Archita Raghu

@TheBluePen25, @sakie339 and @hannah_priya talk to us about recipies from DBA communities Pls read! newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai…

Ahead of trial court’s pronouncement of punishment, we interviewed kin of #Sathankulam custodial deaths victims Jayaraj-Bennix: About the pattern of police targeting people from marginalised communities, Jayaraj's daughter Persis said the police would never target affluent or politically influential persons. "Thinking that we did not have the power to respond, the Sathankulam police killed my father and brother. However, people from all communities supported us, taking it personally. The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court took up the case suo motu. The shopkeepers, daily wage workers, and farmers become easy targets for the police. A section of people praising extrajudicial acts, including encounters and custodial violence, only encourages such behaviour. That is one of the reasons behind the custodial deaths of innocents. The same people may be victimised one day if it continues,” she said. newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-n…

Little joys :)

Anti-social elements have locked the Vyasarpadi Ambedkar Free Tuition Centre & threatened teachers ("We'll cut hands if lock touched")! 200+ poor kids can't attend classes tonight. Complaint filed at Vyasarpadi P5 MKB Nagar PS – but no action yet! #SaveAmbedkarTuitionCentre

Your city isn’t run by magic. It’s run by budgets, data & decisions. We’re opening the black box at #ICS2026. Inside City Government Tech. Data. Accountability. Citizen power. @Prajafoundation @Janaagraha1 @eGovFoundation @bhuvanaraj @fomrra @chennaicorp 📍 Chennai | Feb 14 Register now: konfhub.com/india-civic-su…

Key to happiness is forgetfulness, perhaps? open.substack.com/pub/diyamaria/…

No maintenance, internet issues force shutdown of hi-tech labs in many TN schools: Contract tender for annual maintenance hasn't been closed even though the contract period has ended and schools made to shift to BSNL aren't receiving internet access. thehindu.com/news/national/…

@mkstalin to inaugurate the construction work to convert 4375 acres of Great Salt Lake🦩into a Fresh Water reservoir extending from Kovalam to Mahabalipuram for 12 kms. This project erases the Chennai's remaining blue-green natural infrastructure. @supriyasahuias #DontGoStalin

@arch_types reports @iitmadras Project Kaatru, study finds winter PM2.5 spike in Koyambedu market; stakeholders flag vehicular emissions and the need for hyperlocal data. citizenmatters.in/winter-woes-ai…

Amid rising reports of BLO (booth level officer) suicides across the country, I spent a day with a BLO in North TN, Mohini* to understand the pressure behind the job. (1/7) @xpresstn

The hand of a sanitary worker—his skin severely damaged by constant exposure to bleaching powder, which is sprinkled along the corners of roads. Many workers suffer from chronic illnesses caused by the absence of proper protective equipment such as gloves and masks. DMK’s neglect of sanitation workers’ protests exposes its betrayal of social-justice principles, Sujatha Sivagnanam (@sujajourno) reports: caravanmagazine.in/labour/chennai…

"He was my constant"...A personal tribute to Kavin, the man lost to honour killing By someone who called him by the name....Dei mapla “We even dreamed of starting a cafe one day. It was going to have yellow walls and strong coffee. That silly dream kept us sane through so many rough weeks.” I still can’t wrap my head around it. Kavin isn’t just gone. He was taken. Back when he worked in Coimbatore, he’d send me pictures almost every week. Some were just him with his headphones on at his desk, others with his girlfriend—those were always brighter. He’d grin like he’d just won something. Sometimes he’d add captions like “Guess who forced me to take this pic ”. Then he moved to Chennai. A new job at TCS. Bigger salary. New place. He was excited and a little nervous—though he’d never say that part out loud. One evening, over filter coffee near Besant Nagar beach, we spoke about opening our own cafe. “You’ll write the menu, and I’ll make sure we never run out of cinnamon rolls,” he laughed. We even Googled what it would cost. The cafe didn’t have a name yet, but we knew how it’d smell. It was a silly dream. But it kept us close. Then suddenly, I was assigned a long-term project in Cambodia. We met just two days before I left. He gave me a handmade keychain—some weird-looking elephant he said would bring good luck. That hug we shared… that turned out to be our last. He didn’t stop calling though. Even with the time difference, he’d FaceTime me while walking home from office. “You had dinner?” was always his first question. He had this way of making you feel like you still belonged—even when you were a thousand miles away. When I came back to Chennai months later, my life was… a mess. I left my job. I wasn’t myself. I pushed people away. But Kavin stayed. Through text, through voice notes, through pure stubbornness. He kept trying to meet. And I kept postponing. I thought we had time. That’s the guilt I’ll never shake off. He made all the effort. I just kept saying, “Soon da… let’s meet properly. Not like five-minute hi-bye.” That “soon” never came. And now he’s gone. Murdered. The word sits heavy. Honour killing. That’s what they’re calling it. But there was no honour in what happened. Only cruelty. Only silence. Only a future brutally erased. Kavin was not a headline. He was not just another “Dalit IT employee” with a smiling photo. He was someone who loved deeply, gave freely, and stayed even when the world pulled you apart. I will carry him with me for the rest of my life. My best friend. My open diary. My constant. May his soul rest in peace...... __________________________________ And for those of you who want to know more than just the tragic end The boy he was. The man he was becoming. The love he never stopped fighting for...... We’ll be sharing Kavin’s full story soon. Because he deserves that.... And more.... #Kavinselvaganesh #JusticeForKavin

Read my story from Tirunelveli-Thoothukudi about the caste killing of Kavin Selvaganesh alongside the political history of Tamil Nadu in normalising these brutal murders. Caste pride has now taken newer forms, and at the center of this are theprint.in/ground-reports…

#ExpressDialogues | In a freewheeling chat with a group of journalists from #TNIE, the newly sworn-in #RajyaSabhaMP, @salma_poet traces her journey from poetry to politics and how defiance shaped both her words and will. @AntoJoseph @ranjim @Shaik91163136 @NewIndianXpress Read the full interview here : newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-n…

A shelter for trans persons, set up under Garima Greh - a Union government scheme - in Chennai, suffers without funding for years. It is running on the sheer grit of a lean team of staff and the mortgaged jewellery of a trans woman. I report for @tniefeatures

Pls don't miss this brilliant piece about an amazing farmer Saroja Kumar, who lives near Karur. I met her twice earlier this year & learnt so much from her! She is an outstanding farmer, speaker, thinker & activist. Great profile by @arch_types for @BehanBox CC: @bhanupriya_rao

@AparnaKarthi @BehanBox @bhanupriya_rao Thank you for introducing me to Saroja ma'am! It was such an amazing experience!

In Karur, Tamil Nadu—where droughts are common and forest cover is under 3%—Saroja Kumar has built a thriving 10-acre food forest. Without any machines and monoculture. Just care, labour, and deep ecological knowledge. Report by @arch_types. behanbox.com/2025/06/26/in-…

#ExpressExclusive | The 38 children who had lost one or both their parents in the #Kallakurichihoochtragedy last year, and had not received the monthly allowance announced by the #TamilNadu government for the past few months, were credited with the pending amount within three hours after #TNIE brought the issue to the notice of the government. @AntoJoseph @krithika_writes Read here: newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-n…

From Caregivers to Data Workers: The Hidden Burden on Tamil Nadu’s Anganwadi Workers by @arch_types behanbox.com/2025/05/14/fro… — Sheds light on the competing, possibly broken apps by Central and State Government burdening the Anganwadi Workers.

Breaking: Egyptian authorities have detained dozens who were planning to join and report on the Gaza solidarity march aimed at breaking Israel’s blockade. Among those detained is Maktoob journalist @nikita_jain15, who was covering the march. Watch: