Sonikka Loganathan

Articles written for The Hindu's Parley section

Do CCTV cameras protect us or invade our privacy?

India’s CCTV camera coverage has grown rapidly over the years. Today, Delhi and Chennai have more cameras per square mile than cities in China. States argue that CCTV cameras reduce crime, and the public finds the presence of these cameras reassuring. In a survey conducted by Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in August 2022 in 12 States, more than three-fourths of the respondents supported installing CCTV cameras at the entrance of their homes. However, surveillance is a big c
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Are educated women likely to marry later?

In February, when the Assam government launched a massive crackdown on child marriage, social activists pointed out that the root of the problem, i.e., limited access to education among women, is not being sufficiently addressed. National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data show that higher education levels could play a greater role than wealth in delaying a woman’s marriage. For example, the median marriage age of a woman who has completed over 11 years of schooling is 23 compared to 17.6 for a wo
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What is key to controlling diabetes? Awareness or wealth?

Data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) indicate that more than the wealth of a person, awareness levels play a relatively superior role in diabetes incidence. But do ground realities support this conclusion drawn using data? Sonikka Loganathan speaks to K. Srinath Reddy and Emilija Zabiliute about the wealth-awareness-diabetes link. Edited excerpts: The NFHS-5 data indicate that 10.6% of women in the poorest 20% households were either on medication to control diabetes or have a
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Is the RTI Act fulfilling its purpose?

The Right to Information (RTI) Act was passed by Parliament in 2005, aiming to give people access to the records of the Central and State governments. It was a vital reform to help activists and individuals ensure transparency and accountability in governance. In a discussion moderated by Sonikka Loganathan, Anjali Bhardwaj and Saurav Das take stock of what’s working and the issues that appear to be weakening the law. Edited excerpts: Is the RTI Act fulfilling its purpose? Anjali Bhardwaj: It
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Is the Environmental Performance Index really faulty?

Last month, India protested against its ranking on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) of 2022, prepared by researchers at the Yale and Columbia Universities in the U.S. The report measures 40 performance indicators across 11 categories to measure the “state of sustainability around the world.” India was ranked last (180) with low scores across a range of indicators. The Indian Government as well as environment experts have pointed to the faulty methodology of the index that skews the resu