Sonikka Loganathan

THE HINDU

All stories done with The Hindu. For videos and podcasts, please link the on the respective sub-pages. 

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Watch | India-Canada ties in numbers: from foreign students to temporary workers | Data Point

Tensions between Canada and India are at a high, after Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau said agents of the Indian government were behind the killing of a Sikh-Canadian citizen. Canada and India have a long history. Canada is home to one of the largest communities of Indian origin, a major Indian student community and a significant Punjabi and Sikh population. The two countries also rely on each other for importing some specific inputs. So, how closely are India and Canada tied to each o
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India-Canada relations sour: Spotlight on immigrants, foreign students, workers and trade | Data

Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that agents of the Indian government were involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, in Surrey. India called the allegations “absurd” and “motivated”. India had declared Nijjar, the head of the Khalistani Tiger Force, a terrorist in 2020, and has accused Canada of providing a safe haven for people who support the Khalistani cause. Soon after the accusation, the head of Indian intelligence in Canada was expelled.
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Explained | The Fukushima N-wastewater controversy

The story so far: Last month, amid strong backlash from the public and neighbouring countries, Japan began the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. On April 13, 2021, Japan’s government announced plans to release over one million tonnes of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea over the next 30 years. The wastewater is a byproduct of the catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which disabled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power
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Food prices are on the rise, but are our earnings keeping up? | Data Point video

The prices of many essential food items have been on the rise for months now. Naturally, the cost of making a thali at home also increases. But the wages and salaries of the average worker in India are not rising at the same rate. Using the prices of essential foods in Mumbai and wages earned in urban Maharashtra, we look at the difference between how much Indians are earning, and how much they have to spend to eat filling and nutritious meals. Read the full story: Data | Cost of preparing mea
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Data | Cost of preparing meals at home rose by 65% in five years, wages by just 28%-37%

The cost of a home-cooked vegetarian thali in Mumbai has increased by 65% in the last five years. At the same time, the average wage earned by a casual labourer working in urban Maharashtra has increased by only 37% and that of a salaried worker has increased by 28%. This disparity between wages/salaries and expenditure has led to essential food items becoming increasingly unaffordable. Given the fixed food budget in most Indian homes, the imbalance results in smaller thalis or fewer items in t
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Vital Signs Ep 3 | Does NEET’s curriculum serve only as entry filter or does it offer more? | Data Point podcast

Doctors and MBBS students from diverse specializations, age groups, and geographies believe that the preparation required and done for the NEET examination, does not actually help or provide any added advantage when they start their MBBS course. In fact, they claim that during the MBBS program, every student starts from the same level. Given this, they also told The Hindu that States, rather than the Centre, should make decisions on how medical entry is conducted, to ensure that the State’s medi
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Meet Rohan Gurbaxani, whose character stands up against colourism in ‘Made in Heaven’

“The greenest of green flags.” That’s one of the messages Rohan Gurbaxani received in response to his character in the second season of Made in Heaven. Gurbaxani, 26, plays Aman, a young man, who grew up in London, and fell in love with Sarina (Zayn Marie Khan), through an arranged marriage setup. In this episode, Sarina struggles with colourism, and desperately tries to lighten her skin in preparation for her wedding. When Aman realises what’s happening, he assures his fiancée that he thinks sh
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‘AP Dhillon: First of A Kind’ review: AP’s star power is undeniable, but singer keeps you guessing

There are some songs that you just can’t not bob your head to. There are some artists who almost exclusively make music like that. AP Dhillon is one of them. The 30 year-old singer, rapper and record producer emerged seemingly out of nowhere and blew up the world with his fusion tracks marked with high energy. AP Dhillon: First of A Kind, a four part docu-series, attempts to take a closer look into who Amritpal Singh Dhillon is. AP Dhillon’s rise is, as the docuseries repeatedly emphasises, unp
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Vital Signs Ep 2 | Is medical education tailored to fill the shortage of specialists in rural India?

Doctors and MBBS students from diverse specializations, age groups, and geographies believe the notion that “rural students will naturally serve in rural areas” is flawed. Most argue that compelling students to work in rural areas might not be effective. Instead, integrating rural healthcare exposure into the MBBS curriculum and showcasing role models who work in remote areas could be more effective in bridging the rural gap. In this episode of “Vital Signs,” The Hindu Data Team consults various
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Vital Signs Podcast Episode 1 | Does NEET favour wealthy, urban and CBSE board students?

Doctors and MBBS students, in various fields of specialisation, across various age-groups, from diverse geographies, say they believe that while common entrance examination for medical seats is a necessity, the coaching industry skewed it in favour of urban and richer students. Unaffordability of quality coaching classes and the luxury that richer students have to drop a year to prepare for the exam, make it increasingly difficult for students from poorer and more rural backgrounds to get a seat
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Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju interview: On ‘Made in Heaven’ and representation of trans characters

“This character felt like a person, first and foremost. And then trans. I think that is what gives me that confidence to know that this is gonna work,” says Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, a doctor turned actor and transgender woman. Gummaraju, 26, best known via her Instagram, @trintrin, where her posts centre around advocating for the LGBTQIA+ community, is making her acting debut in the highly-anticipated second season of Amazon Prime Video India’s Made in Heaven. She plays a wedding planner who h
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‘The Idol’ series review: A glitzy, chaotic sex and torture porn-packed look at absolutely nothing

“Are you still here?” That’s what Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), the troubled star at the centre of HBO’s epic failure of a show, The Idol, says to a heavily drugged-out Tedros (Abel Tesfaye, more commonly known as The Weeknd), who plays villain extraordinaire–lover, abuser, manager, muse, cult leader–despite not having any acting abilities. Shortly after the fourth episode released, HBO announced that The Idol, which has been laden with on and off-screen controversy months before its release, would
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Watch | What does the Wagner Group’s mutiny mean for Vladimir Putin?

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin avoided bloodshed by cutting a deal with the Wagner mercenaries who challenged the country’s defence establishment and set off a march towards Moscow, but the whole drama also made him look and exposed chinks in his authority at a time when the country is fighting a prolonged war in Ukraine. The Hindu’s Foreign Affairs editor Stanly Johny explains what this uprising means for Putin, Russia and the trajectory of the war with Ukraine.
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‘Jacquemus’: Viral sensation Tesher’s latest single nods to Brazil, Bollywood and summertime

“I released a song called ‘Jacquemus’ because I went to a department store and saw some funny looking bags,” says Canadian-Indian artist Tesher, who released his third solo single on Friday. When he realised that Jacquemus was actually a luxury fashion brand, known for its handbags, things started clicking. “I wanted to paint the picture of a woman who was very fashionable — a scene stealer, a show stopper. What would make that happen?” He figured: probably a Jacquemus bag. Tesher says he wante
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How Turkey’s economic and political trajectory compares to India | Data Point podcast

On May 28, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the run-off elections, extending his rule for another five years. Erdogan has been president since 2003. Over the past twenty years, he’s used religion to come to power, and maintain it, in a country where popular politics previously had a largely secular flavour. Erdogan, and his Development Party (AKP), used religious nationalism to create the new Islamic Turkey. In this episode, The Hindu speaks to Sathish Deshpande, to understand, how mu
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Rare Beauty launches in Sephora India

For three years, Indian make-up enthusiasts watched influencers in the U.S. rave about the natural flush Rare Beauty’ Soft Pinch Liquid Blush gives, the radiant glow of the Positive Light Liquid Luminizer and the vibrant colour and comfort of the Lip Souffle Matte Lip Cream. But on June 15, the brand, founded by singer, actress and producer Selena Gomez, was launched in India. The products, available at Sephora, went live on Sephora.nnnow.com at midnight, although the site began hanging and the

‘Never Have I Ever’ Season 4 review: Devi blossoms into her truest self

If there’s one thing that Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s teen-comedy Never Have I Ever promises, it’s a carefully concocted mix of chaos, comedy and feels. In its final season, the show’s protagonist, Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), finally blossoms into the woman we’ve been rooting for her to become since the beginning. After three seasons of boy drama taking up a major amount of screentime, this season, Devi and her friends take a step back, choosing to look at things from a larger p
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Watch | Data Point: Antarctica’s summer ice cover hits record low

February 2023 saw sea ice levels in Antarctica fall to the lowest levels ever recorded, continuing the worrying trend of increased melting. According to NASA, meltwater from Antarctica and Greenland, make up a third of the global average rise in sea levels since 1993. The consequences of this are many-fold, affecting things like the Antarctic food chain and global weather patterns. In this episode, The Hindu takes a look at how temperatures and sea ice cover has changed over the years, and wha
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