Zone Of Interest: Outlook’s Relentless Reporting Conflict and Change

Outlook’s first-ever cover story was on Kashmir. Like the Valley in the ‘90s, the issue too was set afire. But that didn’t deter the magazine from revisiting Kashmir time and again—in fact, Outlook’s coverage of the troubled region, taking a nuanced and unbiased view, would be the most detailed in Indian media.

From the first issue to the probing cover ‘Silence in Kashmir’ recently, there have been many intrepid reports from the conflict zone. The other such zone is the North East, where the magazine has brought stories from the interiors, of insurgency, of the various accords from the last few decades, to the violence in Nagaland and Manipur in the recent years. This segment is called ‘We the People’ because Outlook has spoken against and analysed deeply whenever there has been a question mark on undermining the Constitution by any regime. Various thematic issues on thorny proposals like the Uniform Civil Code, One Nation One Election or Delimitation were covered extensively.

Kashmir Redesigned: It was the year geography became history and the ‘crown of India’ was split down the middle. In this issue, Outlook explored the long-term impact of Jammu & Kashmir’s bifurcation and stripping of the special status

Streetside Plebiscite: A young terrorist was killed. In death, he became an icon. And the streets cried for freedom. The killing of Burhan Wani was tough on the Valley. The period was also the biggest test for the BJP’s hardline approach in Kashmir

A Silent Season: In Kashmir, nobody speaks anymore of anything that’s bad or sad. There are consequences, they say. There is the Naya Kashmir hailed by all, but there is also another Kashmir that lurks in the shadow. This issue explored that silence

Claw of China: For decades, India and China have played a cat-and-mouse game, full of intrigue and suspense. In this issue, Outlook traced how China was fuelling India’s northeastern insurgencies based on confessions made by NSCN(IM) leader Anthony Shimray

Scarred and Displaced: It was the time when the deep fissures between the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur were stoked for political gains, leading to extreme violence. This issue urged the government to step in

Introduction to Arms: When a typewritten note slid under the door invited her to travel through the jungles of Bastar with uniformed, AK-47-wielding Maoists, Arundhati Roy accepted with alacrity. The result was an extraordinary 32-page essay, exclusive to Outlook

Shadow of the Gun: Beyond the dominant narratives of the Maoist war and the State’s response, Outlook travelled deep inside Bastar villages where the miserably poor Adivasis were caught between the two entities

The Killing Fields: Protesting farmers, a speeding vehicle, deaths, violence. In 2021, Lakhimpur Kheri turned into a political battlefield and the Opposition hoped for a richer election harvest in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections

One Nation, One Law: The idea of a Uniform Civil Code has been discussed even before Independence, but the idea of UCC never took off. This issue explored if UCC can work in a country as diverse as ours

Power Politics: Is secularism in today’s India fraying at the edges? Is it no longer a cherished ideal? Outlook’s November 21, 2022, issue dug deep into the issue

Shifting Goalposts: The controversial Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the Opposition’s allegations of vote chori brought the focus back on free and fair elections. The Bihar Assembly elections were under the scanner

Federalism Question: Will One Nation, One Election impact the power dynamics between the Centre and the states? Outlook explores