Alessandra De Poli

India’s best known food delivery company sparks online negative reaction over riders’ safety in a country that tops the world in road-related fatalities.

The never-ending conflict in the region divided between Pakistan and India has been reignited by the latest Bollywood film, which recounts the exodus of the Pandits between 1989-90. The movie has been accused of historical revisionism. The BJP has made the film tax-free to promote its viewing. At least 350 civilians and military personnel died in Kashmir last year.

International relations professor Swaran Singh believes India does not want to side with the United States and the West, but neither does it want to side with Russia. In the last week, however, it has had to recalibrate itself. The risk is that the Ukraine conflict will turn into yet another frozen conflict around the Russian borders.

Educated but unemployed, or workers treated like cannon fodder. This is the picture that emerges from recent surveys on the Indian labour market. In the automotive sector, thousands of workers are seriously injured and have no protection. But the car industry is expected to be worth 300 billion dollars in 2026.

More than 200 languages have disappeared in India in the past 50 years and another 197 are considered at risk. The languages of Adivasi groups are mostly spoken. Little room is available online and in official documents for those languages with a script. Yet something has changed in recent years, as more grassroots initiatives try to preserve the cultural heritage of indigenous tribes.

Schools in Karnataka have been closed for three days after riots broke out against the ban on wearing the Islamic veil in class. The riots spread throughout the country at the same time as the opening of polling stations in Uttar Pradesh. Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash: "It is a political manipulation, the wealth of India lies in its diversity".

More than 400,000 people have been displaced. Children have not been to school for two years. The fighting is no longer limited to certain regions, but is everywhere. The testimony of a priest from the diocese of Taungoo to AsiaNews on the Church's assistance activities: "Loikaw is a ghost town, people are running away without being able to take anything. We try to help, but it is increasingly complicated".

India has banned asbestos mining but buys it mainly from Russia. Experts are calling for a ban on trade in the dangerous mineral, which is widely used for roofs in the slums where the poorest people live. Environmental lawyer Gopal Krishna explains to AsiaNews how the Indian government has based its inaction on research financed by producers that minimise the risks.

After the international outcry, only a handful of organisations, including Mother Teresa's nuns, have had permits, which expired at the end of 2021, renewed. How the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act works and why it affects small organisations in particular. A local operator: "The Modi government is telling everyone: You may work here only by our kind permission".

Archbishop Marco Tin Win tells AsiaNews about the drama of the country that has not known peace since the February 1 coup: "Last year there was Covid-19, now we are suffering from a man-made disaster. The military is looking everywhere for those who fight against them, even priests and nuns forced to flee. To the Burmese who are far from home, like Mary and Joseph, I want to say: God is with you".

She began working at 16 in a garment factory making clothing for big international labels. In 2015, she fought for a minimum wage that was five times the current rate. She is now in exile in Germany, but her fight for democracy and workers’ rights continues. She will be in Rome tomorrow for a meeting with Italian trade unions.

Originally from Maharashtra, he is finishing his second doctorate at the prestigious British university. At least 300 million Indians still belong to disadvantaged castes today. And the government could do much more, he tells AsiaNews.