Mainstream Weekly

The Roof That Crushed Them: India's Student Housing Crisis | Rajan Kshirsagar

Rajan Kshirsagar — 2026-09-08T04:02:30Z

Delhi University houses one student in a hundred. JNU houses two in three. Seven students died in Satya Niketan because the state chose the first number.
On a quiet Sunday afternoon in September 2026, a five-storey building in Delhi's Satya Niketan collapsed like a house of cards. Inside, dozens of students were studying, sleeping, living. When the dust settled, at least seven were dead. The building was 50 years old, with walls just four inches thick and no pillars for support, and it was (…)

- 2026

Why Is a Tractor Taxed Like a Luxury Car?

Rajan Kshirsagar — 2026-05-01T03:18:56Z

Imagine

- 2026

Disaster Management (Amendment) Act, 2025 - Disowning the Constitutional Duty — A Framework of Calculated Abdication | Rajan Kshirsagar

Rajan Kshirsagar — 2025-09-06T00:13:17Z

The Narendra Modi-led BJP government has forcefully passed the Disaster Management (Amendment) Act, 2025 & brought India's disaster management policy, on the surface, appears to be modernising. The recent revision of norms for the State and National Disaster Response Funds (SDRF/NDRF) for 2022-23 to 2025-26, communicated by the Ministry of Home Affairs in July 2023, presents itself as a blueprint for a robust response.
However, a critical examination reveals that these developments are (…)

- 2025

Tractor owner farmers, and new challenges & Policy concerns | Rajan Kshirasagar

Rajan Kshirsagar — 2025-08-23T11:56:41Z

The tractor emerged as a symbol of farmers' resistance in the historic movement held at Delhi's "veshi" (marketplace or locality). Against the backdrop of the Green Revolution, the use of tractors increased across the country. Recently, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain pairs of bullocks. Once upon a time, a beautiful pair of bullocks was considered a sign of prosperity. Gradually, the tractor took the place of these bullocks. Due to rising fodder costs, labor needed for (…)

- 2025

World Bank agenda of repealed farm laws return with 'National Policy Framework on Agriculture Marketing' (NPFAM) | Rajan Kshirsagar

Rajan Kshirsagar — 2025-02-08T16:35:20Z

The Union Government has brought forward the

- 2025