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Dear Reader,

I recently read a piece in Politico penned by journalist Daniel Block about how independent media survives in India despite backlash from the Narendra Modi government. Having worked at The Caravan, Block wrote about the magazine’s financial struggles, and yet they haven’t budged in their mission to uncover path-breaking stories. 

That article made me reminisce about my time working at Citizen Matters. It is another urban civic media platform in India, supported by the Oorvani Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that combines deep research, data, and community engagement on critical urban issues.

I only had two years of experience working in mainstream media when I chose to work for them.  In doing that, I turned down an offer from a reputed mainstream media outlet. When I shared my decision with the hiring manager of this reputed outlet, he said, “No one would read your work there, and you will be disappointed.”

During my time at Citizen Matters, I had to unlearn a lot of traits mainstream media taught me. I focused on quality instead of speed, found great pleasure in learning new words, experimented with idioms, learnt the knack of getting information not aggressively but smoothly. I could go on. 

Our small team reported on big subjects: exploitation faced by garment workers, plights of crematorium workers, environmental violations at desalination plants, and more.

Once every few months, I also had a major writer's block. But expressing my feelings to my managing editor, Satarupa Bhattacharya, and one of the trustees of the organisation, Meenakshi Ramesh, alleviated it. All the help I received from them over the years has been invaluable. 

Over time, Citizen Matters became the go-to space for everything civic, and many of our stories were later picked up by mainstream media.

It has been four years since I moved on from Citizen Matters, but in many ways, I feel like I have come full circle because my work at The Xylom is similar to what I did there.  At both these organisations, we connect primary voices with policy, solutions, and scientific research. We would never compromise on the quality of the story and focus on the impact rather than numbers. 

As we come out of Thanksgiving week, I realize that I am thankful for more than my family and friends this year. I’m grateful for my work at The Xylom, all that I learnt at Citizen Matters, and most of all, for citizens like you who have been sustaining organisations such as Citizen Matters, The Caravan, and The Xylom. Your contributions all these years have kept independent reporting afloat and helped us tell stories that make a big impact.

Yours sincerely,
Laasya Shekhar
Managing Editor

✨ NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS

• 🏃‍♀️ This weekend, I ran my first 10k! It’s a reminder that the pace of the news may sometimes feel like a sprint, but to make real change, we need to run it like an endurance race.

• 🚴‍♂️ On December 1st, our Publisher and Editor, Alex Ip, completed a 13-mile loop in Atlanta on his bike and raised nearly $1,700 for The Xylom!

• 📣 Congratulations to our contributor Sanket Jain, who has been recognized as one of 12 global winners of the 2025 SEAL Environmental Journalism Awards! 

• 📢 Join our WhatsApp channel and help reach users who stay off social media (share this with your friends).

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🍑 A SOUTHERN FLAIR

• SUWANEE, Ga. — Teens may have come up with a new way to detect, treat Lyme disease using CRISPR gene editing (Bill Whitaker and Henry Schuster, CBS News)

  She left Lambert three years ago after securing federal funding to take synthetic biology to high schools all across Georgia. But the Trump administration cut the money, claiming it fell under DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion. A judge temporarily restored the funding, but Standeven told us she's not sure it will extend beyond 2026.

• SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA — ‘Deeply demoralizing’: how Trump derailed coal country’s clean-energy revival (Nina Lakhani, The Guardian)

  On his first day in office, Donald Trump scrapped Biden’s clean energy and environmental programs, which he lambasted as woke, anti-American liberal hoaxes. How did this political move impact former coal communities in Virginia? 

  “People in Appalachia are used to being let down by the government, but this time we had the money. It was still taken away, and people feel betrayed.”said Emma Kelly, Appalachian Voices New Economy program manager.

🗺️ WHAT ELSE WE'RE READING

• HONG KONG — The photo that became a symbol for Hong Kong’s deadly fire (Photography and reporting by Tyrone Siu; Reporting by James Pomfret and Nicoco Chan/ Reuters)

  A picture of Wong — a senior citizen who had just returned home after picking up his granddaughter, only to find his house reduced to ashes — went viral. It captured the sheer devastation of the Hong Kong Fire tragedy, which was the worst since 1948.

  “My wife is inside,” Wong screamed, pointing at the flames engulfing the apartment block. His arms were raised in anguish as he wept, standing against the backdrop of the fire. 

• KATHMANDU, Nepal — Rising heat, failing kidneys: Climate’s hidden toll on migrant workers (Natalie Donback, Grist)

  Poverty makes life unbearably hard in their home countries. But when they migrate to the Gulf, the money they earn often ends up being spent on medical bills. Chronic kidney disease is the silent epidemic affecting the migrant workers. 

  “Migrant workers are at the forefront of climate change right now,” said Dr. Barrak Alahmad, director of the Occupational Health and Climate Change Program at Harvard University.  “In a way, chronic kidney failure from heat becomes the ultimate marker of climate change.”

SOME OF OUR RECENT STORIES

🏚️ Relocated for Safety, Indian Tribe Loses Its Moorings and More

The Saura tribes living in Barghar village in the eastern Indian state of Odisha have depended on the forests for food and medicine. However, after Cyclone Titli devastated the community, the Indian government relocated them in 2020. Five years later, tribal members still do not feel at home.

📵 The Taliban's Internet Blackouts Are Devastating Afghan Farmers

When the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan shut down the Internet for two days due to political reasons in late September, farmers were unable to contact buyers and transporters, resulting in significant losses. This is the latest example of how access to connectivity can make — or break — sustainable agriculture in emerging economies.