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Society

The Families Left Behind After India’s Botched Sterilizations

NEW DELHI — Archana, who is just 15, is desperately trying to put her 3-month-old brother to sleep. He’s crying out for his mother, who died last week after going to a government-run sterilization camp. At least 15 others suffered the same fate, and scores of others are seriously ill after undergoing tubectomies at two Indian sterilization “camps.” Ongoing investigations point to contaminated drugs given to the women as a possible cause of death. But a dirty operating room and surgeries performed in a matter of minutes with unsanitized instruments have raised serious questions about India’s approach to population control […]

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Ideas Society

In India, Where A Kiss Is Not Just A Kiss

The current series of kissing protests in India are indicative of a country and a culture in transition.

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Society

Snapshot: Apec Summit, Mexico Protest, American Snow

News in images…

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Geopolitics

Bhopal Gas Tragedy Still Burns 30 Years Later

Considered history’s worst industrial accident, having killed thousands in a Dec. 3, 1984 gas leak at a Union Carbide plant in India, the health effects in Bhopal can still be felt today.

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Geopolitics Society

Relocating Civilians To Fight Insurgency, Does It Even Work?

Egypt is forcing civilians to move to create a buffer zone after terrorists hit again in the Sinai. From Vietnam to Algeria, such tactics have caused as much hardship as they’ve prevented.

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blog

Stairs And Saris

These students’ colorful saris contrasted nicely with the white marble of Ranakpur’s Jain temple, dedicated to Adinatha, the founder of Jainism.

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Geopolitics

By The Numbers: Manet Record, Falling Birds, Botched Sterilization

The news quantified

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Society

Take Back The Street: Safety, Empowerment In India’s Women-Only Taxis

A New Delhi cab company is only for females, a response to India’s ongoing problems with violence toward women. The benefits are enjoyed by both drivers and passengers.

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Society

Movember Glory: Meet The Indian Man With A 14-Foot Moustache

JAIPUR — Having a full-bodied moustache has long been a symbol of masculinity for Indian men and once was also an indicator of caste status. So-called untouchables, excluded from India’s caste system altogether, were not allowed to have a moustache at all, while lower castes had to grow theirs with the ends drooped down. Even now in modern India, there are annual competitions to judge who sports the best facial hair. For the last hour, 61-year-old Ram Singh Chauhan has been massaging his moustache, which is how he spends at least two hours each day. “I use mustard oil, coconut […]

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Society

Defying Rape Culture, India’s Urban Women Embrace Sexual Liberation

Known as one of the worst cultures in the world for women, India is nevertheless undergoing a sexual revolution in its increasingly wealthy modern cities.

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Geopolitics Society

In India, Some Languish In Jail For Decades Awaiting Verdicts

Some 70% of prisoners in India’s jails are still awaiting trials, or verdicts of trials long passed. In some cases the wait goes on for decades. For around 100,000 prisoners, the wait may end.

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blog Society

In India, The World’s First Vegetarian City

After monks went on a hunger strike to push for a citywide ban on animal slaughter, the local government declared Palitana a meat-free zone. But the city’s Muslims are not happy.

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Geopolitics Smarter Cities Society

In India, An Unlikely Model For Climate Change *Resilience*

SURAT — It’s no longer a question of time. The city of Surat, on the western coast of India, will soon face flooding that could trigger outbreaks of malaria and dengue fever, and rising temperatures that could force companies to relocate their factories. Its 4.5 million residents are already preparing for the disasters triggered by […]

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Society

Afghanistan Is Falling In Love With Cricket

Catching onto “the gentleman’s game” later than its neighbors India and Pakistan, the Afghan team is currently ranked 9th in International Twenty20 cricket.

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Geopolitics

Snapshots: Taking Streets, Angry Volcano, Floating Hippo

Images that captured the news around the world…

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blog

Beauty Standards

I’ve already told you about Rajasthan’s colorful nomadic culture, but this close-up allows us to better see how society standards vary from one world to another: For instance, the huge nose ring this woman was wearing is regarded as a mark of beauty and social standing there.

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Society

In India, From Ragpicker Girl To Woman Eco-Entrepreneur

PUNE — Every morning Rebecca Kedari pulls a cart through an upmarket neighborhood in this city of 3.3 million to collect household waste. Ten years ago Rebecca would not even been able to enter this area of Pune, in western India. “Before I had to go outside the city to look for dry waste and bring it back. The work conditions were bad and collecting the waste took me at least 6 hours,” she says. She now wears a local government identity card, has a health insurance plan, and is part of the KKPKP — a waste pickers’ union set […]

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Society

India’s Child Prodigy, Also Known As ‘Google Boy’

KOHAND — At an age when his friends are just learning basic reading and writing, 6-year-old Kautilya Pandit can answer complicated questions about world geography, per capita income, gross domestic product and global politics. His analytical powers and incredible ability to remember facts have left everyone so spellbound that the local media has nicknamed this child prodigy living in northern India’s Kohand village “Google boy.” At SD Harit Modern School’s morning assembly, Kautliya’s presentation stands out above the rest. To the delight of the young audience, he recites with ease a difficult passage from ancient Sanskrit literature. Then Kautilya takes […]

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Geopolitics Society

The Bollywood Kiss Heard ‘Round The World

India and Pakistan are arch enemies whose ongoing Kashmir conflict shows no signs of ending. So will the film kiss between a beloved Pakistani actress and an India heartthrob be censored?

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blog

While Monkeys Roam Free In India, Humans Live In Cages

PACHMARHI — Anil Yadav has lived in the hilltop town of Pachmarhi for the past 16 years, but over the past three he says that the monkey population has expanded beyond control. So much so that humans are now being forced to live in cages. In India, monkeys are sacred and worshipped by Hindus as […]

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blog

No Words, No Harm

I took this picture of Jain women, who had apparently taken a vow of silence, near the famous Taj Mahal. But what I remember best is that, since their religion advocates non-violence and deep respect toward all living things, several women used a straw broom to sweep before them so as not to crush insects […]

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blog

Charming?

The wind instrument this snake charmer is playing is called a pungi. I brought one back as a present for my then 6-year-old grandson, who — since there aren’t that many cobras in France — tried to charm earthworms with it.

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Society

Meet India’s Favorite Hip Hop Dancer, He Has No Legs

NEW DELHI — Pramod, 21, contracted polio when he was a child, but that isn’t stopping him from learning how to dance. He goes to the New Delhi dance and music academy called Artist Mahavidyalaya, where fees are waived for students with disabilities and those who don’t have the means to pay, says academy co-founder Krishna Basumatary. “People think that I’m a handicapped person who can’t do anything with my life,” says Pramod. “They’re full of negative opinions while I’m a proud physically impaired person. I’m turning my weakness into a strength. To dance well, one should first have a […]

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blog Society

Why India’s Gandhi Dynasty May Be About To Crumble

Long revered amongst the founders of modern India, the Gandhi family is now facing the most delicate political moment in memory as its INC party risks losing national elections.

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blog Food / Travel

The World Has Some Wonderfully Weird And WTF Museums

History of toilets? Inner workings of the kiwi? Lawnmowers? More than you ever wanted to know about things you might not even want to know anything about. Unless you do…

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Society

Zen And The Temple Of Motorcyle Mania

An Indian shrine built in memory of a dead traveler and his motorbike has attracted prayerful followers who credit the unusual temple for all manner of good tidings.

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blog

Postcard View

The Taj Mahal mausoleum is, to me, the most harmonious building man has ever designed, which is why I have a large version of this photo framed in my home. The shape of the domes, the colors of the marble ornaments, and the views through the refined archways make it second to none.

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Geopolitics

By The Numbers: Ivy League Grand Slam, Ash To Cash, More

The news in numbers from gold teeth to a record-breaking Stradivarius to Beckett’s “lost” story.

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blog

Hindu Hues

You never forget the colors of India. The intense gaze of this pilgrim in the foreground takes me back instantly to ghats of the Ganges.

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Economy Society

India’s Future: Is Private School For The Masses Possible?

As the world’s largest democracy goes to the polls for national elections, a closer look at India’s struggle to improve its schools through privatization. Even for the poor.

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Society

Delhi’s Urban Paradox: Awful Pollution And Massive Forests

Protecting the ‘green lung’ of the sprawling, wheezing metropolis is becoming increasingly harder in the face of surging population and hungry real estate developers.

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Geopolitics Society

The Myth Of India’s Middle Class

NEW DELHI — As India’s national elections approach, the country’s middle class is the center of attention. Analysts cite it as the decisive demographic in the vote slated next month. It is true that the electoral weight of the middle class hasn’t stopped growing: according to the Asian Development Bank, the Indian middle class rose […]

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Food / Travel

Exorcism In India, Where A Ghost Fair Lures Believers

MALAJPUR — Every February, people gather in the village of Malajpur, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, for a unique ghost fair. It’s one of India’s most celebrated festivals — an ancient event where exorcists rid the body of evil spirits. Amardas believes that a ghost has taken control of her sister-in-law, Dharmati Bai, who has been shouting strange words for more than a month now. “My sister-in-law must have been possessed by a ghost,” she says. “We’ve come to the Malajpur ghost fair to pay our respects to the temple. They’re treating her now, and I hope she’ll be […]

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blog

Stairway To Heaven

This is the famous Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi — the city also known as Benares, the holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism. “Ghats” are a series of steps leading pilgrims to the Ganges River to perform ritual ablutions (while tourists on a moving boat try to take non-blurry pictures).

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Society

In India, Turning The Illiterate Into Solar Engineers

AJMER — In India, 70% of the population lives in rural areas, mostly in poverty. But as a voluntary program has proven, impoverished people can become experts in solar power. Thanks to Barefoot College, an NGO based here in Ajmer, in the western part of India’s Rajasthan state, some 600 women have been fully educated about solar power, a small step towards eradicating poverty. Sunaina Das, 20, is reviewing all the components needed to make a solar lamp. Though she doesn’t know how to read or write, she’s learning to become a solar engineer. “I’ve come here for training,” she […]

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blog

Barren But Bright

When we toured India almost exactly 20 years ago, we got to see some pretty desolate hamlets — especially near the Pakistan border, in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert. Despite the region’s ruthless aridity, the nomadic and sedentary tribes living there have a rich (and colorful!) culture.

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blog Society

Arvind Kejriwal, A New Gandhi For The Forgotten Of India

DELHI — The weather is cold and damp in Delhi, but the city’s chief minister has spent the night sleeping on the streets. Arvind Kejriwal’s head is wrapped in a grey scarf when he steps up to the microphone in the square behind the parliament building. He is surrounded by ministers and leading members of […]

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Society

In India, A Female Police Unit’s Aggressive Anti-Rape Patrols

After the nation and world’s attention turned to the plague of Indian gang rapes, a women-only police unit was founded in Bhopal with one central objective. Some say they go too far.

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blog

Turban Tying In Rajasthan

In India’s sumptuous Mehrangarh Fort, in the western Rajasthan region, we watched two guards’ traditional turban-tying demonstration. Different styles and colors of head-gear used to be associated with specific Indian villages and communities — a custom that we could see was already beginning to fade two decades ago in many of the places we visited.

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Geopolitics

The Senseless Deaths Behind India-Italy Diplomatic Clash

In Feb. 2012, two Italian marines aboard the Enrica Lexie tanker opened fire on a fishing trawler, killing two Indian fishermen and sparking a major diplomatic standoff between India and Italy that has yet to subside. The lawyers for the marines say their clients mistook the fishermen for pirates and fired warning shots into the […]

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