Diarrhea, as Dr. Gagandeep Kang often says, tends to be considered a “solved problem.” Modern science knows why it happens, knows how to fix it, and has ways of preventing it from becoming a genuine medical threat. And yet it continues to be a major cause of death or serious illness for hundreds of thousands of children around the world, every year.

Dr. Kang has spent decades attempting to tackle this troubling dichotomy.

In 1992, India conducted the world’s largest experiment in local democracy. The 73rd amendment to the Indian Constitution, passed that year, devolved substantial authority over policy implementation to millions of elected local politicians across rural India. As a result, village politicians gained power over the targeting of benefits from government programs, such as the allocation of jobs in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) scheme.

As Bangladesh grapples with socio-political turmoil in the aftermath of August’s momentous developments—which saw former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fleeing the country after 15 years in charge, in response to widespread protests—the effects are being felt across its borders in India. From losing a supposed ally in the ousted Awami League government to witnessing domestic protests against the alleged atrocities on Hindu minorities, India faces numerous challenges emerging from the evolving situation, none of which can easily be resolved.

In India, as in much of the world, it has now become commonplace to see people holding their smartphones aloft to frame themselves against or with something or someone; an ordinary act of writing into the digital archive, positioning oneself within geography and culture, marking relationships with one’s identified social world. But even as these images are saved on our phones and hard drives, they lend themselves to discovery, through platforms and the social web, their metadata traceable and trackable.