India’s justice system, hobbled by delay and weak legal aid, has worryingly transformed procedure into a tool of prolonged imprisonment. Forget about ‘celebrity’ cases like Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and Shifa-ur-Rehman who are reportedly imprisoned without a charge-sheet or presentation in court for years together. They are only the most visible edge of a far larger failure. Nearly 70 percent of India’s prison population consists of undertrials, many of whom have spent years...

A new dress code at Darjeeling’s Mahakaal Temple exposes how patriarchy still polices women’s bodies in the name of tradition. The Mahakaal Temple in Darjeeling is hot news right now not because of its religious and devotional connotations but because it has recently banned the entry of women in short skirts, shorts and short dresses. If it is not easy or possible for some women to wear sarees or salwar kameez, the temple has also announced a scheme under which women devotees dressed...

The Indian film industry’s new 12-hour workday rule exposes old hierarchies while rendering gender parity in Bollywood as purely performative. Based on the false belief that women in the Bollywood film industry are putting in less working hours than men, a new circular is imposing a 12-hour work schedule applicable to both men and women in Bollywood. Women, led by Deepika Padukone, have objected to this 12-hour shift stating that not only is this not feasible for working mothers with small...