I first came in contact with Himmat Shah in the second half of the 1970s during one of my routine visits to  Ahmedabad , my maternal hometown. I do not recall the exact year, but at that time I was working in  Delhi  with the  CPI -owned People’s Publishing House (PPH) as its assistant editor, editing books and writing occasional articles for small periodicals. Himmatbhai — as I would call him — worked at the People’s Book House (PBH), the CPI’s bookshop on  Relief Road  in Ahmedabad.

A few days ago, I met a veteran Gujarat-based economist, the author of several books offering a critical evaluation of the state’s economy, poverty, and  gender discrimination . Also present was a retired Gujarat-cadre bureaucrat with an economics background, known for his popularity in the cities and districts where he served during his heyday.

I usually avoid being interviewed. I have always believed that journalists, especially in India, are generalists who may suddenly be assigned a “beat” they know little—sometimes nothing—about. Still, when my friend  Gagan Sethi , a well-known human rights activist, phoned a few weeks ago asking if I would join a podcast on  civil society  and the media, I agreed.

I have in my hand a representation addressed to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Gujarat, urging the Election Commission of India (ECI) to stop “atrocities on teachers and education in the name of election work.” The representation, submitted by Dr. Kanubhai Khadadiya of the All India Save Education Committee (AISEC), Gujarat chapter -- its contents matched  what a couple of teachers serving as Block Level Officers (BLOs) told me a couple of days esrlier during a recent visit to a close acquaintance.

A  new report  by a firm describing itself as a "digital real estate transaction and advisory platform,"  Proptiger , states that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has been the largest contributor to housing units among India's top eight cities currently experiencing a real estate boom. Accounting for 26.9% of all new launches, it is followed by  Pune  with 18.7% and  Hyderabad  with 13.6%. These three cities collectively represented 59.2% of the new inventory introduced during the third quarter (July to September 2025), which is the focus of the report’s analysis. 

India’s ambition to transition to a resource-efficient and waste-free economy is hindered by fragmented regulation, weak enforcement, and uneven infrastructure, according to a new  213-page report  by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

By Rajiv Shah    A recent, well-attended meeting of Gujarat civil society activists in  Ahmedabad , held to discuss the impact of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, has decided to file a petition in the  Supreme Court  against the controversial exercise initiated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) across the country. Announcing this, senior High Court advocate  Anand Yagnik , who heads the Gujarat chapter of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), said that a committee has already been formed to examine the pros and cons of SIR. “While the SIR exercise began in Gujarat on November 4 and is scheduled to continue for a month, we will file a supporting petition in the case against SIR in the  Gujarat High Court  or the Supreme Court after observing how it proceeds in the state,” he said. Yagnik’s announcement followed senior advocate  Shahrukh Alam —who is arguing the SIR case in the Supreme Court—urgi...

  As the world prepares for  COP30  in  Belém , a new global report has raised serious alarms about the continued expansion of coal-based industries, particularly in India and China. The 2025  Global Coal Exit List  (GCEL), released by Germany-based NGO  Urgewald  and 48 partners, reveals a worrying rise in  coal-to-chemical projects  and  captive power plants  despite mounting evidence of climate risks and tightening international finance restrictions.

  By Rajiv Shah   A few days ago, I attended a press conference for the release of a study examining the impact of automation on women workers in Ahmedabad’s construction sector. Conducted by  Geeta Thatra  and  Saloni Mundra  for  Aajeevika Bureau  and  Work Fair and Free , the study immediately caught my attention—particularly a passing reference in the presentation to how  Marxist theory  tends to reduce women’s oppression to class relations and economic structures such as private property, production, and wage labour.