Saumya Kalia

Verified

(She/Her)

Associate Editor, Behan Box

New Delhi

Education, Media, Opinion and Editorial, World

As seen in: Behan Box, Al Jazeera English, Flipboard, Frontline India, Outlook (India), The Hindu, The Wire (India), The Caravan, The Citizen (India), The Swaddle, Article 14 and

Covers: Writing about society, gender, inequity, human rights, arts, and culture.

writing and building things @BehanBox + @Report4theWorld • ex @the_hindu, @TheSwaddle • words in @ajenglish @thecaravanindia @frontline_india

Get in touch with Saumya

Contact Saumya, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.

Learn more about Muck Rack

Actions

Share this page

Saumya Kalia’s Biography

Read Full Bio →

A journalist and writer, exploring issues of social justice, digital sub-cultures, media ecosystem, literature and memory as they cut across socio-cultural periods.

Saumya Kalia’s Journalist Portfolio

See all 410 portfolio items →

'A Mockery Of A Census': GN Devy On The Lost Potential Of Census 2027

The long-delayed exercise is not inclusive, transparent, or accountable. The government has undermined the pr…

View article →

BehanBox Talkies: 'The Algorithm Is Paying Women To Uphold Patriarchy'

In BehanBox Talkies, we explore ideas through the lens of scholars. In this instalment, Devina Sarwatay talks…

View article →

'No Process, No Consultation, No Scrutiny': The Perils Of Linking Delimitation With Women's Reser...

The bills are a "smoke screen" that give the government discretionary powers to change the nature of our elec…

View article →

BehanBox Talkies: 'Data Work Under Big Tech Is A Form Of Modern Slavery'

Activists Joan Kinyua and Michael Geoffrey Asia about mental health and PTSD, unionising challenges in Kenya,…

View article →

Why India’s Budget Fails To Recognise Care Work

View article →

BehanBox Talkies: 'We Need To Remove The Halo Around AI And The Myth Of Ungovernability'

In this BehanBox Talkies, researchers Anita Gurumurthy and Nandini Chami talk about the AI Impact Summit, the…

View article →

Articles

‘Distributing Land Like Candy’: How Diluted Laws, Opaque Processes Power India’s AI Data Centre Boom

Jul 26, 2026 |

By Saumya Kalia

| Behan Box

There are two stories about data centres. One, told by companies and governments, promising abundance: more jobs, hefty foreign investments, transformation of the IT sector, and in due course, a ‘sovereign AI’. The other story is an account of deficits and discrepancies. Of projects enormous enough to consume resources of an entire city receiving approvals within nine days with no evaluation of cost or benefit, impact assessments or public consultations.

Open in Who Shared

Heat Journals: ‘The Heat Makes It Impossible To Do Household Chores’

Jul 10, 2026 |

By Ritika Chawla, Saumya Kalia

| Behan Box

This is part of our Heat Diaries series, where we document – through reports, profiles, data, and illustrations – the degrees of losses and longings that communities experience while living under extreme climate realities. Inside Sunder Nagri’s F Block, at the edge of a narrow lane, Asha’s two-storey home has a striking facade. It is densely curtained by a dark green creeper, long vines dangle from the balconies, and planters – some fashioned out of old footballs – line the railings.

Open in Who Shared

Census Nama: ‘They’re Calling It Digital Census But Asking For Manual Data’

Jun 23, 2026 |

By Saumya Kalia

| Behan Box

This article is part of our Census 2027 coverage. You can read other stories here. For sharing leads, suggestions, and questions, write to us at editor@behanbox.com. Counting over a billion people — their houses, livelihoods, identities — is an exercise of cosmic proportions, one requiring a labour force ever so careful and conscientious at each step.