Indian Mandala

Since 9 September, about a thousand workers have been asking for higher salaries and their own union. The southern Indian state has been an important industrial hub for hi-tech production since the 1990s; unlike other states where economic growth dominates, it has seen social progress as well, due especially to policies that do not take into account caste or religion.

The two candidates favoured in the polls hold opposite positions towards Sri Lanka’s Indian neighbour, sometimes seen as a cumbersome presence in the island nation’s domestic politics. India is worried instead about China’s growing influence, but, given the current environment in South Asia, it will likely work with whoever comes to power.

After the acquisition of the Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania, the group controlled by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani is in talks with the Kenyan government to lease the capital’s airport for 30 years. Fearing job redundancies, workers are opposed to the move. Meanwhile, the Indian conglomerate is getting involved Kenya’s energy sector. Back in India, an inquiry into its alleged share price manipulation is still ongoing.

For almost a month, Kolkata has been shaken by protests and rallies, initially organised by feminist groups. In recent weeks, however, the Bharatiya Janata Party has taken advantage of widespread dissatisfaction to call for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation.

The historically disputed Muslim-majority region with Pakistan will go to the polls for the first time since PM Narendra Modi's 2019 coup to cancel its special status. The BJP has redrawn constituencies to gain a majority. But it is an open game with an alliance between the Congress and a local political force that want to restore the autonomy guaranteed by Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.

Some 90 per cent of the world's rough diamonds are cut and polished in India, but the industry has been in a severe crisis for the past two years due to the drop in Chinese demand and the Gaza and Ukraine wars. Thousands of workers have lost their jobs while another 65 have committed suicide in less than two years. After a local union set up a helpline, it received more than 1,600 distress calls in a month.

The ties between former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and India go back to the War of independence, becoming even closer economically in the past ten years. In India, some fear that Bangladesh will turn to Pakistan and rival China, but much will depend on who comes to power after the elections.

The drowning of three students earlier this week has reignited the debate over such facilities. Young people from all over India are crammed into overcrowded classrooms and student residences and find themselves studying up to 18 hours a day to pass a government or college entrance exam. The costs fall on families while students feel all the pressure. The government has been forced to intervene because of a high number of suicides in recent years.

The BJP-led state government wants hoteliers and restaurateurs to display their names, so that Hindu pilgrims visiting Shiva temples at this time of the year can avoid Muslim-run establishments. The Supreme Court stayed the state order and will re-examine the matter later. The district where the order was supposed to apply saw serious violence in 2013.

Four more students were arrested yesterday, while the Supreme Court said it will order a retest depending on whether the leak was localised or systemic. The agency that drafts the exam will have to post online information that has not yet been made public. Medicine, like engineering, is a highly sought-after profession among young Indians; this year, 110,000 places were available for 2.4 million candidates.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced the repatriation of Indian nationals fighting in Ukraine after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia. Attracted by high salaries, the possibility of obtaining Russian citizenship, and traveling to countries in Europe’s Schengen area, hundreds of South Asian men have embarked on the journey to Russia. In many cases, they did so without knowing that they would be sent to the front.

Floods are a normal occurrence in the north-eastern Indian state, but the greater volatility and intensity of rainfall has become a problem for farmers. Tea production, a sector that employs a large chunk of the population, has been particularly affected. For experts, a centralised government approach should be dropped in favour of one based on local communities.