A letter from the editor spotlighting our best stories which amplified the voices of the marginalised, boldly ventured into topics often ignored or suppressed and demanded accountability from power also featuring some of our staff members’ personal favourites!
Hello readers,
It is truly overwhelming in the best way possible to sit here at the end of 2025 and pen down this note of utmost thanks for everyone who was involved in helping us publish some amazing stories in our small volunteer-run newsroom.
In 2025, Nivarana turned over many new leaves. We conducted our very first public health writing workshop where we taught many people from across the spectrum - from doctors, social workers, psychologists, dentists and researchers - to write impactful public health stories. Secondly, we also branched out into publishing photo stories and comics, which have empowered us to tell these stories in a more compelling and powerful way. And finally, we also tried to assign topics to months which ensured that many underrepresented topics were addressed and brought to light.
Nivarana, over the years, has served as a repository of knowledge, for those who dare to imagine a healthcare system that doesn’t function on violence.
Our story on the Shaheed hospital in Chattisgarh inspires people to think of what health would look like when it is a people’s movement while our story on how the health system fails intersex children, demands that we take into account who falls through the cracks of our system. Our stories written by patients who have accessed the health system challenges health workers to acknowledge the pain and suffering that we unwittingly become part of because of how the system is designed.
We have many young health professionals writing in, offering solutions and suggestions, but also taking space to talk about their experiences - something that the system actively discourages. Their pain is validated, their voice has a platform and we help them be a part of a conversation that builds something better.
As I go through the work we have done in 2025 to write this letter, my heart fills with happiness and pride but more important than that, my heart fills with hope. All the volunteer staff of Nivarana, including me, had to navigate our training disillusioned with how things were. Such a collection of stories, had it existed prior, would have helped us immensely.
And that is the critical gap that we work towards filling in the work that we do now.
We are extremely happy that we were able to publish 85 stories - most of them newly written this year and some of them republished from our previous content. These stories spanned the wide expanse of topics that affect how people access healthcare - including caste, gender, sexuality, migration, environment, climate, labour rights and the like. We have also ensured to criticise and hold accountable the medical education system which continues to omit these topics which are vital for any trainee to become a well-rounded health professional.
Below are the links to some of our most-loved stories of the year.
We hope that sitting with these at the end of the year will bring that highly important shift in your mind about the way you practise or access healthcare.
10 - A Deep Dive into India’s Alcohol Problem: He swore to never drink again, but by evening, he was vomiting blood. As his wife signed him out against medical advice, the question lingered: Can love ever outfight addiction?
9 - India's Healthcare Crisis: Profit Over Care and the Urgent Need for Reform: India’s healthcare system is plagued by corporate greed, inflated bills, and patient exploitation. Can reform prevent further harm?
8 - A Year-Long Journey of Healing and Hope: Tackling Sickle Cell Disease in Chhattisgarh, India: This story relays the personal experiences of the author as he navigates sickle cell disease and its ramifications in the heart of India. How do individuals affect change on the ground?
7 - Understanding Disability In India: Discover the multifaceted challenges faced by people with disabilities in India, from societal perceptions and systemic barriers to policy gaps. Learn how inclusive reforms, accurate data, and a shift from ableist norms can foster true equity
6 - The Lines of Suffering: What AIIMS Delhi Taught Me About Healthcare and Dignity: What does India’s premier hospital look like when you step beyond the tall buildings and into the lines of suffering? A firsthand account exposes the human cost of navigating our healthcare system.
5 - Where there is No Doctor: In the forests of Chhattisgarh, many still lack regular healthcare access. A young doctor recounts his transformative journey delivering healthcare and uncovering the true meaning of access and trust.
4 - Why India Needs Rural Surgeons: A Journey of Realization: Over 70% of India lives in rural areas, yet most surgical care is concentrated in cities. Through one patient’s journey, this story shows why investing in rural surgeons is critical for equitable healthcare.
3 - The Right to Die with Dignity: The ‘What’ and the ‘How’ of the Karnataka Orders: The recent Karnataka orders promise the right to die with dignity. Does this mean euthanasia has been legalized in Karnataka?
2 - Violence Against Patients: The Hidden Part Of The Iceberg: While much attention is given to violence against doctors in the news, the violence patients face within healthcare systems remains largely unspoken and overlooked.
1 - The Good Doctor Trap: How Indian Medical Culture Glorifies Systematic Exploitation of Physicians: Indian medical education grooms doctors into thinking that they, as individuals, need to overwork to make up for systemic failings at the expense of their own well-being.
As you go through these stories, I ask you to continue to be curious about what shapes health, beyond medical diagnosis and treatment and also to stay with us and support us as we do this work in the years to come!
Today, as an organisation we stand with the gig workers who are protesting because dignity in labour is one of the most important determinants of health - I hope you do too!
Also we have a major announcement on the new directions we have taken and what we dream to do in 2026, decisions we need your unwavering support for. Keep an eye on our socials for this exciting announcement soon!
Love, light and the hope for a better future to everyone!
Christianez,
Lead Editor,
Nivarana.
