https://www.scmp.com/rss/9071/feed Amrit used to work for the BBC in London but decided to return to her country of origin, India, over 15 years ago. Apart from travel articles, she reports on every aspect of Indian society. Rajasthan is her favourite state because of the magnificence of its forts and palaces, the great Thar Desert, exquisite handicrafts, and a colour palette so glorious it can lift the lowest spirits. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Every once in a while, the head of India’s leading food delivery platform dons the company’s signature red jacket and bag to gain a first-hand insight into the experiences of his delivery agents. Recently, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal took this initiative to Ambience Mall, a bustling shopping centre in New Delhi, where he attempted to deliver a “pretend” package. His experience was eye-opening. A security guard stopped him from taking the lift to the third floor, pointing him to the stairs... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3283087/delivering-discrimination-indias-gig-workers-see-access-denied-class-divide?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3283087/delivering-discrimination-indias-gig-workers-see-access-denied-class-divide?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Oct 2024 09:00:07 +0000 Halfway through cooking a Kerala mutton stew for a family celebration, Akasha Advani realised she had no coconut milk. In the past, she would have called her local grocery store in New Delhi and had the item delivered in about 30 minutes to two hours’ time. But instead she used Blinkit, an ‘instant’ delivery app, and the coconut milk was at her door in eight minutes. It was a similar story last month, when her son invited friends to their house in the Defence Colony neighbourhood only for them... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3266704/delivered-instant-indias-quick-commerce-apps-shake-online-shopping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3266704/delivered-instant-indias-quick-commerce-apps-shake-online-shopping?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jun 2024 04:00:10 +0000 While India is infamous for its jam-packed trains, things were worse than usual the first three weeks in April, which saw a record 411 million passengers riding the country’s railways for the time period, a surge attributed to both the ongoing national elections and a cluster of astrologically auspicious dates. By comparison, that same period in April last year saw 370 million train passengers. During the peak surge from April 20-21, Indian Railways (IR) serviced 33.8 million passengers across... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3260372/india-has-seen-record-411-million-train-passengers-april-people-rush-vote-attend-hindu-weddings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3260372/india-has-seen-record-411-million-train-passengers-april-people-rush-vote-attend-hindu-weddings?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2024 11:24:09 +0000 Next Monday, Bhavesh Bhandari and his wife Jinal, both 46, will give up their home and construction business, their fleet of luxury cars and everyone they have ever known, to start a new life walking the streets of India barefoot seeking alms. Their only possessions will be two white robes and a white broom, which they will use to sweep insects out of their paths. The couple will give up their belongings to undertake deeksha, a Jain renunciation ceremony, to be mendicants for the rest of their... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3259667/india-more-jain-practitioners-give-it-all-young-age-solitary-life-seeking-alms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3259667/india-more-jain-practitioners-give-it-all-young-age-solitary-life-seeking-alms?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Apr 2024 10:01:10 +0000 It was during a routine check last month for evidence of animal cruelty that a YouTube video caught the attention of Wildlife Trust of India staff. The grainy video showed a crowd of onlookers watching a bear dance, in clear violation of a practice India outlawed in 1972. The trust’s surveillance team analysed the video and checked car registration plates, eventually identifying Bari Naki village in Bihar state, bordering Nepal, as the location of the performance. The forest department was... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3259209/activists-thought-theyd-rescued-indias-last-dancing-bear-sadly-they-were-mistaken?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3259209/activists-thought-theyd-rescued-indias-last-dancing-bear-sadly-they-were-mistaken?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Apr 2024 04:00:10 +0000 A bizarre court case in India involving a lioness named after a Hindu deity and a lion bearing the name of a 16th-century Muslim emperor has sparked concerns about the rising intolerance of hardline Hindu groups who balk at any perceived religious slight. To supporters of these Hindu groups, however, the court petition filed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is justified – as Indian authorities have for years placated the country’s Muslim community over incidents of alleged blasphemy. VHP has... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3252507/uproar-india-hindu-group-files-court-case-over-lion-named-after-muslim-emperor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3252507/uproar-india-hindu-group-files-court-case-over-lion-named-after-muslim-emperor?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Feb 2024 02:41:58 +0000 Last October, an Indonesian court ruling allowed the eldest son of outgoing President Joko Widodo to run for vice-president in next month’s polls despite him being 36 years old – four years short of the legal threshold to bid for high office. The ruling revealed the “irony” of hard-won democratic principles being shunted aside in favour of the narrow interests of those given a mandate by the people, according to Amalinda Saviriani, an Indonesian student leader during the long protest years... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3247461/india-indonesia-2024-asias-election-year-will-anything-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3247461/india-indonesia-2024-asias-election-year-will-anything-change?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jan 2024 01:30:14 +0000 A new study in India adds to the body of evidence that organ donors are predominantly women, particularly in Asia, while the recipients are predominantly men, troubling statistics that experts say illustrate the life-and-death impact of gender inequality. The report, published on November 15 based on data from the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) in New Delhi, showed that between 1995 and 2021, 80 per cent of living donors were women, mostly wives and mothers, while 80... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3242710/asia-organ-donors-are-overwhelmingly-women-and-transplants-go-mainly-men-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3242710/asia-organ-donors-are-overwhelmingly-women-and-transplants-go-mainly-men-study?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Nov 2023 08:00:20 +0000 In what has become a miserable winter ritual in the Indian capital of New Delhi, primary schools are shut, people with breathing difficulties are flocking to hospitals and those who can afford it are fleeing the pollution-hit city, where air quality levels have soared to hazardous levels since last week. The Air Quality Index, which measures the level of fine particulate matter in the air, has for the past several days rated the city over the 450 mark – nearly 10 times the acceptable limit – as... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3240785/indias-new-delhi-choked-toxic-smog-again-fears-respiratory-health-disaster-grow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3240785/indias-new-delhi-choked-toxic-smog-again-fears-respiratory-health-disaster-grow?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Nov 2023 00:00:16 +0000 At the opening of Mumbai’s first luxury mall, almost all of Bollywood’s A-list stars turned out for the red carpet event in haute couture outfits, with photographers snapping away, reminiscent of the annual Met Gala in New York. Some 66 global luxury brands – such as Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Versace, Tiffany & Co – have set up shop in Mumbai’s Jio World Plaza, a one-stop luxury shopping centre in India’s richest city that is also home to 169 billionaires and 59,000 millionaires. With China’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3240384/mumbais-first-luxury-shopping-centre-taps-indias-cultural-understanding-affluence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3240384/mumbais-first-luxury-shopping-centre-taps-indias-cultural-understanding-affluence?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Nov 2023 04:00:16 +0000 India is set to pass a long-pending bill to ensure women will make up one in three lawmakers, a move Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed as “historic” but has been described by critics as an empty gesture that won’t be implemented soon. The Women’s Reservation Bill, first mooted in 1996 to ensure women are represented at the federal and state levels, was presented to the lower house on Tuesday and welcomed by politicians across the spectrum in a rare moment of unity. While the bill will... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3235234/india-third-lawmakers-will-soon-be-women-it-historic-or-empty-gesture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3235234/india-third-lawmakers-will-soon-be-women-it-historic-or-empty-gesture?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Sep 2023 13:50:40 +0000 As Hollywood blockbuster Oppenheimer plays to packed cinemas in India, some Hindu hardliners have taken offence that the faith’s holy scripture, the Bhagavad Gita, is featured in a sex scene. They have called the scene “a scathing attack on Hinduism”, “disrespectful”, and “racist”, and demanded to know why India’s censor board allowed it through. Religious intolerance and hardline rhetoric have been on the rise in India since the Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government came to power in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3228781/indias-hindu-hardliners-slam-oppenheimer-sex-scene-featuring-holy-book-it-amounts-waging-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3228781/indias-hindu-hardliners-slam-oppenheimer-sex-scene-featuring-holy-book-it-amounts-waging-war?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jul 2023 07:00:13 +0000 In April, an artificial intelligence chatbot presented the news on television for the first time in India. The chatbot named Sana had fair skin and long black hair and read the highlights on the Hindi-language news channel Aaj Tak that is owned by the India Today group, one of the biggest media houses in the country. Following Sana, Odisha TV in eastern India revealed its chatbot named Lisa that wears a sari, has dark-rimmed eyes and reads the headlines in Odia, the local language. The chatbots... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3228570/indias-ai-newsreaders-are-multilingual-cost-saving-and-never-tired-can-they-replace-humans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3228570/indias-ai-newsreaders-are-multilingual-cost-saving-and-never-tired-can-they-replace-humans?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Jul 2023 08:00:12 +0000 It was a scolding from an elderly client that made Rohit Mamgain realise his not-for-profit group in Dehradun, north India, had neglected them as a group. “Please spare a thought for us too,” the man, a 75-year-old widowed former executive, had said. Mamgain, 31, reflected on the rebuke. There were some 138 million people aged over 60 living alone in India, according to 2021 government statistics, many whose children had moved away for work. He realised he had to do something to help. His... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3227192/indian-ngo-helping-elderly-residents-feel-less-lonely-one-hour-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3227192/indian-ngo-helping-elderly-residents-feel-less-lonely-one-hour-time?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jul 2023 06:30:20 +0000 With sit-ins and threats to cast their medals into the Ganges, two top women wrestlers have caught the hearts of India’s public as they seek justice for what they allege was sexual harassment by the head of their sport, who is also a senior member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Sakshi Malik, 30, and Vinesh Phogat, 28, made the allegations in January and demanded that police arrest and investigate Brij Bhushan Singh, 66, head of the Wrestling Federation of India, whom they accuse of sexual... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3223086/indias-women-wrestlers-work-pin-down-powerful-rivals-over-sexual-harassment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3223086/indias-women-wrestlers-work-pin-down-powerful-rivals-over-sexual-harassment?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jun 2023 05:31:07 +0000 Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, hoping to restore order and ease tension in the state of Manipur following weeks of ethnic violence that has left dozens dead and seen tens of thousands of people flee their homes, has gone there to hold talks with regional leaders. Clashes between tribal and non-tribal groups erupted on May 3 over a court demand that the majority Meitei community, who are mostly Hindu – the religion promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government – be granted access to jobs... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3222429/how-can-i-ever-feel-safe-indias-amit-shah-faces-tall-order-restore-calm-manipur-after-ethnic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3222429/how-can-i-ever-feel-safe-indias-amit-shah-faces-tall-order-restore-calm-manipur-after-ethnic?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 May 2023 11:00:10 +0000 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is notoriously averse to talking to the media, but since taking office he has helmed a popular channel to connect with people: his own podcast. On Mann Ki Baat (loosely translated as “Inner Thoughts”), a monthly radio broadcast that’s also available on YouTube, he discusses matters of interest to citizens, expresses his ideals, and even dispenses avuncular advice. No issue is too small on the show, which will mark its 100th episode on Sunday. To a farmer, Modi... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3218813/pm-podcast-indias-modi-celebrates-unsung-heroes-mann-ki-baats-100th-episode?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3218813/pm-podcast-indias-modi-celebrates-unsung-heroes-mann-ki-baats-100th-episode?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Apr 2023 08:00:16 +0000 In India, large Hindu ceremonies are often visited by elephants, because they are believed to be sacred animals. It is no different at the Shree Krishna Temple in Kerala state. But this temple has a very special elephant named Irinjadappilly Raman. He stands over three metres tall and has been called handsome by some admirers. He is also not real. Raman is a robot elephant, given to the temple by an animal charity called Peta. Peta wants to persuade all temples in Kerala to end animal... https://www.scmp.com/posties/kids/steam-studio/article/3225079/meet-temples-robot-elephant-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/posties/kids/steam-studio/article/3225079/meet-temples-robot-elephant-india?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2023 02:20:46 +0000 Conservationists in India are up in arms over plans by the electricity regulator to allow power companies in northern Rajasthan state to proceed with projects that could endanger the Great Indian Bustard, one of the heaviest flying birds in the world. The bustard has poor vision and is so heavy it cannot change its flying direction at the last minute. Failure to see overhead electricity lines in time results in almost certain electrocution and death. About 10 bustards are electrocuted every year... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3213118/india-conservationists-arms-over-power-lines-could-kill-endangered-bird?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3213118/india-conservationists-arms-over-power-lines-could-kill-endangered-bird?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Mar 2023 08:00:10 +0000 An Indian village is calling for its 15,000 residents to turn off their phones and televisions at sundown in a “digital detox” campaign it hopes will encourage people to mingle more with neighbours and allow children to study undisturbed. Raju Magdum, council chief in the village of Mangaon in Maharashtra state, said he was horrified at how everyone was glued to their screens every night. “Families are not talking to one another, children are not focused on doing their homework and neighbours... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3212347/indian-villages-digital-detox-turn-your-phones-tvs-or-face-higher-property-tax?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3212347/indian-villages-digital-detox-turn-your-phones-tvs-or-face-higher-property-tax?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Mar 2023 02:30:10 +0000 In India, large Hindu rituals and ceremonies are often graced by elephants – believed to be sacred animals – and it is no different at the Shree Krishna Temple in Kerala state. But this temple has a very special elephant named Irinjadappilly Raman who stands over three metres tall and has been described as handsome by some admirers. He is also not real. Raman is a robot given to the temple by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) as part of its efforts to persuade all temples in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3211833/india-activists-look-replace-live-elephants-robots-hindu-festivals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3211833/india-activists-look-replace-live-elephants-robots-hindu-festivals?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Mar 2023 02:30:13 +0000 Frantic over their baby’s persistent cough, an Indian couple in Gujarat recently sought the services of a faith healer, who used a “hot-rod treatment”, in the latest public case of black magic in the country. The two-month-old girl was rushed to hospital after the healer pressed a red-hot iron rod on her chest and stomach to remove evil spirits. She remains in an intensive care unit, where doctors say she is in a stable condition. In Madhya Pradesh, two other infants were not as lucky. One of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3210215/indian-doctor-fighting-protect-people-against-harm-and-entrenched-beliefs-black-magic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3210215/indian-doctor-fighting-protect-people-against-harm-and-entrenched-beliefs-black-magic?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Feb 2023 04:00:19 +0000 Zahad was in the middle of a gender reassignment procedure to become a man in India’s Kerala state when he and his partner decided they wanted a family. At that point, the 23-year-old’s breasts had been removed and he was undergoing hormone therapy that was deepening his voice, producing a moustache, and making his body more muscular. Next was the removal of his female reproductive organs. But Zahad and his partner’s desire for a child led him to pause his transitioning treatment and try for a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3209415/pregnant-transgender-indian-prepares-become-dad-and-make-history-trans-partner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3209415/pregnant-transgender-indian-prepares-become-dad-and-make-history-trans-partner?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Feb 2023 04:00:13 +0000 A small group of critics have accused the Hindu-nationalist government in India’s Assam state of “weaponising” child protection laws to target Muslim communities, as it continues a major crackdown on men marrying underage girls. Police had arrested some 2,400 people as of Monday, after a review of marriage registration records over the past few years threw up the names of 8,000 men believed to have married minors. The authorities did not say how many of the arrested men were Muslim. Those... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3209299/indias-assam-using-child-marriage-crackdown-target-muslims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3209299/indias-assam-using-child-marriage-crackdown-target-muslims?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Feb 2023 04:00:12 +0000 In an age-old tradition, Indians in rural areas visit a Hindu priest to select a name for their newborns but Dalits – members of a so-called low caste – in the northwest are rebelling against the demeaning names the priests have been giving their children. Some of the titles the youngsters in Rajasthan are afflicted with for life include ‘kali’ (black) – lower caste populations tend to be those with darker skin – tolia (stone) and rodi (animal dung). Other names are not so obviously humiliating... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3208257/indias-dalits-seek-reclaim-dignity-pushing-back-insulting-baby-names?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3208257/indias-dalits-seek-reclaim-dignity-pushing-back-insulting-baby-names?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jan 2023 10:00:19 +0000 A sit-in protest led by one of India’s most successful female wrestlers in the country’s capital of New Delhi has been called off, after the wrestling federation’s chief agreed to step aside until claims of sexual harassment against him are investigated. Vinesh Phogat, the first female Indian wrestler to win gold in the Commonwealth and Asian Games, said that although she herself had not been targeted, the sexual exploitation of the 10-20 women had been going on for a decade. Not only were... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3207625/female-indian-wrestlers-accuse-coaches-federation-chief-sexual-harassment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3207625/female-indian-wrestlers-accuse-coaches-federation-chief-sexual-harassment?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Jan 2023 07:00:19 +0000 The old Rahul Gandhi is “gone”, or so the 52-year-old figurehead of the opposition Congress party insists, as he marches across an India divided along religious lines and where hate is on the rise. The new one has a luxuriant beard, meets the people in a T-shirt and a pair of trainers and says he is guided more by positive vibes than political calculations. Gandhi, who has twice been defeated in elections by Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi and was widely written off to be the political... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3206648/rahul-gandhi-pm-unite-india-march-elevates-congress-scions-message-peace-and-love-modis-bazaar-hate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3206648/rahul-gandhi-pm-unite-india-march-elevates-congress-scions-message-peace-and-love-modis-bazaar-hate?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Jan 2023 05:00:11 +0000 Women’s safety on the streets of India has once again come under the spotlight following the death of a young woman in a horrific hit-and-run case in New Delhi on New Year’s Eve. The victim, Anjali Singh, and her friend Nidhi had been travelling along a dimly lit and deserted road after attending an event when their scooter was hit by a car. Anjali’s leg became caught and her body was trapped beneath the vehicle. Despite her screams, the car’s occupants continued driving and dragged the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3206161/anjali-singh-grisly-hit-and-run-death-reignites-debate-womens-safety-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3206161/anjali-singh-grisly-hit-and-run-death-reignites-debate-womens-safety-india?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jan 2023 00:00:12 +0000 How far would you go to preserve a loved one’s memory? A retired civil servant in eastern India has gone to great lengths to ensure that his late wife’s presence endures. Tapas Sandilya, who lost his wife of 39 years to Covid-19 during India’s brutal second wave of infections in 2021, is alleviating his grief by keeping a life-size, 30kg silicone figure of her in his living room. Sandilya was not with his wife Indrani when she died aged 59 on May 4, 2021. He was in isolation when she was taken... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3205501/india-man-spends-us30000-sculpture-wife-who-died-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3205501/india-man-spends-us30000-sculpture-wife-who-died-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jan 2023 03:09:40 +0000 An Indian politician says dozens of men who died recently from drinking moonshine had only themselves to blame, as outrage grows over the impact of an alcohol ban that has created an underground market risking the lives of the poor. The harsh words of Nitish Kumar, chief minister of Bihar, where alcohol is forbidden, came mere hours after the labourers died having drunk illegal liquor. “Know that if you drink, you will die,” he said. Seventy deaths is the figure opposition leaders have cited,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3203859/moonshine-deaths-spike-indias-bihar-even-supporters-its-alcohol-ban-say-law-has-failed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3203859/moonshine-deaths-spike-indias-bihar-even-supporters-its-alcohol-ban-say-law-has-failed?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Dec 2022 09:30:10 +0000 India’s age of consent has been at the centre of growing debate, with critics including local judges saying it unfairly punishes teenage relationships and has even been abused by parents. In 2012, India raised the age of consent from 16 to 18 to protect vulnerable adolescents from sexual exploitation, grooming and predators. But youth groups argue that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Posco) has made criminals of young couples in genuine relationships and teenagers exploring... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3203303/indias-age-consent-criminalises-puppy-love-say-defenders-teen-sex?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3203303/indias-age-consent-criminalises-puppy-love-say-defenders-teen-sex?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Dec 2022 02:30:08 +0000 An Indian policeman has apparently solved a murder case 49 years after the crime was committed because the alleged murderer made the mistake of returning to his village at the wrong time. More than a decade before Inspector Pratipalsinh V. Gohil, 37, was even born, his predecessors at the Sardarnagar police station in Gujarat state began investigating the case of 70-year-old Mani Shukla, murdered in her house in the village of Saijpur in 1973. Officers say she fell during a scuffle and died. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3202763/indian-murderer-76-caught-after-49-years-run-protests-i-barely-remember-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3202763/indian-murderer-76-caught-after-49-years-run-protests-i-barely-remember-it?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Dec 2022 12:06:29 +0000 A whole litre of acid, which could maim and disfigure someone in an acid attack, remains widely available and affordable across almost every grocery store in the Indian capital of New Delhi even after India’s Supreme Court banned over-the-counter acid sales in 2013. For less than one Indian rupee (US$0.012), shoppers in Delhi can buy a litre of acid with no questions asked. After India banned over-the-counter sales of acid to the public in 2013 to prevent attacks, only those with a licence could... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3195251/worse-murder-why-are-acid-attacks-still-common-india-after-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3195251/worse-murder-why-are-acid-attacks-still-common-india-after-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Oct 2022 08:00:13 +0000 To help tuberculosis (TB) patients recover faster, a programme aimed at eradicating the disease in India is urging members of the public to “adopt” patients as friends and to send them nutrient-rich food every month. Individuals and organisations that adopt a patient will have to send a monthly food parcel for a year, along with vitamin supplements, and enough money for routine tests. Tuberculosis patients often come from poor families that cannot afford a healthy diet. Without a high-protein... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3193671/indians-urged-adopt-tuberculosis-patients-country?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3193671/indians-urged-adopt-tuberculosis-patients-country?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Sep 2022 08:00:11 +0000 Rahul Gandhi, leader of India’s opposition Congress party, has come under fire from critics for planning a long march with an ambiguous message to voters and for using a “stale idea” to garner political support. Gandhi and 100 of his Congress party members will march across India for five months, covering 12 out of the country’s 28 states, to revive his party’s stagnant political standing and challenge the hegemony of the ruling, right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3190257/rahul-gandhis-anti-bjp-march-across-india-shows-congress-lacks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3190257/rahul-gandhis-anti-bjp-march-across-india-shows-congress-lacks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Aug 2022 05:07:34 +0000 How Narendra Kumar, a young father of three, ended up dead on a New Delhi road, his skull crushed, is the sad and horrible tale of a deadly piece of ‘invisible’ string. Kumar was on a late shift on August 7, delivering food on his scooter. Police say a kite string, coated in powdered glass, was hanging in the air and he failed to see it in the dark. It is thought that the more he tried to free himself from the razor-sharp cord, the more entangled he became. Eventually he fell onto the road, and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3188731/india-prepares-75th-independence-day-scooter-riders-and-police-brace-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3188731/india-prepares-75th-independence-day-scooter-riders-and-police-brace-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Aug 2022 11:26:01 +0000 India’s new law against surrogacy is being challenged in the courts – by a single man who wants to become a father. Lawyer Karan Balraj Mehta, 32, has his family’s support to become a parent via the procedure. Under the new law, passed in December to regulate the hugely successful surrogacy industry, he is ineligible. Mehta said he fully supported the law when it was passed because surrogate mothers needed to be protected against unscrupulous middlemen, touts, and hospitals out to exploit... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3187898/single-man-challenges-indias-surrogacy-law-its-my-right-be-father?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3187898/single-man-challenges-indias-surrogacy-law-its-my-right-be-father?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Aug 2022 06:00:20 +0000 Chess fever has swept the coastal town of Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu, as India hosts the 44th Olympiad for the first time. It seems like every bit of the city is decked out in black and white. You could, in theory, play chess on a bridge, road, or against any wall or pillar. The Olympiad mascot Thambi – a horse styled on the knight chess piece – is everywhere. A torch relay was taken to towns across India before reaching Chennai, Tamil Nadu’s state capital, in time for Prime Minister Narendra... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3187438/how-unesco-heritage-site-indias-tamil-nadu-state-captured-chess-olympiad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3187438/how-unesco-heritage-site-indias-tamil-nadu-state-captured-chess-olympiad?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Aug 2022 00:30:24 +0000 Conservationists have expressed concern about the return of cheetahs to India, with the giant cats set to make a comeback in the country after centuries of hunting and human encroachment wiped them out across India in 1952, when a maharaja hunted down the country’s last cheetah. Eight African cheetahs will arrive next month in India from Namibia, home to the world’s largest population of cheetahs, as part of a deal between the two countries that spans collaboration across climate change, waste... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3186588/india-looks-namibia-cheetahs-will-it-be-waste?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3186588/india-looks-namibia-cheetahs-will-it-be-waste?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Jul 2022 04:00:22 +0000 India has been caught in a diplomatic storm over controversial remarks made by the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) spokeswoman Nupur Sharma about the Prophet Mohammed. The comments, made during a television debate in late May, have drawn widespread condemnation from more than a dozen Islamic nations – forcing the BJP to suspend Sharma from the party. The BJP said in a statement last week that it “respects all religions”. The opposition parties have accused Prime Minister... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3181031/how-bjps-nupur-sharmas-prophet-mohammed-comments-pushed-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3181031/how-bjps-nupur-sharmas-prophet-mohammed-comments-pushed-india?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jun 2022 08:37:00 +0000 A Muslim lesbian couple in India is still living in fear despite a court last week allowing them to stay together following strong opposition from their parents who did not approve of their relationship in the largely conservative country where homosexuality is generally considered taboo. Adhila Nassrin, 22, and Fathima Noora, 23, who are currently in a safe location in the southern state of Kerala, said their parents had emotionally blackmailed them by phone and some relatives even issued death... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3180283/fear-stalks-lesbian-couple-indias-kerala-after-surviving-abduction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3180283/fear-stalks-lesbian-couple-indias-kerala-after-surviving-abduction?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jun 2022 04:37:31 +0000 His name has been hung in a public lavatory in the Indian capital. In Agra, the city’s mayor wants his name removed from all public places. The man is Aurangzeb and he ruled India as one of its Mughal emperors in the 17th century. For the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party or (BJP) and the Hindus who support it, this figure from three centuries ago is seen as a cruel part of the country’s history, observers say. Aurangzeb lives on, in the resentment of Hindus today at India having been ruled by... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3179258/why-indias-ruling-bjp-and-prime-minister-narendra-modi-obsessed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3179258/why-indias-ruling-bjp-and-prime-minister-narendra-modi-obsessed?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 May 2022 09:30:31 +0000 India is in the grip of a brutal, unprecedented heatwave and the worst is yet to come, with temperatures set to soar to 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) over the next few days. Daily life has become hellish. Long and painful power cuts are now the norm thanks to soaring electricity demand, causing factory machinery to grind to a halt and frozen food to thaw out in grocery store fridges. In northern India, forest fires are raging on wooded hills as dried pine needles spontaneously... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3175972/indias-extreme-heatwave-leaves-outdoor-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3175972/indias-extreme-heatwave-leaves-outdoor-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Apr 2022 07:12:07 +0000 Activists and critics of India’s Hindu nationalist government have called for an independent investigation after dozens of Muslim homes were arbitrarily demolished following a spate of communal violence, furthering fears by minority groups that their rights are increasingly being whittled down by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The conflict erupted on April 10 after groups of Hindus marched through Muslim localities in central Madhya Pradesh state and blared anti-Muslim songs during a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3174678/india-bulldozes-muslim-homes-fears-grow-officials-are-taking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3174678/india-bulldozes-muslim-homes-fears-grow-officials-are-taking?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Apr 2022 12:15:07 +0000 Gita Parmal, 35, is due to give birth this October – an emotional occasion for both her and a couple who has been dreaming of a child for years. As a surrogate mother, she will be paid a “life-changing” sum of 600,000 rupees (US$8,000) to carry their baby, money that will go towards her two children’s education and a new home. “Women like me can never earn the money it takes to build a small house,” says Parmal, who is from India’s western state of Gujarat. “Not in a whole lifetime.” How India’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3174381/will-indias-surrogacy-ban-drive-childless-couples-and-poor-women?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3174381/will-indias-surrogacy-ban-drive-childless-couples-and-poor-women?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Apr 2022 06:00:25 +0000 By bringing more colour to its female characters, Netflix’s Bridgerton has secured a head start on Bollywood. While India’s Hindi-language film industry dallies about casting a dark-skinned actress in a lead romantic role – Will audiences accept her? Exactly how dark should her skin be? Will she be seen as desirable? – the second season of the popular show has stolen a march by casting two actresses of South Asian descent in lead roles, and a third in a supporting role. For millions of women in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3172819/bridgertons-celebration-brown-women-beats-bollywood-say-delighted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3172819/bridgertons-celebration-brown-women-beats-bollywood-say-delighted?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Apr 2022 06:00:18 +0000 The temperature in Colombo was an uncomfortable 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, but it felt hotter for the Jayasinghe family because for six hours they’d had no electricity. Tavish Jayasinghe, an accountant, sat on the veranda of his house in the Sri Lankan capital, reading the bad news in the paper while the ceiling fan remained stubbornly still. With empty coffers, the government has no money to pay for the fuel needed to operate power plants around the clock, and has... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3171700/struggling-sri-lanka-hits-india-cash-china-still-has-deeper?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3171700/struggling-sri-lanka-hits-india-cash-china-still-has-deeper?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Mar 2022 14:00:21 +0000 As the lights come up and the credits begin to roll on The Kashmir Files, a Hindu man gets to his feet to yell at his fellow movie-goers: “Shoot the traitors.” “Death to Muslims.” “We will have our revenge.” Soon other voices join him, their hate-filled shouts briefly transforming the cinema into a murderous anti-Muslim rally, with the crowd whipped into a frenzy by the controversial film they have just seen. Sometimes, the Islamophobic chanting spills out into the streets outside. These are the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3171264/kashmir-files-divides-india-bollywood-triumph-or-anti?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3171264/kashmir-files-divides-india-bollywood-triumph-or-anti?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Mar 2022 09:01:08 +0000 New Delhi resident Shivansh Rajeev, a web developer, believes India was right to abstain from a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As India’s biggest supplier of arms, the country cannot afford to sideline Russia, “which sells us the bulk of our weapons to keep China and Pakistan in check,” the 39-year-old said. While Indian students in Ukraine have become collateral damage in the ongoing war, Rajeev said he believes “that is the price to pay for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3170228/russia-wages-war-ukraine-how-long-can-india-stay-above-fray?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3170228/russia-wages-war-ukraine-how-long-can-india-stay-above-fray?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Mar 2022 09:00:22 +0000 It’s been a long time coming but India’s chess culture, nurtured over decades, is finally producing players who can keep the flag flying proudly, years after it was first raised aloft by world champion Viswanathan Anand in 1988. The latest grandmaster is teenage chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who delighted Indians with his stunning victory over World No 1 Magnus Carlsen in an online championship – the Airthings Masters – on Sunday February 20. Only 16, Praggnanandhaa’s triumph made the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3168556/indias-teen-chess-champion-who-beat-magnus-carlsen-riding-wave?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3168556/indias-teen-chess-champion-who-beat-magnus-carlsen-riding-wave?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Feb 2022 05:00:21 +0000