Shikha Nehra

Anthropologist in the making @Stanford | studying bureaucracy, digitalization, welfare, politics of citizenship in India

[The Wire @thewire_in]

#TheWireLive | What lies behind the cosmetic changes of the changed name of the legislation? What will be the impact on the rural poor, fiscal burden of the states?

@SravastiDasgup2 in conversation with Jean Drèze

Join live at 6 pm: https://t.co/Mj0oxbKrFc

[Road Scholarz @roadscholarz]

नरेगा को हटा कर लोगों के हाथों में क्या थमाया जा रहा है?

https://t.co/h651PzbTi4

[Road Scholarz @roadscholarz]

नरेगा को हटाया जा रहा है। नया कानून काम के हक की कोई गारंटी नहीं देता। इस चर्चा में निखिल डे और रीतिका खेरा से समझिए क्या हो रहा है.

https://t.co/slnKRvFkwu

[Road Scholarz @roadscholarz]

The G RAM G is all set to destroy MGNREGA in the guise of revamping it as a new scheme. Here are 3 big issues:
1. Central govt retains power to decide where and when the new scheme comes into force (!!!). This makes a mockery of the legal guarantee.

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Gaza’s Government Media Office warns that Storm Byron, arriving today with heavy rain, floods and strong winds, can worsen the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinian families living in fragile tents across the war-torn enclave #infograph

[Anuj Kalia @akalia11]

Congratulations to @jiangelaa and @deepakv91 on launching Worktrace AI! They have a stellar and fun team with Alex and Surbhi, and two of the best engineers I know are also joining soon. I'm excited to continue following their journey as the "roommate" mentioned in the article!

[Shikha Nehra @shikhanehra]

As a witness to the genesis of @worktrace_ai, I am excited to see how @jiangelaa and @deepakv91 will transform the world of work. Congratulations 🎉

[Worktrace AI @worktrace_ai]

Today, we're launching @worktrace_ai to help businesses uncover their best automation opportunities and build those automations.

Our founders, Angela Jiang (product manager of GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 at OpenAI) and Deepak Vasisht (UIUC CS professor, MIT researcher, IIT graduate of the last decade), are determined to eliminate the AI divide between frontier labs and the workforce.

Our $9M seed round is led by @8vc and @conviction with participation from @OpenAI, @svangel and @geniusventures.

Join us!

[Angela Jiang @jiangelaa]

👋@worktrace_ai is out of stealth!

Which also means I've officially rejoined the workforce...I couldn't help but join @deepakv91 to pursue this vision together. I really think we & our amazing team are on track to make a meaningful difference in bridging the AI divide. Join us!

[Deepak Vasisht @deepakv91]

We just came out of stealth @worktrace_ai! Our goal is to empower everyone to use the best of AI, regardless of technical background. I've been a fan of @jiangelaa for years and am incredibly excited to pursue this with her. We're building a fun and excellent team, come join us!

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Video shows Palestinian schoolchildren running in fear as Israeli military vehicles storm Al-Fawar refugee camp near Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

[Nikhil Dey @nikhilmkss]

Invitation: for a 5-day residential workshop —“People's Lawyering” from 7th to 11th July, 2025, at Sambhaavnaa Institute in Palampur, Himachal, for practicing lawyers with min 2–3 years of experience & interest in human rights
*Register here:* https://t.co/qT0NFxa020

[Rokibuz Zaman @ZamanRokibuz_]

Why aren't there many protests against the Waqf Act in Assam?

It has a context. Over 10k families evicted without much resistance.

"On the slightest pretext the police resort to firing"

"We all remember what happened in Dhalpur and Kaziranga"

https://t.co/yC4sZy3gBi

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Palestinians in Gaza mourn the death of journalist Ahmad Mansour who was filmed burning alive after Israel targeted a tent for journalists with an air attack and set it ablaze.

[Dr. Ezzideen @ezzingaza]

A few days ago, as Gaza’s future grew even more uncertain, foreign embassies began reaching out to their remaining citizens, swiftly evacuating them in direct coordination with the Israeli military. At the same time, some international organizations—particularly American ones—quietly started withdrawing from their humanitarian operations in Gaza.

It feels like the stage is being set for something ominous. Either a new wave of escalation is imminent, or Gaza is about to be plunged into an even tighter stranglehold of siege and suffocation.

When the world starts pulling its people out and aid organizations begin stepping back, you know that whatever comes next won’t be mercy.

#GazaCeasefire

[CU Apartheid Divest (CUAD) @ColumbiaBDS]

BREAKING: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HAS JUST SUSPENDED, EXPELLED, AND REVOKED DEGREES FROM 22 STUDENTS FOR PROTESTING GENOCIDE IN PALESTINE

[Alpa Shah @alpashah001]

Exciting times! We are hiring an Associate Professor in Social Anthropology @oxford_anthro
Come work with us! It's a wonderful, dynamic and collegial community.
Do spread to those who may be interested/qualified. Details below.
https://t.co/lqOiZzkJLc

[Pelham @Resist_05]

This is why they’re banning TIKTOK…

[Muhammad Shehada @muhammadshehad2]

Every time a ceasefire seems imminent, Israel immediately opens all gates of hell on Gaza & sharply escalates the butchering & destruction to the maximum it could get away with.

86 Gazans murdered since yesterday. Ceaseless bombardment in Rafah, Jabalia, Gaza, Khan Younis...

[Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt @FranceskAlbs]

I join this urgent plea.
Palestinians must be protected, especially those who have become icons of humanity in the face of an implacable genocide.

[Afif Aqrabawi @AjAqrabawi]

Yesterday during a lab meeting, my mentor informed me that I may no longer progress in my career due to my so-called 'infamy.' I was told that I was to blame for the challenges I've been facing in publishing my work—that my 'negative' political activism might be provoking the particularly unusual hostility of peer reviewers. Apparently, several 'respectable' figures in the scientific community have contacted him to voice their disapproval and even urged him to terminate my employment. This also highlights how the cowardly silence of my 'allies' perpetuates bigotry and exclusion.

To my 'colleagues' who feel entitled to pass judgment on my existence as a Palestinian scientist—one who cannot turn away from the human instinct to preserve life while witnessing the daily murder of my people—I regret to inform you that I will continue to exist, unapologetically, with no regard for your comfort or supremacist ideals.

Fortunately, science is not confined to institutions. It lives in my mind and heart, and I can enjoy it fully—even from the solitude of my imagination; even if I were to become homeless. Home, however, is precisely what I am fighting for. I only wish I had the privilege to contemplate nature, without the existential threat of Zionism.

From my perspective at the margins here at MIT, I have come to see academia for what it truly is: a stronghold of racism, classism, and spiritual rot masquerading as enlightenment.

Apologies in advance if I don’t respond to comments on this post—this is a deeply personal reflection, shared primarily for myself.