violent atrocity perpetrated by a U.S.-Israel axis determined to drag the entire globe into submission or annihilation. And yet the world remains on its knees in hopes of appeasing the beast. The blood of the people of Venezuela, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen, and beyond, spilled by the rogue axis in its voracious quest for domination, should be ample warning to the nations of the world, to international institutions, and to people everywhere that they must unite to confront this threat, or they will damn themselves to a world without law, without justice, and without hope. Tyranny is a choice because inaction is a choice. No one can say they weren’t warned.

This is Gouri Manna from Hooghly. 85 years old. Can barely walk. Needs an inhaler to breathe. Yet she was summoned for SIR hearing - to prove she is #Indian to keep her vote. #India retires people at 60. For the #ElectionCommission, the benchmark is 85. ECI now says anyone above 85 and if sick and if they make a request then they may not be called for hearing. So for ECI physical agility expires only after 85 and even then, “may consider” mercy. This is what #SIR is doing to so many in #Bengal. Hundreds of senior citizens have been summoned for hearing. Why can’t ECI go to their homes and do the verification, and spare them this pain and ignominy? But you won’t see this in your feed. Algorithms prefer hate videos of self-styled “Hindu rakshaks” terrorising citizens. Gouri Manna is Hindu too. So yes - #Hindu khatre mein hai. Courtesy who, now we know!

Any emergency helpline for Zomato riders is a joke. There is no mechanism. Today, while walking towards Chanakyapuri, two cars hit a Zomato rider on an e-scooter back to back, both the cars fled & we couldn't note their numbers. Some pedestrians stopped along with an..1/n

In solidarity with the workers. Their demands are absolutely valid: ✅ Stop the unsafe ‘10-minute delivery' model ✅ Stop arbitrary ID blocking ✅ Regulate platform companies ✅ Stop worker victimisation ✅ Ensure fair wages, safety, and social protection

Indian Tech & Infra @IndianTechGuide

6 months ago

🚨 Delivery workers from Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, and Blinkit plan a nationwide strike on December 31.

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Survivor wants to meet Honourable Prime Minister and home Minister ! #JusticeForUnnaoVictim

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The professor who has been suspended by Jamia for no valid reason - that question on atrocities on Muslims in India is no crime - is a dalit.

We are organizing a session on NREGA to discuss the implications of the new changes, and possible ways in which scholars, students, and citizens can engage constructively with ongoing discussions on preserving the rights and provisions envisioned in the original Act LINK BELOW

NEWS | #Guwahati’s morning rush came to a standstill on December 20, as the government requisitioned a large number of buses ahead of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the city, leaving daily commuters stranded across key areas; the buses will be paid Rs 10,000 each. With limited public transport and poor cab availability, office-goers, students and patients faced long delays and widespread inconvenience across Guwahati. From early hours, bus stops along GS Road, Zoo Road, Chandmari, Maligaon and Paltan Bazar witnessed people waiting for buses. Many commuters waited for over an hour, only to see empty roads or police-managed traffic movement linked to VIP arrangements. Talking to GPlus, Priyanka Nath, a daily commuter from GS Road, said the problem has become routine whenever there is a high-profile visit. “Every time a VIP comes, it is always the common people who suffer. I have been standing here for nearly an hour and haven’t seen a single bus. Offices don’t make exceptions for late arrivals, but transport disappears without warning,” she said. Similar scenes were reported from Zoo Road, where commuters said buses stopped coming after early morning hours. “By 10 am, there were barely any buses. People were walking long distances or trying their luck with shared autos,” another commuter in Zoo Tiniali told GPlus. “Cabs were either unavailable or charging extra.” Talking to GPlus, an official of the All Assam Bus Association confirmed that a large number of buses had been requisitioned for the prime minister’s visit. “At least 200 city buses have been taken for official duty related to the PM’s programme. Each bus will be paid around Rs 10,000,” the official told GPlus. However, commuters questioned why no alternative arrangements were made for the public. Many said there was no prior announcement or advisory about reduced bus services, adding to the chaos. As the day progressed, frustration grew among commuters who said such disruptions have become normal during VIP visits. “Development should not come at the cost of daily hardship,” a woman commuter said. “We also matter.” For many in Guwahati, Saturday’s chaos once again raised a familiar question why the city’s transport system continues to leave ordinary citizens struggling whenever power and protocol take priority. #Modi is on a two-day visit to Assam on December 20 and 21. @PMOIndia @GhtyTrafficPol @GuwahatiPol #Modi #Guwahati #Assam

Just remember, Sonam Wangchuk is still in jail.

Israel has killed 380,000 infants under five years old

WHY IS THERE SUCH A DEAFENING SILENCE ON NITISH KUMAR, BIHAR CM’s OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR WITH A MUSLIM GIRL YESTERDAY WHEN HE PULLED DOWN HER HIJAB??? WHY? In the corporate world, this would have resulted in an inquiry and likely resignation. Why are politicians an exception to such misdemeanors???? Is there a separate rule for Indian netas???? And the media is quiet. Shameful.

This is Gaza. Israel is still blocking shelter aid.

Families live in these tents in Gaza!

Yousef is only 3.5 years old and suffers from a critical liver condition that causes sudden and dangerous bleeding, leading to him vomiting large amounts of blood. His situation is dire, and he urgently needs lifesaving treatment outside of Gaza. His scheduled surgery was disrupted by the conflict, leaving us in a state of desperation gofundme.com/f/a-childs-ple…