I report on Northeast India and beyond for @reporters_co. Project Lead: @rti404 Bylines: Al Jazeera, Global Press, Mongabay, Fifty Two etc. [email protected]
Joined June 2018
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A new conflict is tearing through Manipur's hills — this time pitting Nagas against Kuki-Zos.
The BJP govt's response to this? Silence and militarisation — while a proposal for a separate territory carved out of Manipur sits quietly on the table.
@Robinson_Waheng & I spent over a month reporting from Manipur, Nagaland, Delhi and Assam to understand this new phase of the conflict.
1/16 🧵
reporters-collective.in/trc/…
@reporters_co
First the crackdown against the adivasi movement in Kaziranga, Assam and now in Arunachal Pradesh (against the Siang dam): the BJP govt has put in place an M.O. through which it is disregarding local sentiment over projects it deems as good for tourism or national security.
Angana Chakrabarti retweeted
What happened in Pasighat would not have happened had DGP Jamwal, SP Lamba, and the government handled it well. At this point, I have nothing to say about the police action against me and Sunny Tayeng, and their illegal surveillance. I just wish they had asked lawyer Sunny Tayeng, who is appearing for anti-dam activists Ebo Mili, Tajong Talom, Otul Jerang, and many others, and me at least once instead of asking for a search warrant from the court. Sunny is a busy lawyer and brilliant at her work, so she needs to focus on her practice rather than being burdened by extra work. We will see what happens tomorrow so will you all. Please be reassured that I have seen enough intimidation in my life, so this isn’t something that will stop me from writing or my activism. More power to the people of Siang valley and Arunachal. We owe it to Siang and her people. I will continue to stand with the people of Siang Valley, with Ebo Mili, Otul Jerang, and Tajong Talom, who are in judicial custody in Pasighat, and Adum Tayum, Okut Palloh, Oson Paron, and Omak Paron, who are in jail under APUAPA. Please don’t get distracted by the East Siang district police action against Sunny and me. They would not have done it without someone’s direction. Please continue talking about Siang and her people. Once again, thank you very much for the solidarity.
Angana Chakrabarti retweeted
This is an attack on press freedom and a violation of journalists' rights. @tongamrina 's newsroom has been among the few to highlight the ongoing protests against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project.
Arunachal Times editor Tongam Rina, a force in journalism, is under the scanner for the brave work that she and her team have been doing — highlighting how the BJP govt have been bulldozing public consent over the construction of the Siang dam.
🚨 Arunachal Pradesh police applies for search warrants against one of state's most respected journalists, Tongam Rina, associate editor @arunachaltimes_ and lawyer Sunny Tayeng who represents environmental activists Ebo Milli, Otul Jerang and Tajong Talom.
#SiangUpperMultipurposeProject #Siang
Angana Chakrabarti retweeted
Do see this fantastic video by my colleague @nidamominn @AnganaCk 👇
Angana Chakrabarti retweeted
Protests in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh today against the Upper Siang Dam and the state govt's militarisation of the area.
Angana Chakrabarti retweeted
The Modi-led govt has pushed through the Ken-Betwa link project. We found there is a bizarre story unfolding in how the government is compensating those it is forcibly displacing. The lowered caste are being given less compensation than the ‘upper’ caste displaced families. 1/3
Angana Chakrabarti retweeted
NDTV, Network18 & other 'legacy media' have finally woken up to how the govt's Privacy Act stands to impact journalism. Before them, @reporters_co had filed a petition in the Supreme Court. Why did it take the others so long?
Read: rti404.com/privacy-101
Angana Chakrabarti retweeted
Definitely one of the worst incidents in the city in recent memory. Considering we've grown up in the city during the violence of the early 90s.
Hear hear, we at @reporters_co and @rti404 have been opposing the DPDP Act and its devastating impact on information that is of public interest.
Perhaps the govt will sit up now that bigger players see it as being damaging to them as well.
Read: rti404.com/privacy-101
We at The Reporters Collective @reporters_co, a tiny non-profit newsroom, stood up to defend journalism against govt attempt to paralyse the profession through a Trojan horse in the Privacy law. We filed a case before the Supreme Court in February 2026 and launched rti404.com, a watchdog project to protect RTI and journalism, both.
Months later the for- profit big media businesses have realised, not just journalism but revenue of their media business would be hurt too by what the govt is doing.
We are glad they have eventually seen value in joining us.
Read Our Statement from February 16, 2026. 👇
reporters-collective.in/blog…
Angana Chakrabarti retweeted
Pratidin Time has reached Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, where one of the victims in the shooting in Guwahati's Bora Service is currently undergoing treatment. According to doctors there, their condition remains critical. Meanwhile, the bodies of the deceased are also arriving at GMCH. So far, at least four people have been reportedly killed in the incident which took place near Hotel Bilas on a lane next to a Kalyan Jewellers outlet in Guwahati's Bora Service.
#Pratidintime #assamnews #assam #guwahati #gmch
Angana Chakrabarti retweeted
We at The Reporters Collective @reporters_co, a tiny non-profit newsroom, stood up to defend journalism against govt attempt to paralyse the profession through a Trojan horse in the Privacy law. We filed a case before the Supreme Court in February 2026 and launchedwww.rti404.com, a watchdog project to protect RTI and journalism, both.
Months later the for- profit big media businesses have realised, not just journalism but revenue of their media business would be hurt too by what the govt is doing.
Personally, I am glad they have eventually seen value in joining us.
Read Our Statement from February 16, 2026. 👇
reporters-collective.in/blog…
EXCLUSIVE: India’s biggest news publishers including Ambani's Network18, Adani's NDTV, Indian Express, Times Internet & others mount the most high-profile challenge yet to Modi’s privacy law, warning it would “render investigative journalism a benign and neutered recorder of events.”
DNPA (@publishers_news) has taken the law to the Supreme Court. They argue it would trample investigative work and let New Delhi identify journalists’ sources.
The provisions “constitute pre-censorship which is anathema to any democracy worth its name,” the group’s 698-page filing says.
The key concerns:
🔹 Consent: requiring a journalist to notify the subject of an investigation and seek consent “would allow that subject to destroy evidence, intimidate witnesses”
🔹 Erasure: people can withdraw consent and demand their data be erased, which the group says could force publishers to unpublish or heavily redact news reports
🔹 Sources: a “nakedly unguided” power to demand information that “can extend to privileged communications in possession of a reporter or the informant”
In a letter to the government, the group said India “has chosen to grant broad exemptions to the state, while failing to extend any corresponding protection to the press.”
reuters.com/business/media-t…
Indian Express's big HL from today is about NHPC's "PR push" over the proposed Siang dam — a story @Bengiaajum broke nearly a week ago:
shorturl.at/caB24
Good journalism requires we credit — a newspaper giant can afford to, esp. when it's building on work by NE reporters.
Angana Chakrabarti retweeted
It’s rare to find people like Ebo Mili in Arunachal Pradesh. Absolutely resolute and committed to ensuring that indigenous communities are heard, and that the Indian state cannot bully them, @Ebo_Mili_Linggi is one of a kind. While elected representatives have compromised their positions in the name of national security, Ebo has stood firmly with the state's indigenous people. As the state began militarising the Siang Valley without the people's consent, Ebo has been in Siang Valley. Ebo is currently in the custody of the Arunachal police along with Otul Jerang, following a Gen Z protest in Pasighat that turned violent after police used force to disperse the crowd on Friday evening. Please do listen to his reasons for surrendering to the police.
Angana Chakrabarti retweeted
Otul Jerang, a youth leader from #Pasighat, #surrendered at the #PasighatPoliceStation this afternoon in connection with the ongoing #GenZmovement against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (#SUMP). Upon surrendering, he stated that the protesting youth had no role in the recent mob #violence.
Pema Khandu, CM Arunachal Pradesh about anti-dam protestors in Upper Siang — "our people are innocent..being misinformed". [Read as 'they are primitive' and 'the rulers know best']
#WATCH | On the ongoing protests against the proposed 11,200 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu says, "I am extending an invitation to the youth wing of the Adi Bané Kébang (ABK) and Youth Association—whose recent media briefing I have noted—to engage in discussions... I plan to visit the Siang region frequently; in fact, I am dedicating this entire month to Siang. I will continue to visit until the PFR (Pre-Feasibility Report) process is completed...As for the general public—the people of Siang, and particularly Upper Siang—they are very innocent, and it appears they have been fed some misinformation. I intend to reach out further to the various associations and units in the Siang area to provide greater clarity regarding this project. At this stage, we are not discussing the construction of a dam; we are only focusing on the PFR. Only after the PFR is completed will it be determined whether or not a dam should be built. Furthermore, if it is to be built, we are legally required to consult with the public in accordance with established legal provisions. The project cannot move forward without such public consultation—a requirement that is also enshrined in the Constitution. Therefore, the current discussions are strictly limited to the PFR. I am very hopeful, given the way the local organizations have responded; my recent meetings with many of them have been quite positive. I intend to visit Siang repeatedly to engage with everyone"
(23.10)
Angana Chakrabarti retweeted
State will have to take responsibility for the violence that has escalated in Pasighat. You can’t expect people to keep quiet in the face of state oppression for years in the name of national security. Shah, Modi, and Khandu, this is a response to your provocation and your sponsored violence on people who are opposed to Siang Upper hydro project. NHPC office