Debt and distress: youth caught in cricket betting trap

The rise of social media and easily accessible money-making applications has significantly altered the dynamics of betting and gambling in the State. Recent police crackdowns have uncovered syndicates linked to international networks, involving hundreds of mule bank accounts and transactions worth hundreds of crores of rupees. Officials warn that many individuals—particularly unemployed youth and students—are … Read more

Lakshmi could have been a child bride

Teenage girls across five villages in Uttar Pradesh’s Chandauli district are resisting child marriage, supported by frontline government workers who don’t want to see their own lives repeated in another generation. Ashna Butani meets the women leading and demanding change, in a State that sees the highest number of child brides in India