For an ordinary citizen, the criminal justice system is not simply a collection of statutes, rules or institutions. It is experienced through simple questions. Was the complaint recorded promptly? Was the victim kept informed throughout the investigation? Was evidence collected carefully? Did the witness receive summons in time? And did the case conclude without avoidable…

As Modi completed twelve years in office, assessments of his tenure have become a growth industry. Supporters point to phenomenal infra expansion, welfare delivery, digital public infra, improved tax compliance and an assertive foreign policy. Critics point to weak employment generation, persistent agrarian distress, growing inequality and deepening social polarisation. Read full story on TOI+…

As ecological risks intensify across India’s mountain states, the question is no longer whether forests generate national benefits, but how these benefits and risks are being recognised and internalised within the country’s fiscal federal architecture. Forests have been part of India’s tax devolution formula since the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FC14), signalling an important shift in recognising them as fiscal assets. The underlying logic…

Privilege will never go away. Because it’s pure human instinct. But it’ll take interesting forms  Privilege is many things. One of them is the ability to say no to authority. Govt builds a new expressway, thousands of farmers give up their land. But one holds out. You might label it defiance, but there’s no defiance…