In 1997, as India celebrated 50 years of independence, a special Golden Jubilee issue of the British literary journal Granta described the nation’s exhilarating five-decade transformation. “India…has become a vital component of our age – a pointer perhaps to all our futures…,” it declared.
In his introduction, the journal’s editor, Ian Jack, recalled a conversation with a perceptive official in Dhanbad detailing the nation’s achievements: “Could I think of any country, at any time in its history, which had achieved three things simultaneous: one, a dynamic economy; two, a redistribution of wealth and justice; three, a fair and law-abiding democracy?”
In 2022, India’s 75th year of independence has provided another springboard for reflection – this time, much of it more sombre. The economy is failing to generate the number of jobs needed to keep India working and wealth is being concentrated among an affluent elite as the incomes of the great majority have fallen.
Even India’s much-vaunted democratic structures are less robust than they were 25 years ago, weakened by institutional capture and blatant partisanship since Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party assumed power in 2014.
Among the pillars of democracy that has failed to play its expected role is the media. As is evident from the front pages of the newspapers and the prime-time television news shows, vast sections of the media have aligned themselves with those in power.
In this uncertain landscape, independent media organisations such as Scroll.in play an important role in keeping audiences informed about the complex events unfolding around them – and explaining how these changes affect their lives.
At Scroll.in, we have devoted a great deal of energy to reporting on Kashmir, the North East and parts of the country that often fail to get the attention they deserve. Our Common Ground initiative, meanwhile, allows for long-term reporting projects on such key areas as gender, caste, education and the environment. We bring the same rigour to our coverage of literature, film and sports.
Though we are a lean organisation, this reportage takes considerable resources – and depends on the support of engaged readers. If you’d like to help us continue to report on the news that matters, click here.
