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Government Wants to Push Hindi in Tribal Schools
Government Wants to Push Hindi in Tribal Schools

The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs has directed government-run residential schools in tribal areas to promote Hindi among students. The order appears to impose language from above, brushing aside the cultural and linguistic rights of tribal communities and eroding the Constitution’s promise of plural and inclusive education.

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Will Faith Allow Reform? The Future of Nepal’s Kumari Pratha
Are Assam’s Floods Natural or Man-Made?
Is it the Beginning of a ‘New’ Nepal?

Newsreel Asia is an independent news media committed to rigorous journalism and narrative storytelling across governance, democracy, economy and society, focused currently on India. Founded on World Press Freedom Day 2021, we work to cut through the noise and bring clear, truthful reporting to the forefront. Our perspective is humanitarian — we look at how issues shape the lives of ordinary citizens, not through the lens of political ideologies.

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Articles
Government Wants to Push Hindi in Tribal Schools

The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs has directed government-run residential schools in tribal areas to promote Hindi among students. The order appears to impose language from above, brushing aside the cultural and linguistic rights of tribal communities and eroding the Constitution’s promise of plural and inclusive education.

India’s Hunger Rate Stands Still as World Hunger Falls

October 16 is World Food Day. On this day, the 2025 edition of The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World reports that global hunger has fallen, with 8.2 percent of the world’s population undernourished in 2024, down from 8.7 percent in 2022. But the report also shows that India has made no real progress. The country’s three-year average undernourishment rate for 2022 to 2024 is 12 percent, the same as it was a decade earlier.

Report Shows Emotional Distress Rising Worldwide

A new report on emotional health shows that worry and stress now affect nearly four in 10 adults worldwide, with emotional distress levels rising sharply over the past decade. The trend must be taken as a warning about systemic neglect by governments and global institutions of emotional health as a pillar of public wellbeing and peace.

National Survey Finds Indian Diets Too Heavy on Refined Carbs

India’s largest-ever nutrition and metabolic health survey has found that 62% of daily calories in Indian diets come from carbohydrates, most of them of poor quality. The finding suggests that the country’s food systems, policies and poverty conditions are pushing people toward diets that increase their risk of diabetes and obesity, not protect against them.

IFS Officer Sonali Ghosh Wins Global Award for Wildlife Rehab

Dr. Sonali Ghosh, field director of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, has won the WCPA-Kenton Miller Award for her innovative contributions to wildlife area conservation. Her work focuses on what happens to wild animals that are rescued or bred in captivity, and how they can be returned to their natural habitats. It points to the need for a major shift in how wildlife conservation is currently practiced in India.

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Why Has Biren Singh Been Included in Manipur BJP’s Bid to Regain Power?
Why Has Biren Singh Been Included in Manipur BJP’s Bid to Regain Power?

N. Biren Singh, the former Chief Minister of Manipur, has arrived in Delhi with a delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators and former ministers to seek the revival of an elected government in the state. His inclusion deserves scrutiny, as the Supreme Court has ordered a forensic examination of audio recordings that allegedly feature his voice making remarks linked by petitioners to the ethnic violence. The visit also comes two weeks after a deadly attack on an Assam Rifles convoy that intelligence agencies suspect was politically motivated.

Nepal’s Gen Z Didn’t Topple the Government, But They Deserve Credit for It
Nepal’s Gen Z Didn’t Topple the Government, But They Deserve Credit for It

Closer attention to what happened in Nepal suggests that the government did not fall solely because of the Gen Z protests, but because of the chain of events they triggered. It is crucial for Gen Z movements elsewhere to understand the role Nepal’s youth played in the change, so that their hopes are not misplaced and their decisions not misguided. The story also carries lessons for governments around the world.

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Stunted Futures: Malnutrition in Rural Karnataka
Stunted Futures: Malnutrition in Rural Karnataka

Kavitha, a mother in Raichur district, doesn’t follow the nutrition charts or growth tracking numbers. What she understands is hunger. The rice from the public distribution shop lasts less than a week. On some nights, there’s nothing but water and silence. For families like hers, malnutrition isn’t just a report—it’s dinner time. In Raichur, all women aged 15–49 are anaemic at a rate of about 57%, combining both pregnant and non‑pregnant groups, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5). Among children under five, 36.8% are stunted, 31.3% are underweight and 21.6% are wasted—figures that point to persistent, long-term nutritional deprivation.

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Inside Assam’s Bulldozer Politics Against Bengali-Speaking Muslims
Inside Assam’s Bulldozer Politics Against Bengali-Speaking Muslims

Suleman Ali lived his entire life in Hasila Beel, a village in Assam’s Goalpara district. He built his home brick by brick over years of labor, married off his daughters there, and believed his documents proved he belonged. But one morning in June 2025, bulldozers reduced it all to rubble. 
In Goalpara alone, over three thousand families lost their homes within two months, according to a local journalist who reported from the eviction sites. Statewide, nearly 50,000 people have been displaced since 2021. Suleman is one of thousands displaced in Assam’s eviction drives, where entire villages — many inhabited by Bengali-speaking Muslims — have been demolished without notice or rehabilitation. The government calls it land reclamation; families call it erasure.
Behind each eviction lies more than lost homes. It is a loss of dignity, citizenship, and security — a reminder that in Assam today, land often matters more than the people who live on it.

Videos
Exploited Women Workers of Assam’s Tea Industry
Exploited Women Workers of Assam’s Tea Industry

Neeta Oraon lives in Nazira, a small town in Assam’s Sibsagar district. At 27, she has already spent more than a decade working in a tea garden. Her dream of becoming a nurse gave way early to the demands of poverty, debt, and family survival. She now works long hours under the sun, earning 250 rupees a day while caring for her ailing mother. Like Neeta, thousands of women in Assam’s tea gardens remain trapped in cycles of generational hardship and unseen labour.

Videos
Why Sikkim Has the Highest Suicide Rate
Why Sikkim Has the Highest Suicide Rate

Narsisus was addicted for 27 years and survived multiple suicide attempts. Today, he runs a modest community rehab centre. With no frills, only a few beds, basic meals and peer support, it offers a fragile but vital lifeline for those who walk through its doors. His journey, from the darkest moments to helping others avoid the same brink, unfolds in a state battling one of India’s deadliest mental health crises: Sikkim.

MAPPING INDIA

A banner with Mapping India and description written: Feel the Lives of People in Every State and Union Territory
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What 9 Communities Taught Me Over Dinner
What 9 Communities Taught Me Over Dinner


What do India’s persecuted communities go through behind closed doors?
What happens when you sit across a dinner table and truly listen?
Over the course of 9 powerful episodes, The Dinner Table, a docu-series by Newsreel Asia, brings together stories from communities who have long been silenced, sidelined, or targeted — simply for their identity, faith, or beliefs.

As the host, I travelled across different states, cooked meals with families from Muslim, Kashmiri Pandit, Dalit, Christian tribal, Sikh, Tibetan, indigenous tribal, Kuki-Zo, and Chin communities — and sat down with them to share a meal. What unfolded was not just food on the plate, but raw, unscripted conversations around violence, displacement, discrimination, and the deep pain their communities carry.

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Pragya’s Journey: From Acid Attack Survivor To Activist
Pragya’s Journey: From Acid Attack Survivor To Activist

In 2006, just 12 days after her wedding, 23-year-old Pragya Prasun was travelling on a train when a man threw acid on her, leaving her with 47% burn injuries. What followed was a long and painful recovery, and a determination to create a support group for acid attack survivors.
Today, she is not just a survivor — she is a fierce activist, working to support and empower other acid attack survivors through her initiative ‘Atijeevan Foundation,’ an organisation that works with acid attack survivors across India, helping them access surgeries, legal aid, mental health support, and financial independence.

In this episode of Stories of Resilience, Host and Producer Mariya Rajan meets Pragya to trace her journey from being an acid attack survivor to an activist. We explore how she rebuilt her identity, challenged social norms, and became a beacon of hope for other survivors.

Videos
Will Faith Allow Reform? The Future of Nepal’s Kumari Pratha
Will Faith Allow Reform? The Future of Nepal’s Kumari Pratha

Will the centuries-old tradition of the Kumari — Nepal’s living goddess — ever reform with time?

Harshita Rathore explores the deeply rooted practice of Kumari Pratha, where a prepubescent girl from the Newar community is worshipped as the living embodiment of Goddess Taleju. Chosen for her purity and perfection, the Kumari is revered as divine until she begins to menstruate — a moment that abruptly ends her sacred status.

Through history, the practice has stood as a symbol of faith and culture, yet it also raises pressing questions about gender, childhood, and the right to live with dignity. The Nepal Supreme Court’s 2008 ruling brought some reforms — including access to education and healthcare — but is that enough?

To understand the path forward, Harshita speaks with activist Radha Paudel, who has been advocating for dignified menstruation and gender equality in Nepal. Paudel argues that while traditions must be respected, they should also adapt to protect the rights of girls and women. She suggested some reforms to the practice. But will faith allow tradition to evolve?

Videos
Unequal Earnings in Salt Farming
Unequal Earnings in Salt Farming

Gujarat stands as India’s foremost salt-producing state, contributing 85% to the nation's total salt output. Within Gujarat, 31% of this production originates from the Agariya community living within the Little Rann of Kutch. Despite being the primary contributors to the salt industry, the Agariya people find themselves receiving the smallest share of profits. Furthermore, they grapple with the adverse effects of climate change, directly impacting their livelihoods. In this narrative, Bhopa and Gunand, two Agariya salt farmers, shed light on the disparity in earnings within the salt farming sector.

Videos
UNEQUAL LIVES | Everyday Struggles of Dalits in Gujarat
UNEQUAL LIVES | Everyday Struggles of Dalits in Gujarat

Bhupat Bhai Sekhaliya, a diligent and hardworking rickshaw driver from Gujarat, belongs to the Dalit community. Despite his unwavering dedication, the respect he deserves eludes him, particularly from individuals of "upper" castes in his vicinity. Many daily activities, deemed "normal" for any resident, remain inaccessible to him. Defiance can lead to physical assault. However, Bhupat's story is not an isolated incident. In Gujarat, the spectre of violence against Dalits looms large, with an average of four cases reported daily. The past seven years have seen a staggering total of over 9,000 documented instances of such violence.

Videos
BREATHLESS IN DELHI | The Human Cost of Air Pollution
BREATHLESS IN DELHI | The Human Cost of Air Pollution

If you are living in Delhi, you might lose 12 years of your life because of air pollution. Jyoti Lavakare Pande, an author and a journalist from Delhi, writes an open letter to highlight the intensity of pollution in Delhi. She reflects on her mother's vibrant and resilient life, filled with smiles and melodies. Her mother, Kamale Pande, a classical vocalist, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, struggling for every breath in Delhi's pollution. She pens down her mother’s journey to raise awareness about the invisible killer looming in Delhi’s air.

Videos
Challenges of Reporting Conflict From the Frontlines
Challenges of Reporting Conflict From the Frontlines

To mark four years since its founding on World Press Freedom Day, Newsreel Asia hosted an online discussion with frontline journalists who have reported from some of India’s most volatile conflict zones. The conversation took place just days before the latest escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, which saw the use of missiles, drones and artillery fire along the Line of Control.

‘Revisiting Childhood,’ with Screenwriter, Lyricist and Filmmaker Shashwat Dwivedi
‘Revisiting Childhood,’ with Screenwriter, Lyricist and Filmmaker Shashwat Dwivedi

This video is from the third episode of our online event series, “Newsreel Asia Conversations,” which gives you a chance to interact with filmmakers who explore social, economic and political themes in their works. It all came together from our team's interactions with these creative minds at the 2024 Dharamshala International Film Festival. In this episode, we featured screenwriter, lyricist and filmmaker Shashwat Dwivedi, and our conversation centred on “Revisiting Childhood,” based on his latest film “Bobby Beauty Parlour.”

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