As 2022 draws to a close, we at Scroll.in are immensely grateful for your support as we reported on the most significant developments in India these past 12 months – and presented them to an audience of about 80 million readers.
We conducted several major investigative projects this year. In July, for instance, Supriya Sharma and Arunabh Saikia spent several months uncovering how the Enforcement Directorate has been weaponised to target Opposition politicians. A little earlier, Aarefa Johari reported on how Hindutva has hijacked the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, leading it to pay considerable attention to sketchy complaints about institutions run by minority communities.
Ishan Kukreti explained how millions of rupees were being wasted on non-existent “ghost plantations” by a government programme seeking to plant trees to act as carbon sinks. Sadiq Naqvi and Snighda Poonam reported from Assam on how crores of rupees are being siphoned out from the government’s flagship PM-Kisan welfare scheme for farmers.
The year saw the disconcerting swell of “bulldozer justice” as the authorities in several places summarily demolished the homes of Muslims accused of participating in violence. In Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone, Supriya Sharma reported on how the controversial Kashmir Files film fuelled violence that ended with bulldozer injustice. We also tracked how this arbitrary strategy was used in Gujarat’s Khambat and in the Jahangirpuri neighbourhood in Delhi.
Our Common Ground section published weekly long-form investigations on the environment, gender, education and other areas that are important to all Indians, no matter what political beliefs they hold.
Away from the world of politics, our Magazine section published a host of sparking features about India’s musical traditions, food and rich cross-cultural encounters. In case you missed them, here are links to Ajay Kamalakaran’s articles on the Kenyan Goan who fought for freedom on two continents and on Vietnam’s most famous Hindu temple. Also unmissable is Anu Kumar’s The Wanderers series on early American travellers in the subcontinent.
The Reel section, as always, drew attention for Nandini Ramnath’s perceptive reviews of the week’s new films and latest documentaries. Among the most-read features were this recollection of theatre director Satyadev Dubey’s maverick film projects and this interview with an trade experts on the challenges dogging the Hindi film industry.
In The Field, we maintained our steadfast focus on badminton, hockey, football and other sports that get overshadowed by India’s obsession by men’s cricket. This article by Dilip Unnikrishnan and Samreen Razzaqui on the love story behind a hockey academy that has produced some of India’s star women’s players is a good example of our effort.
Over the months, we’ve been delighted by the prizes won by our colleagues. In April, Aarefa Johari won the Chameli Devi Jain award for Outstanding Woman Mediaperson. Articles by Ishan Kukreti and contributor Mridual Chari on climate change earned honours at the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Press Institute of India Annual Awards. Contributor Aradhna Wal won a special mention at the ACJ Journalism Awards. The year ended with contributor Karishma Mehrotra bagging the Red Ink award for science writing.
We head into 2023 with national elections on the horizon. We look forward to your continued support and as we bring you pieces characterised by the rigour, insight and delight that you have come to expect of us.
Happy New Year.
Naresh Fernandes
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