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Kavita Chowdhury

Kavita Chowdhury

San Francisco Chronicle

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The Film ‘Satluj’ Revisits a Turbulent Chapter in India’s Counterinsurgency History

A biopic on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra puts the spotlight on thousands of enforced disappearances and secret cremations carried out by...

15.07.2026 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Why Indian Women Are Being Driven to Suicide

Harassment for dowry and failure to produce male heirs are forcing women to take their lives.

22.06.2026 20

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Why Modi’s Great Nicobar Project is a Recipe for Disaster

It will open the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to loot and plunder. It involves felling 15 million trees and encroaching upon the land of the reclusive...

11.06.2026 20

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

A High Court in India Recognizes Yet Another Disputed Site as a Hindu Temple

The Bhojshala complex in Madhya Pradesh houses a temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Saraswati, and also a mosque associated with a medieval-era...

25.05.2026 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

BJP Makes Major Gains in 3 of 5 State Assembly Elections

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party has stormed to power in West Bengal and retained its hold over Assam and Puducherry.

05.05.2026 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Will the BJP Gain a Foothold in Key Indian States in Upcoming Assembly Elections?

A largely Hindi-belt party, the BJP is looking to break into the strongholds of regional parties in West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

07.04.2026 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Indian Government Cracks Down on Video Reels Lampooning PM Modi

Authorities took down a video that mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s undignified behavior while meeting foreign leaders.

26.03.2026 200

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

India’s Refusal to Acknowledge Its Racist Prejudices

Name-calling and violence against youth from the country’s Northeast in India’s cities stem from deep racial prejudice.

17.03.2026 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Muhammad Deepak: A Symbol of Defiance Against Hindutva’s Hate Politics

When a mob of Hindutva goons descended on a Muslim shopkeeper, a young gym owner stepped forward to defend him.

27.02.2026 30

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

India’s Apex Court Declares Menstrual Health and Hygiene a Fundamental Right

The ruling mainstreams menstrual health. But India needs to normalize sex education too. Otherwise, menstruation will be treated as a “dirty...

17.02.2026 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

India Scraps 10-minute Delivery by Food and Grocery Delivery Platforms

To meet the deadline, delivery workers were often putting their lives at risk to speed through India’s chaotic and crowded roads.

26.01.2026 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Is India’s Film Censor Board Thwarting Tamil Actor-Politician Vijay’s Electoral Plans?

Months ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, it has delayed the release of his movie, "Jana Nayagan."

16.01.2026 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

2025: Another Bad Year for India’s Women, Dalits, and Religious Minorities

A progressive rights-based employment guarantee scheme was scrapped. Inclusive growth remains a pipe dream.

30.12.2025 20

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Modi Government Rings Death Knell of India’s Legal Right to Employment

The globally acclaimed MGNREGA, enacted when the Congress party was in power, has been replaced by a law that puts in place a discretionary scheme.

26.12.2025 20

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Turbulence Hits Indian Skies

Flight cancellations by India’s largest flight operator, IndiGo, threw the domestic aviation sector into chaos early this month.

16.12.2025 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

The Human Cost of the Largest Electoral Roll Revision Exercise in the World 

After reports of suicides and deaths due to overwork, the Diplomat tracked several Booth Level Officers carrying out the Special Intensive Revision to...

09.12.2025 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

As Bengal Elections Near, a Battle Over Bengali Patriotic Songs Grows Shriller

The BJP is using the 150th anniversary of India’s national song, "Vande Mataram," to polarize society and win votes.

27.11.2025 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Can the Opposition End the 20 Years of BJP-JD(U) Rule in India’s Bihar?

Bihar has traditionally seen bipolar election contests. With the entry of the Jan Suraaj party, the contest is triangular this time.

05.11.2025 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Beleaguered South Asian University Now Accused of ‘Cover-up’ of Alleged Gang Rape on Campus

Lofty aims accompanied the setting up of this university. Right-wing activism has sullied its image.

29.10.2025 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Indian Women Journalists Force Taliban Minister to Back Down in Delhi

Initially, Taliban Foreign Minister Muttaqi called an all-male press meet. He was then forced to call another presser where women journalists were...

20.10.2025 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Another Celebrity-Fueled Stampede Claims Lives in India

Actor-turned-politician Vijay kept a massive crowd waiting for seven hours in the sweltering heat. A tragedy was waiting to happen.

08.10.2025 40

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Muslim Conservatives Oppose Urdu Academy Event Invitation to Poet Javed Akhtar

The West Bengal government canceled the event to avoid ruffling the feathers of Muslim hardliners.

13.09.2025 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Dowry-related Violence Continues to Claim the Lives of India’s Daughters

The taking and giving of dowries is banned. Yet an average of 20 women die every day of dowry-related violence.

30.08.2025 20

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Mass Burials at Dharmasthala Point to Unholy Mix of Religion, Crime and Politics in India

A whistleblower has revealed that he was forced to bury the bodies of murdered men and raped women over several decades in the temple town.

11.08.2025 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

How India’s Patriarchy Drove a Woman Student to Self-Immolate

A 20-year-old student’s complaints of sexual harassment by her college professor in Odisha were ignored by the authorities for over 6 months.

28.07.2025 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Zohran Mamdani Raises Hackles of India’s Hindu Right-Wing

Supporters of Narendra Modi are upset with his castigation of Modi's alleged role in the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002.

10.07.2025 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Moral Vigilantism Behind Murder of Social Media Influencer in India’s Punjab

As shocking as the murder is its justification, as well as the deafening silence of the political class and civil society.

28.06.2025 20

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Rahul Gandhi Calls out Bias of India’s Election Commission

In an article, the Leader of the Opposition detailed the “industrial scale rigging” of the Maharashtra Assembly elections in favor of the ruling BJP.

13.06.2025 20

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

How Indian PM Modi Is Spinning the Ceasefire With Pakistan as a Victory

Pictures of Modi in an Indian Air Force fighter pilot uniform are all over the country, as the BJP works overtime to project him as the dynamic leader...

30.05.2025 10

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

India Deploys Emotive Symbolism of Women in the India-Pakistan Military Conflict

Hindutva supporters deify the nation as "Bharat Mata" (Mother India). But brand women as anti-national if they don’t ascribe to their jingoism.

16.05.2025 20

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury

Plummeting Academic Freedom and Autonomy in Modi’s India

India figures in the bottom 15 percent of 179 countries with regard to academic freedom, according to V-Dem’s 2025 report.

25.04.2025 20

The Diplomat

Kavita Chowdhury