On Thursday (20th August), Suchitra Vijayan, the founder of the George Soros-funded Kashmiri separatist platform ‘The Polis Project’ was exposed on X (formerly Twitter) for unethical practices, workplace harassment, toxic behaviour and arbitrary firing of employees.
A press release to this effect was posted on X by ‘journalist’ Riddhi Dastidar. It read, “Suchitra Vijayan…unilaterally fired all three full-time editors after they raised concerns about the organisation’s governance, editorial independence, toxic work environment, and financial sustainability.”
The affected Editors were identified as Aritry Das, Kaashif Hajee, and Madhuri Sastry. “They were given no prior notice or opportunity to transition their work or communicate with writers whose pieces were in progress,” the press release stated.
It further added, “Ironically, as the magazine exposed surveillance structures through stories, more disciplinary surveillance structures were popping up within the organization itself.”
Suchitra Vijayan took increasing control of the editorial content of ‘The Polis Project’ and began interfering with the work of full-time editors.
Very disturbing news from the Polis Project. Can progressive organisations please also follow feminist praxis wrt their employees and behind the scenes? cc @NWM_India pic.twitter.com/Cf6UhAB9N0
— Riddhi Dastidar (@gaachburi) August 20, 2026
“Even as one of the assistant editors continued to deliver on their editorial duties and more, Vijayan sent an implicitly threatening email through an office assistant using the language of a Human Resources manager. The editor was made to understand that their job was precarious, and they were given no accommodation for their debilitating mental health condition. Vijayan also mocked them publicly for these issues at a staff gathering in Mumbai this July,” the press release exposed.
It pointed out, “In the lead-up to this, the editor was also made aware that their financial situation was not strong enough for them to fail to meet any of the conditions set out by Vijayan, lest they would be terminated. Vijayan also shouted at the assistant editors on a few occasions in an unprofessional way, causing immense anxiety and creating an unsafe work environment.”
As per the press release, Suchitra Vijayan also attempted to dissolve the Board on being questioned about accountability and transparency. She has announced that ‘The Polis Project’ will remain operational for 14 more months.
“A total of 14 staff members have been fired, ousted, or pressured to quit in the past 18 months. It is regrettable that Vijayan’s leadership is founded on unethical labor practices, a harsh and intolerant communication style, and a rejection of the very values that she espouses publicly,” the press release concluded.
An X user Devraj, who previously worked at ‘The Polis Project’, also narrated his ordeal.
“I reported her head of Comms misbehaviour and threatening email towards me. What followed was 2+ hour long disciplinary grilling of me because I called them casteist. I left that role because I was essentially told to apologise or get fired because I was dispensable for them. Months of hard work, staying up late and working on weekends just to be told your work is not valuable,” he stated.
“Horrible work environment where SV would yell at her employees during meetings for having different opinions than her…The constant demeaning behaviour I have faced at the hands of their leadership is beyond description. Polis Project is no better than all the other organisations they called out in that podcast series. SV does not respect her employees or the work they do, and anybody who has worked there will tell you the same,” the ex-employee of The Polis Project emphasised.
“SV refers to the organisation as a non-hierarchical one where everyone is welcome to share their opinions and perspectives. When I did, I was labelled as a misogynist Ambedkarite activist,” he lamented.
I’m very glad the Polis Project is being called out. They made a mockery of the issues people face daily by operating a two-faced organisation masquerading as progressive, when in reality, they are just entitled, snobby brats.
— devraj (@devisnawtok) August 20, 2026
He concluded by pointing out how ‘The Polis Project’ is a ‘two-faced organisation masquerading as progressive’.
Who is Suchitra Vijayan
Suchitra Vijayan is the founder of the George Soros-funded-Polis Project. A casual look at Suchitra Vijayan’s Twitter timeline shows her political antecedents. She had expressed her open support and admiration for Delhi riot accused Umar Khalid.
In 2023, Suchitra Vijayan also supported ‘journalist’ Irfan Mehraj who was arrested in connection with a ‘terror funding case.’ NIA had pointed out that Mehraj was a close associate of ‘activist’ Khurram Parvez and a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS).
#PolisProject is a New-York based ‘research & journalism’ project. Polis Project is also a regular at IAMC & JFA's events.
— DisInfo Lab (@DisinfoLab) April 28, 2022
Interestingly, while Polis Project’s entire work is on India, the Facebook page is run by a Pakistan-based admin!
(6/11) pic.twitter.com/ST5ZsOUcYs
According to Disinfo Lab, the Facebook page of the Polis Project has a Pakistan-based admin, even though her entire propaganda work is based on India. The OSNIT handle also stated that ‘The Polis Project’ is regularly featured in events of the Islamist organisation ‘Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC).
The Polis Project extensively published content claiming Muslims were facing atrocities in India. The organisation’s reports described the anti-Hindu riots in Delhi in 2020 as a “pogrom against the Muslim community”.
The Polis Project eulogises terrorists Afzal Guru, Burhan Wani and Yasin Malik. 4/9 pic.twitter.com/5SwyCvBd0b
— Stop Hindu Hate Advocacy Network (SHHAN) (@HinduHate) October 2, 2022
Upon a simple search on Twitter, we found that the organisation called it “Pogrom” against Muslims multiple times. The organisation also propagated separatist views on Kashmir and published content favouring terrorists like Burhan Wani, Yasin Malik and others.
The Polis Project consistently called Kashmir “Indian-administered” and called India a “settler-colonialist”. It further claimed that “genocide” was underway in Kashmir.
The Polis Project calls Kashmir "Indian-administered", calls India a "settler-colonialist", and claim a "genocide" is underway in Kashmir. 5/9 pic.twitter.com/Llbh9v6Ban
— Stop Hindu Hate Advocacy Network (SHHAN) (@HinduHate) October 2, 2022
It furthered their propaganda and gave a clean chit to Pakistan in the Pulwama attack and called Indian media a “BJP’s propaganda machine”. Banned organisation Jamaat-e-Islami also uses its content in its course material on “Stand With Kashmir
