India, Feb. 9 -- Some stories do not begin with a tip but with discomfort. I first learned that a government school in the city had no physics or mathematics teachers for Classes 11 and 12. My initial instinct was to report it immediately. However, I was cautioned against publishing the issue, not because the information was untrue, but because students who spoke out could be made to "pay the price". At that moment, the issue extended beyond missing teachers and became about the hidden cost of telling the truth.

Instead of filing the story immediately, I visited the school. What I found confirmed the concerns. The absence of teachers was not a rumour but a daily reality for students. During my visit, I spoke to members of the administrat...