India

Interview

'In India, the government wants complete control over the stories people see, read and hear'

23 December 2023 -

A drawing can hurt more than an opinion piece. Cartoonists of all countries can attest to that, and the loudest confirmation is the silence of those who were truly silenced. Aseem Trivedi's story illustrates how power reacts when its mistakes and shortcomings are exposed.

Editorial

‘The gap between election rhetoric and much-needed policies is widening’

22 June 2023 -

'While economic migrants have long been a scapegoat, the labour shortage — decades after our search for "guest" workers — has brought them back into demand,' notes MO* editor-in-chief Jago Kosolosky. This reality clashes with the anti-immigration discourse that politicians continue to resort to.

Editorial

Modi wields the sceptre in India more than ever

7 June 2023 -

What was a sunny Pentecost weekend for you and me took on the colours of a political high mass in India. MO* contributor Gie Goris: "The images leave no doubt: Modi is wielding the sengol."

Report

The end of coal is not in sight. Neither is the end of injustice

18 July 2022 -

The devastating impact of the climate crisis is increasingly clear. That is why the world needs to make a fundamental energy transition as soon as possible. But how can that be done in a country that is dependent on coal? Gie Goris travelled to Jharkhand in India for answers to that question.

Opinion

‘The Indian election results do not show that Modi’s days are numbered’

12 May 2021 -

'Hindu nationalism and India cannot sit easy at the same table anymore' writes Arjun Sharma (Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, KU Leuven) after the elections held for the legislative assemblies of the 28 states and 3 out of 8 union territories comprising the Indian union.

Report

Millions of Indians have been displaced. This is how they fight back

28 October 2020 -

Anyone who fights land grabbing will be dragged onto the street. Millions of indigenous peoples had to leave their patches of land. Communities in the Northeast and South of India choose to resist, to fight for their right to land. The question remains: at what cost?

Analysis

Modi’s new education policy: a next step in the saffronisation of India?

26 August 2020 -

End of July, the Modi government approved a lengthy proposal to reform education policy and structures in India. This New Education Policy is presented as the stepping stone to bring india in the right position to be a main player in tomorrow’s knowledge economy. Critics fear it is rather turning India towards an imagined past of Hindu glory, under ...

Report

Under the Silence and the Scars: a Kashmir that Will Not Forget or Forgive

8 November 2019 -

Three months after BJP-led government of India stripped Jammu and Kashmir from its special status, the silence from the Valley is deafening, and cracking. Khalid Hussein reports for MO* from the worst hit villages in Kashmir about the cries and the whispers, the gathering storm, the wounds that will not heal.

Analysis

It is not all about Narendra Modi. And that might not be a good thing.

31 May 2019 -

It took the nation six week to get voting boots into less than 2 km from every one of the 900 million people who were eligible to vote. In the end about 600 million did vote, and on May 23th, the verdict was released. Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was able to win 303 seats of 543 in the Lokh Sabha, an increase of 21 seats ove ...

Analysis

Switzerland by the sea

5 March 2019 -

According to the UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Switzerland ranks 20th in the world in terms of the number of ships owned, but 15th in terms of the number of ships scrapped on beaches. “The percentage of Swiss ships that ended up on the beach is almost 100%. That puts Switzerland in the top 10 of global dumpers,” said ...

Report

Mendeleev beaches: shipbreaking and the spilling of copper, cobalt, manganese, lead, cadmium, nickel, zinc and mercury

5 March 2019 -

The Science for Environment Policy (European Commission) provided an overview of several studies, one of which clearly showed just how heavily the Alang-Sosiya natural environment has been polluted by copper, cobalt, manganese, lead, cadmium, nickel, zinc and mercury. Warning: reading this can damage your profit margins.

Interview

Baskut Tuncak: “As long as the world allows shipping companies to choose the rules they want to abide by, regulation is all but impossible”

5 March 2019 -

Baskut Tuncak is, UN Special Rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes: “In shipbreaking yards, workers often are exposed to toxic chemicals including asbestos, dusts and fibres, highly toxic industrial chemicals which have been banned for decades but are still present in ships, as well as lead, mercury, arsenic or cadmium in paints, coat ...