Rohini Lakshané

An aerial view shows a landscape transitioning from a field of green vegetation to a dense urban cityscape in the distance. The foreground is dominated by a large area covered in waste, including plastic bags, various debris, concrete, and stones, partially obscuring the ground. A winding waterway flows through the green field, with patches of blue water visible. Beyond the field, numerous tall buildings, predominantly white and gray, form a sprawling city skyline. The sky is hazy because of smog, contributing to a muted color palette throughout the scene.

A patch of farmland surrounded by the city, trash, and construction debris.

(Hi-Tech City, #Hyderabad, but this could be the outskirts of any metropolis in India.)

The image is a close-up of a small, rectangular white card with a black border consisting of a repeating floral pattern. The card contains black text printed on it. The text reads: "Do you like My Snacks", "Pls Send the Feedback", "Review 5star And Also", "Sine item Rating 5stars", "On each item menu to", "MY RESTURANT", "Thankyou For ordering", and "Hane a Nice Days".

Bhel puri and toast sandwich were had from a small shop in Colaba. This note came along with the food. It's not a restaurant. It's a chaat shop. Everyone hustles in #Mumbai.

The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.

The Trump Administration “denied causing… harm, even as it has made the scale of the damage harder to measure—halting data monitoring & dismissing inspectors general who might have documented it.”— @agawande.bsky.social

“This is common in cases of public man-made death.”

Authoritarian blindness.

The image shows the back of a person seated in an auto-rickshaw, viewed from inside the vehicle. The person is wearing a khaki shirt and large black headphones. The view is looking forward through the windshield of the auto-rickshaw, with a blurred cityscape visible outside. The interior of the auto-rickshaw is a bright yellow color, and the frame around the windshield is visible.

I'm in Hi-tech City, Hyderabad. I asked my auto-rickshaw driver whether he was listening to music (via Bluetooth). He replied that these are noise cancellation headphones because of the incessant honking on the roads.

#DigitalIndia #Hyderabad

The image is a promotional graphic for a workshop titled “Sextortion and Digital Accountability — Safeguarding Dignity and Rights” as part of the Digital Citizen Summit 2025, held November 14-15 in Hyderabad. The graphic features portraits of four people, arranged in a square pattern with a light orange background. Each portrait includes the person’s name and title below it: “ARNIKA SINGH, Director Policy & Research” , “ROHINI LAKSHANE, Technologist, Researcher and Trainer”, “ADRIJA BOSE, Senior Fellow” and “PRATISHTHA ARORA, Visionary CEO, Social & Media Matters”. Below the portraits, the date is listed as “15th Nov, 2025” with a time of “10:05 AM – 10:50 AM”. The workshop is organized by several partners, indicated by logos arranged along the bottom edge of the graphic. There is a QR code with the text “Scan to Register” and the phrase “Moderator” is displayed next to Pratishtha Arora’s portrait.

Yours truly will be at the Digital Citizen Summit in Hyderabad on November 14 and 15, speaking in this illustrious all-women panel. Say hullo to me if you are around.

The Airports Authority of India said that air traffic controllers were processing flight plans manually, leading to delays. “Technical teams are working to restore the system at the earliest,” the authority said on social media.

Read more:
scroll.in/latest/10883...

#delhi #airport

I'm visiting after 9 years.

Inside Musk’s Wikipedia: Grokipedia Spins Conspiracy Theories On Taj Mahal, Delhi Riots | BOOM Wikipedia editors see Grokipedia as a cautionary example of how AI can reframe history through tone and placement rather than fact.

Feat. yours truly. #Wikipedia vs #Grokipedia.

www.boomlive.in/decode/insid...

There are no words for how evil this is

The ammachi who was fascinated by Google Translate TTS is puzzled that I have my coffee black. She asked how I can have it that way & whether I was feeling hesitant to ask for milk or sugar.

I heard a song titled 'Malabari Banger' in my Uber cab. Now it's stuck in my head. Banger, indeed.

When Everything Is Criminalized, We Must Unlearn the Language of “Innocence” No one should be caged, tortured, detained, or deported by the state — all carceral violence is done wrongfully.

Another excerpt from Read This When Things Fall Apart: Letters to Activists in Crisis. Red Schulte’s letter speaks to those organizing outside the law—a place more people of conscience will find themselves as authoritarianism tightens its grip.

"Supply creates demand" is what I've heard in some cases. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Anthropic and Iceland announce one of the world’s first national AI education pilots Anthropic and Iceland announce national AI education pilot

"This initiative will give teachers from every region of Iceland [...] access to advanced AI tools as the country explores how artificial intelligence can transform education."

Has there ever before been products sold where customers* must figure out the use?

www.anthropic.com/news/anthrop...

Another hospital in Kerala displays advertisements for 'keyhole laproscopic surgery' showing similar imagery of green, tender coconuts. Kerala literally means 'the land of coconut trees'.

Power was turned off for an hour because workers were pruning palm fronds on the street. The fronds break, fall on electricity wirelines and damage them. Coconut tree-related maintenance is a thing in south India. There are signs that read 'Beware of falling coconuts' and safety nets in some places.

Awesome tomato roast was had with sambar at Mother's Veg Plaza. Sambar containing veggies and spices and no sweet ingredients. (I live in Karnataka.)

An ammachi who helps the owner of the place where I'm staying is fascinated that I got Google Translate on my phone to translate what I typed from English to Malayalam and TTS to read it aloud in Malayalam so that I can communicate with her.

A lush, green outdoor scene featuring a variety of trees and dense vegetation. The image is dominated by several tall trees with thick foliage, some appearing to be palm trees with visible trunks. The foreground and midground are filled with a variety of leafy plants and grasses, creating a textured and wild appearance. The overall color palette is various shades of green, suggesting a tropical or heavily vegetated environment. A small glimpse of a river with muddy waters can be seen through the trees in the background, adding depth to the scene.

I just joked to a friend in Trivandrum that if Che Guevara and Hilda Gadea/ Aleida March were alive today, they'd be known as Che Chettan and Chechi Guevara.

The image is a promotional flyer for a film screening titled "Working Girls", designed with a vibrant purple and pink color scheme. A circular central design features illustrations of people in various poses, surrounded by purple flowers. The flyer announces "Althea Women's Friendship invites you to the screening of:" in white lettering, followed by the large title "WORKING GIRLS" in bold, white block letters. Below the title, additional text reads "Interaction with Paromita Vohra: 3:00 pm. On 4 November, 2025, 3:00 pm. At the Joint Council Hall, Press Club Road, Trivandrum. In solidarity with the struggles of informal sector workers." A small badge in the upper-right corner states "LIVING WAGE". The image includes a headshot of Paromita Vohra in the upper-left corner.

#Thiruvananthapuram folks, go see the  #documentary Working Girls by Paromita Vohra tomorrow. You may meet yours truly there.

Is there a way to share all this information in one place with folks who are not on BlueSky?

Text: Classic Plum Cake with Rum Available till January A photo of a circular tall cake on a pink plate.

A gloved hand is placing a gingerbread chocolate rum ball on a white plate with more rum balls on it

All I Want for Christmas 2024 Classic Plum Cake with Rum (500g) ₹1499 Chocolate & Cranberry Shokupan (1 Loaf) ₹599 Festive Granola* (250g) ₹499 Gingerbread Chocolate Rum Balls* (Box of 5) 339 M&M Cookie (45g) 129 Delivery charges as per actuals

Photo showcasing the different items available on the menu, each packed. The polka dot box contains the cake. There is a wrapped m&m cookie above it. On the left a box of rum balls and behind it a packet of festive granola. There are also baubles and Christmas tree behind.

Hi BomSky

Sharing with you the "All I Want for Christmas Menu"

I'm taking orders for the month of December. DM if you'd like more details.

The plum cake can be shipped to other cities, the rest is available in Mumbai and nearby suburbs.

People's Digital India | IT for Change We are thrilled to announce the release of our book, ‘People’s Digital India.’ Marking the 25th anniversary of IT for Change, this anthology brings together practitioners, researchers, and thought lea...

DM/ email me for a copy of my essay; it's Creative Commons-licensed.

Release details of the book: www.linkedin.com/posts/it-for...

#DigitalIndia

Thread: Congratulations to IT for Change on their 25th anniversary and the release of this landmark publication (People's Digital India). My essay was fun to write: part personal narrative, part public policy memo, part historiographic socio-political-economic commentary, & part hope for the future.

This Indian jewellery brand has designs I like but I am not buying from it because its name means 'f**ker' in my native language.

I've been told by different people that one of the perks of working with me is the supply of good food and drink. ('Good' doesn't equate 'expensive' or 'indulgently unhealthy'.) It's too bad I can't put that on my CV.

Gendered Realities: Speaking Back to Disinformation “Safety Should Be Baked Into the Design of Technology from the Beginning” Rohini Lakshané cuts through the confusion: gendered disinformation is not trolling, it is targeted…

Yours truly's recent interview in Khabar Lahariya on gendered #disinformation in India.

khabarlahariya.org/gendered-rea...

The image is a screenshot of a mobile app interface with a light background.  The content is centered and displays text in several lines. The top line reads "Getting There!" followed by "Your order is getting packed."  Below that, it says, "We'll assign a delivery partner soon."  At the bottom of the image there is a section with a label "View order". The interface has rounded corners and appears clean and minimalist.

Indian quick commerce medicine delivery. I ordered throat lozenges (Strepsils) and Eno. 😁

It's the best. @orcid.org @datacite.org

Slide deck from a talk titled "The Geopolitics of Knowledge: Who Shapes What We Know Online?" that I delivered at the ISOC India (Mumbai Chapter) yesterday: zenodo.org/records/1745...

#knowledge #openknowledge #epistemology #epistemicviolence #epistemicjustice #ISOC