A Portuguese MEP's denunciation of events that allegedly took place in recent weeks in Bastar district. The area has a strong presence of Naxalites, the Maoist guerrillas opposed to the Delhi government. Since 2017, the army has launched Operation Samadahn-Prahar to root out the insurgency that curbs mining activities. But over the past three years, several youths left without jobs have joined the militiamen in an endless cycle of violence.
Like with Ukraine, India is taking the middle road in the Pacific region, between the US and China. For Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, James Marape, India is a “leader of the Global South". On the plus side, India can provide affordable technology and rely on local Indian communities, but militarily, the West remains dominant.
Bollywood’s role in sectarian propaganda remains a major issue. Ultranationalist Hindus continue to peddle the “Love Jihad” conspiracy against the Muslim minority. The Supreme Court has waded into the latest controversy, ordering filmmakers to add a disclaimer that their story is “fictionalised”. Meanwhile, at least 100 people are arrested in Maharashtra following unrest earlier this month.
Drug addiction rates in the northern state are alarming, with more than 15 per cent of the population victim of some form of substance abuse. After alcohol and tobacco, heroin is the drug of choice due to geographic proximity to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Underemployment and subhuman working conditions push many into addiction. Few people trust the police, seen as in cahoots with traffickers.
India's bronze medallist in boxing at the 2012 London Olympics calls on the Indian government to solve the situation. For the past two days, violence has pitted majority Hindu Meitei against Christian Kuki tribal groups. Some 13 deaths have been reported so far, with some 9,000 displaced, but the number could be higher. Mobile Internet services have been suspended.
India’s Operation Kaveri seeks to bring home thousands of Indians stranded in Khartoum after Sudan’s descent into chaos. Many belong to a tribe that occupies a market niche, selling herbal remedies abroad. In recent years, Indian investments have also grown in the continent, linked to India by historic trade routes and a shared colonial past.
About 95 per cent of iPhones are still made at one factory in Zhengzhou, China. Since 2016 relocation has accelerated, but Indian red tape and technological lag continue to play an important role. For many analysts, today's India is like China 20 years ago.
The chapter on the Muslim dynasty that ruled over a large part of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries was removed after some episodes surrounding the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi were also changed. The 2002 Gujarat riots also disappeared. According to experts, the changes for the year 2023-24 are the most radical so far.
The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, a missionary congregation that originated in the United States working on the ground in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya. In the West Khasi Hills district, part of the Nongstoin diocese, there are only three priests, forced to hold "itinerant" celebrations from village to village.
Paradoxically, a country with 47 per cent of the population under 25, rural areas are left with seniors (70 per cent of them). Government projects that seniors will go from 138 million in 2021 to 194 million in 2031. Many continue to work, especially in agriculture, or depend on their children, but in some place, police look after them.
On the run for nearly a week, the Sikh preacher leads a separatist group in India's Punjab state. Khalistani independence dates back to the era of partition between India and Pakistan. A history of clashes with the central government. The role of the diaspora.
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida will be in New Delhi next Sunday following a path laid down by his predecessor Shinzo Abe. Yet the two Asian giants have cultures that are in some respects almost antithetical. The PIME missionary, originally from Andhra Pradesh but in Japan since 2015, explains how he had to adapt to people who are strongly community-oriented, yet flexible in religious matters.
Nominated in the Best Documentary Short Film category, director Shaunak Sen's work is much more than a look at New Delhi's environmental problems. The film tells the story of two Muslim brothers who, in a basement garage, treat sick black kites, birds of prey who can live alongside humans. For Nadeem and Saud, it is government discrimination and propaganda that are toxic.
A report by the Cross Dependency Initiative recommends greater investment in climate adaptation and resilience. In addition to India, the top 50 positions are occupied mainly by regions in China and the United States. Some of the most successful initiatives against extreme climate change come from below.
Unlike the West, India cannot afford to see Russia crumble because it would mean giving China carte blanche, this according to Rahul Roy-Chaudhury of the International Institute for Strategic Studies speaking to AsiaNews. If there is little talk about India's role in this war, it is because this is what it wants. Prime Minister Modi wants to bring the world's most important leaders at the same table.
Earlier this week, the Labour Minister presented the figure in Parliament, specifying that the deaths occurred between 2019 and 2021. Several studies had already found severe psychological distress among internal migrants caused by the loss of jobs during the lockdown. According to some estimates, poverty levels are even higher than pre-pandemic levels.
It is not yet clear what will happen once financial markets stabilise after the Hindenburg Research’s revelations. India could follow South Korea whose economy is dominated by family-owned economic conglomerates, or see greater erosion of the rule of law. Many Indians are concerned that promised new infrastructure projects will be built.
Some 539 people are currently on death row, but only eight were executed since 2004. Last year, India's Supreme Court empowered a constitutional bench to draw up guidelines for trial courts. The last executions were carried out in 2020.
The north-western Indian state reported more than 48,000 cases from prolonged inhalation of silica dust in the past few years. Although the state government has created compensation programmes for affected families, many obstacles remain, above all the many illegal mines.
India's population may have already surpassed China's; however, there are profound differences between city and country, north and south. The greatest concerns are stress on metropolitan infrastructures and job creation for young people.
Yesterday, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India announced new standards for the most sought-after grain since Mughal times. Pakistan has been opposed to India’s application for Protected Geographical Indication, fearing a negative impact on its exports. As India lifts protectionist measures, Indian exports are expected to jump in the coming months.
The Indian film industry, which churns out up to 1,600 films a year, has not yet recovered from the pandemic. Regional, non-Hindi productions, on the other hand, are increasingly popular. Films are also dragging with them the popularity of music: new genres and artists are emerging thanks to social media.
The country has the highest number of such attacks worldwide. In 60 per cent of cases, victims do not report the attack because the wheels of justice turn at a snail’s pace. The reasons behind the violence are rooted in a patriarchal culture.
The skilled workers who have been laid off have up to 60 days to find a company that will sponsor them to stay in the United States. However, recruitment is blocked. For historical and cultural reasons, India produces thousands of graduates in STEM subjects every year. But the guarantee of employment is no longer certain.
The occupancy rate in Indian prisons is 130%, with the vast majority of prisoners awaiting trial. Mental suffering is on the rise: at least 150 suicides were recorded last year. An organisation run by Bishop Allwyn D'Silva helps prisoners by facilitating their rehabilitation.
Despite recent progress, the disease has not yet been wiped out. In slums, parents are wary of injections. In addition to increasing the number of vaccinations, the government must also reduce child malnutrition.
For many Indians, especially Dalits, the ruling is discriminatory. The court sets a 10 per cent quota in government employment and university admissions for people earning less than 800,000 rupees a year. The government followed the policy used for disadvantaged castes, who nevertheless continue to be marginalised, so much so that thousands of Hindu Dalits have converted en masse to Buddhism.
This year India’s wedding season promises to be more lavish than ever after many couples postponed their nuptials due to the pandemic. According to some estimates, weddings are the fourth-largest industry in the country. But dowries are a sore point with more than 8,000 women dying as a result.
Manjeet Sarkar, Manaal Patil, and Ankur Tangade are three “untouchable” stand-up comedians who use comedy to eviscerate the caste system in which they grew up. While crowds laugh, some feel a little guilty at times. In India's big cities, discrimination is more subtle, but even here, when Dalits climb the ladder of success they have fewer footholds than their upper caste colleagues.
A steady flow of refugees from Afghanistan and Myanmar has highlighted what some observers have called India’s deliberate “strategic ambiguity”. India is not a party to the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. Assistance and refoulement depend on geopolitical and domestic political considerations.
