A strong pro-democracy message from Kashmir
By Amulya Ganguli

At a time of gloom in India, the poll outcome in Kashmir has been like a ray of sunlight breaking through the dark clouds. One reason for the high hopes generated by the contest was the large turnout of voters, which was nothing other than a slap in the face of the separatists.

The latter had gained a fresh lease of life during the Amarnath land transfer row when they organised large demonstrations and ... Read More

Politics of hatred has left India bleeding
The year 2008 can easily be marked as an unforgettable year in the annals of Indian christianity for the simple reason that the Christian community here faced its most trying and testing time in its 2,000 years of history. It is not the case that Christianity had not faced hostility and opposition earlier in India; it did right from the very start when St Thomas, an Apostle of Jesus, came to our shores in ... Read More

Pakistan Editor Awarded Golden Pen of Freedom
Najaam Sethi, Editor-in-Chief of Friday Times and Daily Times in Pakistan, has been awarded the 2009 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers.

Mr Sethi, whose newspapers advocate liberal and secular ideas in a country too-often torn by religious extremism, was honoured for his outstanding defence and promotion of press freedom under difficult circumstances and constant personal danger.

'Extremists have always used coercion to silence their critics and that ... Read More

War no option, India should sustain global pressure: Tharoor
New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) India should mount “sustained international pressure” on Pakistan to dismantle terror camps and press the UN to take action against Islamabad for reneging on its anti-terror obligations, former UN official and author-diplomat Shashi Tharoor said here Thursday while cautioning New Delhi against exercising the military option.

“India should sustain international pressure on Pakistan to take action against terrorists and terror outfits,” Tharoor said in a lecture on 'Terrorism: Mumbai and ... Read More

Mahabharata a sustaining factor in my life: Nobel winner Le Clézio
Stockholm, Dec 9 (IANS) French writer Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, who has won the 2008 Nobel prize for literature, says the Mahabharata has been a sustaining factor in his life, especially as a storyteller.

"The great Indian epic Mahabharata has been a sustaining factor in my life - not so much philosophically but in seeking stories," Le Clezio told IANS in an interview here.

"I consider myself basically a story-teller, not a moulder of thought," said ... Read More

The Poisonous Seed of Terrorism: Wahabism from Saudi Arabia
By Kanam TJ

The Wahabi sect of Islam, which is the inspiration for the Al Queda terrorist group, is indirectly funded by North American thirst for gasoline and the money that flows into the Saudi rulers who promote Wahabism by making donations to promote the Wahabi brand of Islam all over the world, from Beijing to Buenos Aires. The most damaging aspect of the situation is the Saudi export of Wahabism to thousands of madrassas (jihad ... Read More

My Favourite Places in India
By David Baar*

1) Ranakpur's Jain Temple, Rajasthan - intricately carved marble, with soaring domes and cool natural light filling the white spaces. Arguably the finest structure in India.

2) Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu - a sprawling Hindu temple filled with thousands of worshippers performing pujas here there and everywhere.

3) Railway stations and trains - The organized chaos of sprawling train stations, the different classes of travel, the numerous goods ... Read More

‘The book started out as a prank’
Mohammed Hanif is the author of A Case of Exploding Mangoes, a novel about the death of Pakistani president, General Zia, in a plane crash. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2008, the critically acclaimed and popular work is part detective novel, part conspiracy theory, part journalistic inquiry, and part satire. Hilarious and shot through with a finely controlled pathos, the novel is a telling comment on political power, the world of contemporary Pakistan, and ... Read More

An Interview with Aga Khan
On the occasion of the 2001 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Robert Ivy talked with His Highness the Aga Khan about the architectural, social, and environmental issues facing Islam today. The following interview was conducted at Aiglemont, France, on August 31. Due to the events of September 11, the interview has recently been updated. An abbreviated version of this interview appears in the February, 2002 issue of RECORD. Robert Ivy: As Imam of the Ismaili Muslims, ... Read More

An Artist in Exile Tests India's Democratic Ideals
By SOMINI SENGUPTA

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Maqbool Fida Husain, India's most famous painter, is afraid to go home.

Mr. Husain is a Muslim who is fond of painting Hindu goddesses, sometimes portraying them nude. That obsession has earned him the ire of a small but organized cadre of Hindu nationalists. They have attacked galleries that exhibit his work, accused him in court of "promoting enmity" among faiths and, on one occasion, offered an $11 million ... Read More

'Religion and the Imagination'
SALMAN RUSHDIE, whose Midnight s Children (1981) was recently named the best novel to have received the Man Booker Prize, in conversation with Gauri Viswanathan

Author SALMAN RUSHDIE has said, "The novel can offer, which very few other kinds of writing can, to take you inside people's hearts and minds and make you see how it is. Or at least a version of how it might be." (The Guardian, London). With the resurgence ... Read More

Shadows
By Rahman Rahi

Give up questioning your destiny and hope of eternity,

if you can get hold of a few moments, enjoy them.

The much-trodden city road penetrated the dense woods

just as doubts wormed into the, mantle of my faith.

Opening the eyes exposed my dreams to the evil eye.

Many surging vernal breasts became scorched wilderness.

Take a look around and you see a sizzling fair,

Reckon a thought and a lone crow in the void.

The days gone by I longed ... Read More

India Shoots for the Moon
How'd they learn to do that?

The U.S. Congress needs a wake-up call. At the risk of our readers saying the laws of physics forbid any such possibility, we offer the following: On Wednesday India launched a space probe to the moon.

The Chandrayaan-I blasted off about dawn from the Satish Dhawan Space Center. It is expected to reach lunar orbit by November 8. The probe, whose principal goal is to "conduct mineralogical and chemical mapping of ... Read More

ASHTANGA YOGA OF PATANJALI
Dr. Om Juneja

Yoga Sutra lays out a full plan of action for the yoga way of life. Before implementing this plan a seeker is advised to build up a strong fortress of physical, moral, emotional, and mental purity. The Yogic scriptures prescribe the practice of certain restraints and practices or do's and don'ts to build such a fortress around him or her. These practices are called Yamas and Niyamas.

Yamas and Niyamas are the first two ... Read More

Story of Singhs who fought in WWI and died before enjoying citizenship rights
A filmmaker has made a historical discovery even proud Sikh-Canadians apparently weren't aware of – before their forebears were allowed to immigrate to Canada, nine of their numbers joined the Canadian Army and fought in World War I in France and Belgium.

Now David Gray is on a quest to unravel the mystery of these recruits – two of whom were Torontonians – and tell their stories. Gray, an Ottawa-based filmmaker, is chronicling their lives in ... Read More

FOREIGN LEGIONS
By Cyril Dabydeen

This is a surfeit, believe me–
I am circumscribed in the desire to traverse
Whole landmarks: this rage in me
As I am scuttled or going beyond.
Now cockeyed because of hibiscus or bougainvillea,
I contain myself with a tropical burning;
This too is belief, as the spirit harks at luminosity,
The sun itself leaping forward in the constancy
Of rain, the slush of fewer days around;
The weather falsifying grass,
The squelch critical as ... Read More

Kilinochchi's fall a major setback to LTTE
Ten years after they captured the northern Sri Lankan town of Kilinochchi in a blitzkrieg that stunned the world, the Tamil Tigers have finally lost it to a military determined to crush the rebels. The fall of Kilinochchi after months of fighting is a huge blow to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Kilinochchi is a small but strategically located town that served as the political hub of the once sprawling LTTE territory in the ... Read More

In 2008, urban terrorism stalked Assam (Yearender - 19)
Guwahati, Dec 30 (IANS) Nothwithstanding a decline in the number of insurgency-related casualties in 2008, Assam saw the bloodiest face of urban terror with the region remaining the most violent theatre of conflict in India's northeast.

Compared to 439 casualties in 2007, including 286 civilians, the year 2008 witnessed 369 deaths of which 223 were of civilians, 16 security personnel, and 130 rebels. Of the 223 civilians, around 100 were killed in the nine near-simultaneous explosions ... Read More

2008 - year of consolidation for India's fashion world (Yearender - 20)
New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) Split, slugfest and consolidation - that about sums up the state of India's fashion world in 2008.

For the first time, the industry witnessed six major fashion weeks - totally all of 30 days - and there is ample room for a few more in the coming years.

Thus, the industry witnessed two editions of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI)-organised Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) and two editions of ... Read More

Bollywood's balance sheet goes for a toss in 2008 (Yearender - 21)
Mumbai, Dec 30 (IANS) Only six genuine hits of 127 releases - with the ratio of success to failure at 5:100 in any given year, the Bollywood story was no different in 2008. But what made 2008 stand apart for the $2 billion film industry was that it saw staggering losses of Rs.5 billion (over $100 million).

According to trade analyst Amod Mehra, the money was lost on big budget movies like "Love Story 2050", ... Read More

India-Britain: The year of Tata, Brown Bounce and cricket (Yearender - 22)
London, Dec 30 (IANS) The paths of India and Britain converged ever closer in 2008, the highs in their mutual ties embracing everything from the fight against recession and terrorism to playing riveting cricket.

Whether it was growing trade and business between the two countries, worrying over the global economy or lauding the shared values of liberal democracy, India and Britain seemed to be singing from the same hymn sheet all the way. ... Read More

In 2008, corruption dented Indian judiciary's image (Yearender - 23)
New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) Hit by at least three scandals involving judges, the halo around India's higher judiciary dimmed a little in 2008. But, led by its first Dalit chief justice known for his no-nonsense approach to issues of public importance, the institution also demonstrated its resolve to weed out corrupt elements from it.

"Because of so many scandals, the judiciary has lost its tag of being a holy cow," Prashant Bhushan, senior lawyer, told ... Read More

Insurgencies in northeast dominated 2008, economic climate improving (Yearender-18)
Agartala, Dec 29 (IANS) Though violent separatist insurgencies continued to rock most northeastern states in 2008, the region also saw mobilisation of investments, the launch of the ambitious Vision 2020 and new governments in four states.

After a three-year deliberation, the Vision 2020 document was released in July by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.

The three-volume document promises to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity in the region through a multi-pronged strategy ... Read More

Asia's export-driven economies face slowdown in 2009 (Yearender-13)
Bangkok, Dec 27 (DPA) There's an old saying among economists, "When the US catches a cold, the rest of the world catches pneumonia."

"But nobody says what happens when the US catches pneumonia," said Ammar Siamwalla, a Thai economist. That indeed is the billion-dollar question for Asia in 2009.

Most of Asia's dynamic emerging economies have been using exports as their engines of growth for the past decade or more. If anything, the region became even more ... Read More

Key milestones in India's telecom industry in 2008 (To go with Yearender 14)
Following are key milestones and timeline of developments in India's telecom sector in 2008, when the country's network emerged as the second largest in the world after China's, displacing that of the US:

Jan 1: Telecom watchdog issues status paper to ensure Internet service providers adhere to minimum prescribed speeds for broadband connectivity

Jan 3: Delhi High Court issues notice to the government, regulator, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices on a petition challenging allocation of radio spectrum

Jan ... Read More

Mideast peace process in doubt as new year nears (Yearender - 12)
By Ofira Koopmans

Tel Aviv/Ramallah, Dec 27 (DPA) The Middle East peace process is hanging by a thread as 2009 is nearing - just one year after negotiations were revived following seven years of violence.

Israel is heading for elections Feb 10, with hawkish former premier Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud, who opposes the peace process in its current form, currently leading in opinion polls.

Meanwhile, in the Palestinian autonomous areas, President Mahmoud Abbas and his bitter rival, ... Read More

Change was buzzword for TV industry in 2008 (Yearender-11)
By Radhika Bhirani

New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS) Change, they say, is the only constant in life. The saying may not have been true for India's Rs.226 billion/ Rs. 22,600 Crores television industry for the past seven years but it certainly seemed apt for 2008.

A nearly month-long workers' strike, the end of long-running serials from TV tycoon Ekta Kapoor like "Kasauti Zindagi Kay", "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii" and "Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thhi", the ... Read More

Watershed year for Indian sports (Yearender-10)
By Pragya Tiwari

New Delhi, Dec 26 (IANS) India's performance at the Beijing Olympics should inspire all those connected with Indian sport. Shooter Abhinav Bindra, boxer Vijender Singh and wrester Sushil Kumar exemplified what self-belief can do to sport in India. They all and a few other boxers and shuttler Saina Nehwal, who even if they have not been able to win medals, made the country proud.

Bindra's shooting gold and the bronze each that Vijender ... Read More

India-Sports: Milestones 2008 (with Sports Yearender-10)
New Delhi, Dec 26 (IANS) Timeline of India's sporting achievements in 2008:

Jan 19: India beat Australia in the Perth Test by 72 runs to stop the World Champions from bettering their record of 16 consecutive Test wins.

Jan 25: Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions eight cricket teams to different franchises.

Feb 10: Indian golfer Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia wins the $2.5 million EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters. Chowrasia won $416,660, the biggest pay cheque received by any player on ... Read More

2008 a year of turbulence, strife for Pakistan (Yearender-9)
By Muhammad Najeeb

Islamabad, Dec 26 (IANS) The year set to end was one of turbulence for Pakistan, with a virtual war between Islamist militants and the government taking a huge toll and inviting comparisons with failed states.

The year 2008 began with the aftershocks of the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto as she was on the verge of clinching a power sharing deal with then president Pervez Musharraf.

By the time 2008 ended, the first ... Read More

Cities change, art reflects, artists experiment (Rainbow Palette: Weekly Art Column)
By Madhusree Chatterjee

New Delhi, Dec 26 (IANS) India's green acres are now concrete jungles. Rapid urbanisation has changed cityscapes and skylines, most of which have morphed beyond recognition.

An art exhibition in the capital, "Nature and the City", has tried to open a dialogue between the country's growing environmental concerns, its people and fast-track urbanisation through multi-discipline art like hand-drawn urban cartographic maps, installations, photographs and traditional canvases.

All of them share a thread - the city ... Read More

The World in 2008: A year of extremes (Yearender-8)
By Eva-Maria McCormack

Berlin, Dec 26 (DPA) The year 2008 can be called a year of extremes: it saw huge trauma, beginning in the shadow of the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto just days earlier and ending with a global market crisis that has brought despair to millions across the world. Yet the worst is still to come.

The final months of the year were marred by attacks, with hundreds dead in India's bustling ... Read More

Nepal king gone but republic remains restless (Yearender - 7)
By Sudeshna Sarkar

Kathmandu, Dec 25 (IANS) Despite its crop of failures, 2008 will remain a landmark in the history of Nepal, Asia and indeed the world communist movement, providing inspiration to communists across the globe.

The decisive date was undoubtedly April 10 when, after faltering twice earlier, the Himalayan kingdom held its first constituent assembly elections, the fruit of a 10-year war fought by Maoist guerrillas, to decide if the 239-year-old royal dynasty of Shah kings ... Read More

Cricket glories in year of Indian Premier League (Yearender - 7)
By Avishek Roy

New Delhi, Dec 25 (IANS) After the conquest of Perth and the unveiling of the Indian Premier League (IPL), cricket also endured the painful aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in an eventful 2008. It was a year when Sachin Tendulkar added yet another feather to his cap, surpassing Brian Lara's 11,953 Test runs to become the highest scorer in world cricket.

A change of guard in the Indian team came as a breath ... Read More

Boom to gloom: Indian economy saw it all in 2008
By Arvind Padmanabhan

No other year in recent times saw such wild mood swings in the Indian economy than 2008, which started on a strong note but ended on a weak wicket in the wake of a general global slowdown and severe recession in some of the richest countries like the US and Japan.

From economic expansion to performance of equity markets, and from export growth to industrial production, all indicators had the same story to tell: ... Read More

Key business and economic milestones for India in 2008
New Delhi, Dec 25 (IANS) Following are some key economic, business and financial milestones in India during 2009:

Jan 10: Tata Motors unveil Nano, the jelly-bean shaped small car touted as the world's cheapest, costing all of $2,500 at factory gates.

Jan 10: Sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchanges touches all-time, intra-day high of 21,206.77 points.

Jan 16: Supreme Court paves way for Reliance Power's initial public offering.

Jan 21: Investors lose $170 billion as Sensex crashes ... Read More

Sri Lanka bleeds - with no peace in sight (Yearender - 4)
By P. Karunakharan

Sri Lanka's dragging ethnic conflict is at a decisive phase, with the military determined to crush the Tamil Tigers and the guerrillas adamantly refusing to give up.

The Indian Ocean island nation is spending millions of dollars to give an annihilating blow to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as troops try to seize the last of two rebel bastions: Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.

Having captured the eastern province from the LTTE in 2007 after ... Read More

Positive signs in Indian politics in 2008
By Amulya Ganguli

Indian politics can be said to have taken a giant step forward in 2008 by showing the politicians that their familiar exploitation of caste, religion and region will no longer yield dividends.

It wasn't only that the high death toll in the terror attack on Mumbai was a devastating experience for the Indian public. The trauma caused by the sight of the carnage and the manner in which the city was held hostage by ... Read More

A different Christmas from a different time, recall Anglo-Indians (Feature)
By Ruchika Kher

New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS) Trees decked with homemade decorations adding to the magic of crisp, cold, star-studded nights around Christmas might not be totally lost today, but for Delhi's Anglo-Indians much has changed down the years.

With another Christmas round the corner, many in this distinct community of people of mixed British and Indian ancestry recollect the festivities of the past with nostalgia, while others say it is best to change with the ... Read More

The child soldiers in Indian Maoist ranks
By P.V. Ramana

Minister of State for Home Affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal told the Rajya Sabha Dec 11 that the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has set up a special squad of minors in Chhattisgarh. These child soldiers are forcibly recruited into Maoist ranks. But this is not a new phenomenon.

For many years, child combatants have been used by Naxalites in many ways in their fight against the Indian state. In Orissa, the children are known as ... Read More

Economic gloom and the silver lining for India
The gloom seems to be overwhelming. After the horror of the Mumbai terror attacks, the news on the economic front has been increasingly dismal. Fortunately, India appears to be better off than many other countries facing the repercussions of the global financial meltdown.

Though the GDP growth rate for the year has been scaled down from nine percent to about seven percent, there is still hope for some positive growth which cannot be said either ... Read More

We need one common central body to recruit police personnel
The manner in which the new home minister (P. Chidambaram) went about his Mumbai visit on Dec 5 convinces one that things are in for a big change. His honesty of purpose, resolute desire for action and empathy for families of those who lost their lives in the tragedy is visible to me as an ordinary citizen. A week later, on Dec 11, he made a passionate plea to the country's lawmakers to respect policemen. ... Read More

Let us not lose the battle of the mind to Pakistan
The terror in Mumbai is our national shame. There can be no doubt about it. How could a group of 10 brazen men hold an entire nation to ransom for almost four days, making Mumbai their killing fields? They stepped out of the sea and walked about the city with the sort of contempt that a marauding horde reserves for the weakling.

Many questions come to mind. Why is it that none among the hundreds of ... Read More

Poll outcome: the BJP loses its terror plank
New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS) Prima facie, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not fare too badly in the recent elections in north and central India. It beat the anti-incumbency factor in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to retain power and its vote share in Rajasthan, where it lost, was marginally less than the Congress'.

Yet, if there was a sense of doom and gloom in the party office in New Delhi, the reason was that it ... Read More

Mothers hushed their babies as terrorists struck Cama Hospital
By Azera Rahman

Mumbai, Dec 7 (IANS) Ten days after the outrage, the stories are still pouring forth. Burqa-clad and cradling her baby in her arms, Sahira Sheikh walked out of the quiet premises of the Cama hospital Saturday, recalling with chilling horror how on Nov 26 she, like many young mothers, had to keep nursing her baby to prevent him from crying as terrorists struck.

"I was admitted in the hospital just a day before ... Read More

Foundation Starts Health Policy News Service
By KEVIN SACK

Seeking to fill a niche left by the decline of the traditional news media, the Kaiser Family Foundation is starting a news service to produce in-depth coverage of the policy and politics of health care, both for an independent Web site and in collaborations with mainstream news organizations.

With a budget that is expected to reach $3 million to $4 million in two years, the project is one of the most ambitious in a ... Read More

India's rich lose 60 pct of their fortune as stocks dive: Forbes
The fortunes of India's wealthiest have been slashed by more than 60 percent due to the global financial crisis which has sharply pulled down stock markets, according to a new rich list.

Forbes magazine put Mukesh Ambani, chairman of India's largest private sector firm Reliance Industries, as the country's wealthiest man, with a net worth of 20.8 billion dollars after losing 28.2 billion dollars in the past year.

He overtakes London-based steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal who topped ... Read More

Start-Up Teaches Math to Americans, Indian-Style
By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER

The New York Times recently reported on a study that found, once again, that the United States is failing to develop the math skills of its students, particularly girls, especially compared to other countries where math education is more highly valued.

Indian Math Online is a start-up that aims to take on that disparity by teaching math to American kids using techniques from Indian schools.

Bob Compton, an Indianapolis-based venture capitalist and entrepreneur who ... Read More

Lights, camera, action! India's reel dreams get a global canvas
It's a story that began 71 years ago, involving a 13-year-old mahout from Mysore in southern India. Sabu Dastagir, who rode an elephant belonging to the Maharaja of Mysore, was spotted by Hollywood director Robert Flaherty looking for an Indian face to play the lead in his movie "Elephant Boy". Based on a Rudyard Kipling story, the movie was a runaway hit and Dastagir's performance was universally acclaimed. Wrote one film reviewer: "With a smile as ... Read More

Peter, Thou Art Rock
By Kanam TJ

There he stood all 6’ and 5” of him, like a statue carved in black marble on the veranda of a bungalow, which has seen better days. He stood erect despite his height, eyebrows thick as brushes with bristles black and white, salt and pepper style. The shining baldhead had a few silver hairs left on the lower parts. The eyes were big and powerful, the nose long and hawkish. The ears were ... Read More

Immigrants' heart health worsens in Canada: study
Some disheartening news for immigrants: those seeking a better life in Canada may actually be setting themselves up for a premature death due to cardiovascular disease.

A new study being presented at a meeting of Canadian heart specialists in Toronto shows that while many immigrants arrive healthy, their heart health only gets worse the longer they remain in Canada.

Dr. Scott Lear, a kinesiologist at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, says he has visible ... Read More

Pakistan Demands End to U.S. Strikes Against Islamic Militants on Border
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG

Pakistan demanded an end to U.S. missile strikes against Islamic militants holed up in the rugged tribal areas along the country's border with Afghanistan, the latest sign of growing tension between the allies as both struggle to combat the Taliban and al Qaeda.

The U.S. has launched at least 16 airstrikes inside Pakistan since August, and Pakistani officials told U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson that "such attacks were a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and should ... Read More

Brothers share wife to secure family land
By Sara Sidner

HIMACHAL PRADESH -- Amar and Kundan Singh Pundir are brothers. Younger brother Amar breaks rocks in a mine for a living. Kundan farms their small piece of inherited land. They live in a beautiful but remote hillside village in the clouds of Himachal Pradesh, India.

Both in their 40's, the two brothers have lived together nearly their whole lives. They are poor and share just about everything: Their home, their work and a ... Read More

Kathmandu reporter needs contacts
I'm David Lepeska, contributor to the Economist and The National, based in Delhi -- I'll be reporting from Kathmandu from Oct 27, hoping to speak with business leaders, activists, Somali refugees, and long-time locals about recent cultural and political developments. Please contact me at david.lepeska@gmail.com if you are able to help.

David Lepeska ... Read More

INDIA: Hindu nationalists target Christians
Our correspondent

Grass-roots organisations of the Hindu nationalist Sangh Parivar have recently extended their anti-Christian attacks into southern India. With the region lacking large Muslim communities, its Christian populations are now being treated as the 'Other' against which Hindu nationalists can seek grass-roots support. This strategy is effective in the short term, but carries appreciable political risks.

The alleged Christian threat to the Hindu community has become one of the central planks ... Read More

Indian Space Program: A Major Success Story
By Prof. Titus Mathews

The Indian Space Program is an unparalleled success story, which many people may not be fully aware of. During the past forty years India has developed its own capabilities to launch satellites for telecommunications and earth observations; India thus has become a pre-eminent space-faring nation. India’s technical capabilities include building state-of-the-art satellites, as well as indigenous launching of vehicles capable orbiting near-earth polar-orbiting satellites, Geo-synchronous satellites and even lunar ... Read More