https://www.scmp.com/rss/502180/feed Romita Saluja is an independent journalist and writer in Delhi, India en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com This month, some of Mumbai’s 12 million people will see something different when they cross the road – at certain traffic lights, the little red and green figures will now be in dresses instead of trousers. The authorities of one of India’s largest metropolises have replaced the traditional male stick figures with female silhouettes on more than 100 traffic lights on a stretch of road, becoming the first city to do so in what it calls a step towards gender equality. “The idea behind this is to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3098404/women-mumbais-traffic-lights-sign-indias-long-road-gender?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3098404/women-mumbais-traffic-lights-sign-indias-long-road-gender?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Aug 2020 03:00:19 +0000 Recently, Anjana Hareesh came out as a queer person to her family. The admission prompted her parents to forcibly place her in a “de-addiction centre”, where she was given a heavy course of medication, she said in a Facebook Live video on March 13. When she tried to resist, the workers there slapped her. Then exactly two months after posting the video, Hareesh was found hanging from a tree at a resort in Goa, India. She was 21. Hareesh’s friend, Gargi Harithakam, said she did not have any... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3090851/indias-lgbtq-community-face-domestic-violence-and-pressure-convert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3090851/indias-lgbtq-community-face-domestic-violence-and-pressure-convert?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jun 2020 10:00:10 +0000 A few days ago, Jaidevi Kashyap had to dial 100, India’s emergency police helpline number. Her husband was drunk and had slapped their son in a fit of rage, and broken a fan, lights and furniture. Then he started beating her. Domestic violence is nothing new for this 39-year-old Delhi resident, but she said her husband’s abuse abated when India went into lockdown in March and alcohol sales were banned. “It happened only after he got access to alcohol,” she said. “Please get liquor shops closed,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3085319/indias-resumption-alcohol-sales-during-lockdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3085319/indias-resumption-alcohol-sales-during-lockdown?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 May 2020 11:30:10 +0000 On a recent day much like any other in one of India’s major cities under coronavirus lockdown, Anand Siva attempted to drive almost 250km around Mumbai. On board was almost 500 bags of rice – weighing in the region of 12,000kg – to be dropped at 10 different locations. The food was for stray animals, mostly dogs and cats, who have been struggling for sustenance since India was placed under complete lockdown on March 25 in an effort to curb the spread of the pandemic. It took Siva, an animal... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3081486/coronavirus-indias-lockdown-sees-strays-starve-pets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3081486/coronavirus-indias-lockdown-sees-strays-starve-pets?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Apr 2020 08:30:12 +0000 Laxman Shukla returned home bruised after a long day of protesting. His father and uncle looked at him, annoyed. “What is with you carrying this flag all day long at protests?” his father asked as Laxman went to the bathroom to nurse his wounds. “Why don’t you look for a job instead?” The scene is from the short film “Mudda NRC”, or “The Issue NRC”, referring to the National Registry of Citizens that India is expected to be implemented in tandem with its Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3049686/tiktok-missing-link-between-hong-kong-and-indian-protesters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3049686/tiktok-missing-link-between-hong-kong-and-indian-protesters?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Feb 2020 07:00:14 +0000 Chinki is an ethnic slur used in India, mostly to refer to people of Chinese origin. For those who use it, the Chinese are chinkis, but so are the Nepalis, and even the people of northeastern Indian states. Dance teacher and performer Charles Ma ignores such racial insults. “If someone called me ‘chinki’ when I was growing up, I would say ‘abbey ja na’ [‘go take a hike’],” he says. “I couldn’t care less.” Neither did he let it put him off learning Bharatanatyam, a form of Indian classical dance... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3026927/dancer-breaking-racial-and-gender-stereotypes-india-mixed-race-man-indian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3026927/dancer-breaking-racial-and-gender-stereotypes-india-mixed-race-man-indian?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Sep 2019 02:45:05 +0000