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AERO dies by suicide in Kolkata, family alleges extreme election duty pressure and humiliation

A 48-year-old Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) died by suicide in South Kolkata’s Bansdroni area after consuming pesticide, the tragic death of Malabika Roy Bhattacharyya has sparked serious concerns regarding the immense pressure placed on government officials tasked with SIR/Election duties, with her family explicitly blaming the ECI for the extreme workload

SC secures return of pregnant woman and child deported to Bangladesh, says ‘law must bend to humanity’

Union concedes to humanitarian repatriation; Supreme Court questions due process, sets next hearing on status of four remaining deportees

From Suspected Foreigner to Recognised Citizen: Aklima’s fight for dignity and Indian citizenship

Widowed, landless, and displaced, Aklima Sarkar fought three years to reclaim her citizenship in Assam

Six Days Behind Bars After Bail: Patna High Court orders ₹2 lakh relief, flags state-wide pattern of illegal detention

Court rejects “festival holiday” defence, directs IG Prisons to fix systemic lapses and ensure jail superintendents comply with court orders

Washed Away by Floods, Targeted by the State: Hamela Khatun’s fight for citizenship

CJP’s team helped Hamela piece together a lifetime of evidence — from 1950s land documents to contemporary electoral rolls — to establish beyond doubt that she is, and always has been, an Indian citizen

‘Designed to Exclude’: The ongoing enumeration phase of the SIR

In a multi-state report on the hasty and ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process being conducted by the ECI, the PUCL has, echoing what opposition parties and other civil rights groups been stating, called it ‘designed to excluide’

The Deadly Deadline: “I Can’t Do This Anymore”—India’s electoral revision turns into a graveyard for BLOs/teachers

From consuming poison in Uttar Pradesh to hanging in West Bengal, the ‘Deadly Deadline’ of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) triggers a suicide wave among teachers and Anganwadi workers, employees’ unions cry 'institutional murder' while families mourn loved ones broken by state pressure

Draft Seeds Bill must be withdrawn: SKM, AIKS

SKM leaders say the draft seed Bill surrendered the seed sovereignty of India and it is aimed at predatory pricing by corporate monopolies

Civil society warns, Election Commission is “Undermining Democracy”

An interesting formation of citizens groups and people’s organisations has directly accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) as being responsible for a systemic assault on the Indian democratic framework

When Conservation Becomes Coercion: The silent violence faced by the Tharus of Kheri

Over 4,000 Tharu Adivasis in Lakhimpur Kheri — including a blind man, a chronically ill man, and several elders — have been wrongfully booked. This analysis shows how administrative discretion and recent forest-law amendments are further undermining the protections guaranteed to forest-dwelling communities under the Forest Rights Act, 2006

Say No to ‘Toxic Governance’: Arrest air pollution, not activists and protesters: NACEJ

The Delhi NCR Pollution crisis needs firm, well-implemented policy shifts and institutional action against prime causes of pollution, not citizens: Restore Fundamental Right to Breathe, says a nationwide alliance dedicated to the battle for a cleaner environment and against climate change.

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AERO dies by suicide in Kolkata, family alleges extreme election duty pressure and humiliation

A 48-year-old Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) died by suicide in South Kolkata’s Bansdroni area after consuming pesticide, the tragic death of Malabika Roy Bhattacharyya has sparked serious concerns regarding the immense pressure placed on government officials tasked with SIR/Election duties, with her family explicitly blaming the ECI for the extreme workload

UP’s syncretic warrior cults facing Hindutva challenge

Be it the attack on the Gogamedi shrine in the Hanumangarh district of northern Rajasthan or the Neja Mela in the Sambhal district of western Uttar Pradesh, Hindutva’s systemic attack on India’s syncretic traditions, past and present, reveals its rigid and Brahmanical ideological orientation: imposition of a strictly hierarchical, exclusionary and structured notion of faith and practice

No Hearing, No Notice, Just Deletion: How Bengal’s SIR Erased a Decorated IAF Officer

The removal of Wing Commander Md Shamim Akhtar, who served the nation for 17 years, during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) highlights a systemic lack of due process that threatens the voting rights of even the most distinguished citizens

An Adivasi woman once in bonded labour now serves her village as a Sarpanch

As India marks 50 years of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, cases of bonded labour still surface in states like Telangana where many workers in sectors such as agriculture, brick kilns, fishing and construction remain trapped in debt and coercion; here the author reflects on a transformative journey of an Adivasi woman who serves as a Sarpanch.