Puja Sen @psen9

This NGO arc in modern India has reached a cul de sac. The rise of the modern donor-driven system as we know it had coincided with India’s turn towards liberalisation and the retreat of the welfare state. Critics, such as Arundhati Roy, argued that this “NGO-isation” depoliticised popular movements by translating demands for structural change into projects, reports and measurable outcomes, absorbing the energies of people’s movements in the process. However, what we are witnessing now is an uncanny reversal: the state is attempting to wrest control from the sector, not with the intention of pouring resources back into public welfare or fixing the structural flaws of the existing system, but to defang it and remove any part of it that poses a challenge to the government. @psen9 writes: caravanmagazine.in/law/fcra-ngo-m…

Although plans to set up a plant stalled for 2 decades, it changed once Adani entered the scene.The group was provided “encumbrance-free” land and received all permissions. Regulatory environnmental safeguards were amended or ignored. Read @Sagar_reporter caravanmagazine.in/environment/mo…

Excellent piece 👇

Puja Sen @psen9

2 weeks ago

My piece on the recent FCRA changes The desired goal is to be left with a civil society that is subservient, not adversarial—it should deliver services the state no longer wants to provide but raise no uncomfortable questions about the government itself. caravanmagazine.in/law/fcra-ngo-m…

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“The desired goal is to be left with a civil society that is subservient, not adversarial—it should deliver services the state no longer wants to provide but raise no uncomfortable questions about the government itself.” @psen9 on changes in the FCRA

Puja Sen @psen9

2 weeks ago

My piece on the recent FCRA changes The desired goal is to be left with a civil society that is subservient, not adversarial—it should deliver services the state no longer wants to provide but raise no uncomfortable questions about the government itself. caravanmagazine.in/law/fcra-ngo-m…

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Under the Narendra Modi government, nearly twenty-two thousand NGOs have lost their FCRA licence, with the most disproportionate impact being on rights-based work, minority-run organisations and prominent pressure groups against the government. @psen9 writes: caravanmagazine.in/law/fcra-ngo-m…

this is a fascinating piece, much too brief! there is a book waiting here, and I for one would love to read it.

Shubhanga Pandey @ShubhangaP

2 weeks ago

भीमसेन थापा र राजा राजेन्द्रविक्रमले निकै चासो राख्ने तथा कूटनीतिक सम्बन्ध कायम गर्न चाहने लाहोरका राजा रणजीत सिंहले गोर्खाली दूतहरू भेट्दाको कुरा । लिङ्क कमेन्टमा ।

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The ngo arc in India has reached a cul de sac. The state is wresting control from the sector, not with the intent to pour resources back into public welfare, but to defang it and remove any part of it that poses a challenge to the government. My piece: caravanmagazine.in/law/fcra-ngo-m…

Imbalance of Power: How the Modi and Nitish governments put Adani Power before the people of Bihar Reportage by @Sagar_reporter: caravanmagazine.in/environment/mo…

Helle Lyng: “It’s our job to challenge leaders of countries where journalists aren’t really allowed to operate” A Norwegian journalist on why it was important to question Narendra Modi. Read the interview in The Caravan's latest issue: caravanmagazine.in/media/norwegia…

Guilt by Association: The FCRA and the crumbling of the development sector @psen9 writes: caravanmagazine.in/law/fcra-ngo-m…

The July issue—How the Modi and Nitish government put Adani Power before the people of Bihar; What caste surveys and national education policies get wrong about India's languages; Western liberalism after Gaza; How New Delhi made itself irrelevant during the war in Iran; The FCRA and the crumbling of the development sector; and more. Read now: caravanmagazine.in/magazine The July 2026 issue is now available online for all subscribers. If you are a subscriber and unable to log in to our website, please write to [email protected] Print copies of the issue will be delivered to print subscribers and rolled out to newsstands over the next two weeks, depending on location. Copies will also be available for purchase on Amazon from July 10th. The Caravan is able to publish journalism like this thanks to the support of our subscribers. To help us continue doing this work, subscribe today: caravanmagazine.in/subscribe Or contribute: caravanmagazine.in/contribute Cover illustration by Ananya Gupta

The US President-elect, Donald Trump, has selected Tulsi Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence. Tulsi is not of Indian Origin, but identifies as a Hindu. She was born in American Samoa, and raised in Hawaii by a Catholic father and a practising Hindu mother. Tulsi has visited India only once—in 2014, on the personal invitation of Narendra Modi. And yet, before she was even elected to office, she promised to be “a strong voice in Congress for improving India–US relations.” When she won a seat in the US House of Representatives in 2012, she made history as the first Hindu ever elected to the chamber. At the outset of her first term, she joined the House India Caucus—a coalition of representatives who support pro-India policies. Gabbard's rise in US politics came out of nowhere, and is inexplicable until one considers how Sangh donations gave her a leg up when she was a virtual unknown. The first Indian-American donors to her first congressional campaign—who were also among the first non-Hawaiians to support her—are top executives in RSS affiliates in the United States. Donor names provided in filings to the Federal Election Commission, reveal that hundreds of leaders and members of such groups gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Gabbard in the formative years of her congressional career. Amongst Gabbard’s many donors are various members of the US chapters of groups such as the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, the Overseas Friends of the BJP and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America. Thanks to her connection to leading figures of the American Sangh—such as Vijay Pallod, a businessman from Texas; Bharat Barai, an oncologist from the Chicago region; and Mihir Meghani, a physician from California—she has been eagerly welcomed at many Sangh fundraisers around the country. “The Sangh in America backed Tulsi Gabbard because they understand that the international community is increasingly worried about the sectarian violent politics of the Sangh in India,” Ashok Swain, a professor of peace and conflict studies at Sweden’s Uppsala University, said. “They want some powerful political personalities on their side, particularly in the United States. They believe Tulsi can be one of them, who can provide them cover from international sanctions. Tulsi has also done that in the past.” Read the full report by @FriedrichPieter, from August 2019, on the American Sangh’s affair with Tulsi Gabbard: caravanmagazine.in/politics/ameri…

This masterful investigation by @rachelchitra traces a systems failure that led to the AI171 crash, with serious implications for Boeing and Air India. A highly technical story but reads like a gripping thriller. Brilliantly edited by Abhay Regi. caravanmagazine.in/crime/air-indi…

The June 2026 issue--How Boeing and Air India's role in India's deadliest aviation disaster is being covered up; How the Dalit Panthers forced the RSS into changing its language on caste; What Vijay’s victory tells us about Tamil Nadu's politics today; The manipulation of voter rolls is undermining the legitimacy of India’s election; SIR exclusions in West Bengal were connected to AITC lead and Muslim population; and more Read now: caravanmagazine.in/magazine The June 2026 issue is now available online for all subscribers. If you are a subscriber and unable to log in to our website, please write to [email protected] Print copies of the issue will be delivered to print subscribers and rolled out to newsstands over the next two weeks, depending on location. Copies will also be available for purchase on Amazon from June 10th. The Caravan is able to publish journalism like this thanks to the support of our subscribers. To help us continue doing this work, subscribe today: caravanmagazine.in/subscribe Or contribute: caravanmagazine.in/contribute

The May issue—Romila Thapar's view of history; A BSF soldier dies in NCB custody; Police repression of Noida strikes; The Modi government's all-too-transparent ploy around women's reservations; The story of an incomplete cricketer in Kashmir; and more. Read now: caravanmagazine.in/magazine The May 2026 issue is now available online for all subscribers. If you are a subscriber and unable to log in to our website, please write to [email protected] Print copies of the issue will be delivered to print subscribers and rolled out to newsstands over the next two weeks, depending on location. Copies will also be available for purchase on Amazon from May 10th. The Caravan is able to publish journalism like this thanks to the support of our subscribers. To help us continue doing this work, subscribe today: caravanmagazine.in/subscribe Or contribute: caravanmagazine.in/contribute Cover Photograph by Shahid Tantray (@shahidtantray)

An FT correction for the ages...

On 18 March 2026, one of our tweets was blocked in India following an order from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000. The tweet posted on 14 March 2026 (screenshot attached below) is now inaccessible in India; however, the content remains available elsewhere. The correspondence we received from X support did not contain any information on the reasons for this blocking order. The tweet was an excerpt from our December 2022 report titled “The submission of India Today Group.” Read the entire report here: caravanmagazine.in/media/india-to… We remain committed to speaking up against opaque and arbitrary restrictions on free expression. Support unfiltered, uncompromising journalism: caravanmagazine.in/subscribe

The Gadkaris own a sprawling, layered and opaque business empire, enmeshed in which is Rembal Agro, a beef exporter. Read the entire report by Kaushal Shroff on the beef company enmeshed in Gadkari’s business empire: caravanmagazine.in/business/nikhi…

My last cover story for the Caravan is a profile of Mammootty. I spoke with several directors who have worked with him to chart his fascinating career arc that has evolved with the times. Please do read

The Caravan @thecaravanindia

4 months ago

Mammootty has helped build Malayalam cinema into one of India’s most respected regional industries, but he has also been formed by, and remains rooted within, its hierarchies. Read Aathira Konikkara's (@aathira_vk) report on How Malayalam cinema’s most enduring star breaks the

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