Introducing Scroll.in's new in-depth reporting project ‘Common Ground’
An announcement.
Dear readers,
We have started a new reporting project called 'Common Ground'.
The project is inspired by our belief that there is more to our shared life than the divisive politics that characterises our times.
Away from the high-decibel debates in the news are important stories that need to be told about our neglected commons: areas like health, education, work, gender, land and climate. We want to investigate these stories on the ground and bring them to you with depth, verve and nuance.
We have three award-winning reporters on board: Aarefa Johari, Ishan Kukreti and Johanna Deeksha. And we’ll be working with independent journalists around India. Ajay Krishnan, who has many years of experience with shaping in-depth reporting, joins us as Contributing Editor on the project.
Our first story is an investigation of India’s worst offshore disaster – not a historical event from long ago, but a tragedy that struck in May when 86 workers, left in the path of Cyclone Tauktae, drowned to death off the coast of Mumbai. Since they were employed through a maze of companies, it was easy for everyone to shrug off responsibility for their deaths. But through painstaking interviews with survivors and by accessing crucial email evidence, Aarefa reconstructed the decisions that led to the disaster. She found companies had prioritised profits over workers’ safety, and that culpability flowed all the way up the outsourcing chain, with the government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation right at the top.
We hope you will read this story and the rest of the work we produce as part of 'Common Ground'. Click on the sign up button to make sure you get all the reports directly in your inbox.
We look forward to your feedback at commonground@scroll.in. And if you’d like to support our in-depth and investigative work, please consider making a contribution to our Ground Reporting Fund by clicking here.
Supriya Sharma
Executive Editor, Scroll.in