https://www.scmp.com/rss/500341/feed Akanksha Singh is a writer and culture journalist based in Mumbai, India. She has been published in Explore Parts Unknown, HuffPost, The Independent, The Sydney Morning Herald and many more. You can find her written work on akanksha-singh.com en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com India is currently undergoing a massive surge in Covid-19 cases – a second wave which was, according to most experts, unavoidable but manageable. Social media has been overwhelmed with requests for medication, hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and ventilators. Those who get help are the privileged few while the marginalised majority, those without connections or social media, go under- or unreported. The country’s health care system has crumbled in its entirety and the government has done little... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3131562/how-modis-vaccine-diplomacy-has-left-india-mercy-others-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3131562/how-modis-vaccine-diplomacy-has-left-india-mercy-others-political?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Apr 2021 10:15:11 +0000 An overdue conversation about the damage Bollywood does to the LGBTQ+ community is finally taking centre stage. The row erupted after Laxmii, a Bollywood film centred on a male character (played by Akshay Kumar) being possessed by the ghost of a trans woman, was released on streaming service Disney+ Hotstar on November 9. The Indian public’s response? Rage. And on a number of fronts. Marvel to High School Musical: 5 Disney+ shows telling LGBT stories Deemed a flop by critics A remake of a Tamil... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3111126/bollywood-disney-and-akshay-kumar-all-blamed-laxmii?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3111126/bollywood-disney-and-akshay-kumar-all-blamed-laxmii?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Nov 2020 07:00:22 +0000 In the run-up to the US presidential election, Joe Biden’s campaign specifically courted the vote of the Indian-American community. His vice-president-elect, Kamala Harris, who is half black and half Indian, appeared in videos with celebrities of Indian descent – making masala dosas with Mindy Kaling, and chatting with Padma Lakshmi about racial representation – while other South Asian-American celebrities joined the campaign to raise awareness of the importance of voting. Meanwhile, prayers for... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3109324/what-biden-harris-victory-means-india-and-hindu-nationalism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3109324/what-biden-harris-victory-means-india-and-hindu-nationalism?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Nov 2020 01:45:14 +0000 One of India’s largest jewellery store chains has come under fire after posting an advert online that portrayed an interfaith couple’s baby shower. The advert by Tanishq, titled “Ekatvam” (unity), features a Hindu-Muslim couple in what is supposed to be a tender testament to universal love. In it, a pregnant Hindu woman is escorted to her baby shower by an older Muslim woman she calls Ma (mother). In Modi’s India, Muslim rulers of the past ‘can’t be heroes’ as museum renamed At the end of the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3105365/love-jihad-indias-tanishq-pulls-heartfelt-interfaith-jewellery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3105365/love-jihad-indias-tanishq-pulls-heartfelt-interfaith-jewellery?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Oct 2020 12:00:11 +0000 Amnesty International India announced on September 29 that it was halting its operations in the country due to government reprisals. The human rights organisation said that New Delhi’s freezing of its bank accounts was “the latest in the incessant witch-hunt of human rights organisations by the government of India, over unfounded and motivated allegations”. In September, Aakar Patel, Amnesty International India’s former executive director, was arrested for allegedly posting offensive tweets.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3104231/amnesty-internationals-halting-operations-india-highlights-dangers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3104231/amnesty-internationals-halting-operations-india-highlights-dangers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Oct 2020 01:15:11 +0000 An Indian stand-up comedian who heckled a television anchor and ally of India’s ruling party on board an IndiGo flight has been banned from several airlines, including the country’s national carrier – prompting speculation that the government pressured the airlines to do so. Kunal Kamra, who is based in Mumbai and is known for his political podcasts, spotted television presenter Arnab Goswami on board an IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Lucknow on January 28. He said he tried to have a conversation... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3048290/indian-comedian-kunal-kamra-banned-indigo-air-india-after-heckling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3048290/indian-comedian-kunal-kamra-banned-indigo-air-india-after-heckling?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jan 2020 14:30:05 +0000 As young entrepreneurs make their mark in the world of business, young royals are following this trend by establishing their presence in different industries. Mrinalika M Bhanj Deo and Akshita M Bhanj Deo are the second and third daughters of Praveen Chandra Bhanjdeo, the 47th ruler of the Bhanja dynasty, part of India’s princely state of Mayurbhanj, part of Orissa, a state in eastern India. Their mother is Rashmi Rajyalaxmi Bhanjdeo, from the royal family of Jaisalmer, and their father’s... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3045406/new-face-indias-dynastic-elites-brains-beauty-and-big?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3045406/new-face-indias-dynastic-elites-brains-beauty-and-big?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Jan 2020 06:00:04 +0000 The Indian capital of New Delhi was recently crowned the most polluted city in the world. Pollution was so severe in November that people were advised to stay home and schools were closed. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), said in October that the city was choking because farmers in neighbouring states had been burning straw left over after the harvest. In response, the government of the state of Punjab acted against nearly 3,000 farmers, but chief... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3040761/new-delhis-pollution-crisis-lesson-world-politicians-blowing-hot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3040761/new-delhis-pollution-crisis-lesson-world-politicians-blowing-hot?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Dec 2019 08:00:09 +0000 The Indian Supreme Court ruled on November 9 that a plot of land in the northern city of Ayodhya, which has been a bone of contention between the country’s Hindu majority and its Muslim minority, will go to the Hindu community. The disputed land once housed the Babri Masjid, a mosque built in 1528. In 1992, a Hindu mob, headed by the Vishva Hindu Parishad, a fundamentalist group affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is currently in power in India, destroyed the mosque, saying a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3037477/indias-ayodhya-judgment-old-scores-have-been-settled-new-wounds-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3037477/indias-ayodhya-judgment-old-scores-have-been-settled-new-wounds-are?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Nov 2019 22:00:13 +0000 Last year, Tanushree Dutta, an Indian actress, made headlines when she spoke up about being sexually harassed by a veteran actor a decade ago. Dutta had first raised the issue and criticised the misogyny in Bollywood in 2008, when the incident occurred, but had been ignored by the Indian media and public. After the #MeToo movement had swept through much of the English-speaking world, she repeated her story. This time people listened. Soon, scores of women from several industries in India came... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3036390/metoo-india-has-moved-beyond-bollywood-broader-conversation-about?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3036390/metoo-india-has-moved-beyond-bollywood-broader-conversation-about?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Nov 2019 04:00:06 +0000 When Indian-American economist Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in October, the achievement was widely celebrated in his native India. The judges conferred the award on Banerjee, his MIT colleague and wife Esther Duflo, and Harvard University’s Michael Kremer for their “experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”. On his return to India, Banerjee received a “rousing welcome” at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose airport, where masses of people... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3036001/abhijit-banerjee-won-nobel-prize-and-indian-media-cant-get-enough?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3036001/abhijit-banerjee-won-nobel-prize-and-indian-media-cant-get-enough?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Nov 2019 05:00:11 +0000 As India votes in general elections, its parties are keeping a close eye on the role women will play. When both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Indian National Congress (INC) released their election manifestos, it was clear the power of the female voting bloc was finally being taken seriously. For starters, they both promised a parliament that would be 33 per cent women. This group could be the key to winning this election. In 2014, some 16 of India’s 29 states saw an... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3010617/indias-women-must-hold-politicians-their-promises-election-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3010617/indias-women-must-hold-politicians-their-promises-election-their?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 May 2019 04:11:52 +0000 Chandni Chowk is where Delhi’s history, art, craft, fare, and merchandising collide. Narrow lanes, filled with street vendors, bullock carts, cars, pedal and auto rickshaws, horses, people, buses. You’ll find jewellery shops, camera and typewriter repair shops, stationery, food, clothes, bikes, wedding invitations, books by the kilo. View this post on Instagram It's a lot easier to be lost than found. It's the reason we're always searching and rarely... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/3010133/welcome-havelie-dharampura-rare-oasis-amid-chaos-old?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/3010133/welcome-havelie-dharampura-rare-oasis-amid-chaos-old?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2019 06:01:46 +0000 Last week, India’s incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its pre-election campaign. Dubbed the “chowkidar” (watchman) campaign, it aims to encourage Indians to be the country’s watchmen, with the tagline “Main bhi chowkidar” (“I’m also a watchman”). The party released a four-minute music video, featuring faces and places from across India, followed by 30-second versions, focusing on people from different professions, each ending with the “I’m also a watchman” song. Prime Minister... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/asia/article/3002839/indian-prime-minister-narendra-modis-watchman-campaign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/asia/article/3002839/indian-prime-minister-narendra-modis-watchman-campaign?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Mar 2019 03:30:11 +0000