11 MAY 2013
India’s opposition calls on PM to resign
Demand for Manmohan Singh’s resignation comes after country’s law minister and railway minister are forced to step down. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/05/201351114194638324.html http://asiancorrespondent.com/107502/2-indian-ministers-resign-in-latest-govt-scandals/ http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/11/world/asia/pakistan-election/index.html?hpt=ias_c1
7 MAY 2013
Indian Supreme Court Clears Controversial Nuclear Plant
The Indian Supreme Court on Monday 6 dismissed petitions questioning the safety of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu state, against which the locals have been protesting due to safety concerns. http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/42969-indian-supreme-court-clears-controversial-nuclear-plant/ http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/05/201356776113728.html
1 MAY 2013
Sexual Violence Widespread in India, UN Says
A mission to India by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women has concluded that sexual violence and harassment is widespread in the country. After a 10-day visit to several Indian states, Rashida Manjoo said sexual violence targeting India women is perpetuated in public spaces, in the family and in the workplace. http://www.voanews.com/content/un-sexual-violence-widespread-in-india/1652578.html
29 APRIL 2013
8 myths about India’s growth
Is India different? Last month, India’s finance minister confidently declared that nothing could stop his country from becoming the world’s third-biggest economy. He may well be right, but size alone does not make India a special case. Its growth has been fast, but it is no trailblazer. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/04/29/8_myths_about_indian_growth?page=0,0&goback=.gde_1791498_member_237837386
24 APRIL 2013
India singing legend Shamshad Begum dies
Begum had been in poor health in recent months and died at her residence late on Tuesday, family members told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-22275484
21 APRIL 2013
Indian protests after the rape of a five years young girl in Delhi
Allegations that the police had offered the family a bribe of 2,000 rupees ($37) to « keep quiet » contributed to the growing anger of protesters who gathered in the Indian capital. « They were reluctant to register our complaint [that she was missing] when we approached them the first time, » the father of the girl said. « Then the police asked us to be content with the fact she was at least found alive. » http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/04/201342015235341248.html http://www.euronews.com/2013/04/21/rape-and-torture-of-girl-sparks-furious-new-delhi-protests/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10008690/Indian-protests-after-two-rape-cases-of-young-girls-in-Delhi.html
18 APRIL 2013
India has one third of world’s poorest, says World Bank
India now has a greater share of the world’s poorest than it did thirty years ago. Then it was home to one fifth of the world’s poorest people, but today it accounts for one-third – 400 million. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10003228/India-has-one-third-of-worlds-poorest-says-World-Bank.html
14 APRIL 2013
Teenager exposes India’s ‘one month wives’ sex tourism
A 17-year-old girl has exposed the scale of Islamic sex tourism in India where Muslim men from the Middle East and Africa are buying ‘one month wives’ for sex. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9993453/Teenager-exposes-Indias-one-month-wives-sex-tourism.html
2 APRIL 2013
Indian Tamil actors protest Sri Lanka war conduct
Tamil movie stars in India, including superstar Rajinikanth, are fasting for a day to protest what they say is the mistreatment of ethnic Tamils in neighboring Sri Lanka and to demand an international probe into alleged wartime abuses there. http://asiancorrespondent.com/103971/indian-tamil-actors-protest-sri-lanka-war-conduct/
31 MARCH 2013
India’s Hindu party elevates controversial leader
The main opposition Hindu nationalist party on Sunday 31 elevated Narendra Modi, a deeply divisive figure in Indian politics, to the party’s top decision-making bodies, with his supporters believing he could become prime minister in national elections next year. http://asiancorrespondent.com/103826/india-narendra-modi-election/
29 MARCH 2013
Indian author flees after rape allegations
An award-winning Indian writer is on the run after five women who worked as cooks at a charity school he founded accused him of rape, police said on Friday. Laxman Mane, 63, disappeared after the women filed complaints earlier this week, alleging that he had repeatedly assaulted them between 2003 and 2010, mostly on the school premises in western Maharashtra state http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1263080/1/.html
22 MARCH 2013
Bollywood star convicted for illegal weapons
India’s Supreme Court sentenced Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt to five years in jail for illegal weapons possession in a case linked to a 1993 bombing that killed 257 people in Mumbai. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/03/201332163853512530.html
19 MARCH 2013
UN Vote on Sri Lankan Civil War Threatens Indian Government
Discord in India about a United Nations resolution on war crimes committed during Sri Lanka’s civil war has prompted a key regional ally to pull out of the coalition government. The government says its stability is not under threat, but the Congress-led alliance has become more fragile http://www.voanews.com/content/un-vote-on-sri-lanka-threatens-indias-congress-party/1624261.html http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/03/201331910374510398.html
Indian bill on tough rape laws passed by parliament
A bill containing harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty, has been passed by India’s lower house of parliament. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21826247
14 MARCH 2013
Communist Party India, Left Movement, West Bengal, Naxalites
Questions and Answers
13 MARCH 2013
Five troops killed as gunmen attack Kashmir security camp
Militants in Indian-administered Kashmir have killed at least five security personnel in a gun and grenade attack near a school in Srinagar. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21766580
26 FEBRUARY 2013
Indian Parliament gives nod to anti-sexual harassment Bill
The Rajya Sabha today unanimously passed the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill which provides for deterrent punishments and brings in its ambit even domestic workers and agriculture labour, besides workers in organised and unorganised sectors. http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=445371&catid=360200830.html
20 FEBRUARY 2013
Millions strike in India over high prices
An estimated 100 million Indians, angry about rising prices, low pay and poor working condition, walked off their jobs on Wednesday, on the first day of a two-day strike organised by eleven major trade unions. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/02/201322016857755633.html
Indian sisters aged six to 11 raped, murdered and thrown down well
The girls, whose mother is a poor, widowed domestic servant, were last seen outside a cheap roadside café selling rice and dahl, and may have decided to follow their killer because they were hungry. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9883009/Indian-sisters-aged-six-to-11-raped-murdered-and-thrown-down-well.html
9 FEBRUARY 2013
Afzal Guru: Delhi parliament attack plotter hanged
A Kashmiri militant sentenced to death over a 2001 plot to attack India’s parliament has been hanged after his final clemency plea was rejected. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-21392156 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9859271/Delhi-parliament-attack-plotter-hanged-in-India.html
7 FEBRUARY 2013
Report Faults Indian Government Over Widespread Child Sex Abuse
Sexual abuse of children is “disturbingly common” in India, and the government’s response to it has fallen short, both in protecting children and in treating victims, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Thursday. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/world/asia/report-faults-indian-government-over-widespread-child-sex-abuse.html?ref=asia&_r=0 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21352102
3 FEBRUARY 2013
Why India lags behind China
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/03/why-india-lags-behind-china
3 FEBRUARY 2013
Indian President approves death penalty in some rape cases
India’s president on Sunday approved harsher punishments for rapists, including the death penalty, after a brutal gang-rape in New Delhi sparked national outrage and triggered demands for tougher laws http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1252002/1/.html
23 JANUARY 2013
Rajnath Singh takes over India’s BJP leadership
India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has elected veteran politician Rajnath Singh as the new party president. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21155808
15 JANUARY 2013
Indian caste councils praise families that carry out ‘honour killings’
In a submission to India’s Supreme Court, leaders of caste councils made a plea for greater understanding of those who kill their children for ‘honour’ but denied encouraging them. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9803127/Indian-caste-councils-praise-families-that-carry-out-honour-killings.html
13 JANUARY 2013
7 men gang rape bus passenger in India
In an incident eerily similar to a sexual assault that sent shock waves worldwide, Indian police say a woman was gang-raped over the weekend by seven men after she boarded a bus at night. http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/13/world/asia/india-new-gang-rape/index.html?hpt=ias_c1
9 JANUARY 2013
The girls stolen from the streets of India
The death of a student who was gang-raped on a Delhi bus has prompted anguished soul-searching about the place of women in Indian society. The widespread killing of female foetuses and infants is well-documented, but less well-known is the trafficking of girls across the country to make up for the resulting shortages. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20938125
6 JANUARY 2013
Haradhan Bandopadhyay passes away at 86
Noted screen and stage actor Haradhan Bandopadhyay, who had starred in many celluloid classics of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray, passed away after a brief illness. He was 86 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Haradhan-Bandopadhyay-passes-away-at-86/articleshow/17907708.cms
4 JANUARY 2013
Gang Rape Reveals the Real India…
…and hopefully the glimmers of change http://asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5082&Itemid=404
31 DECEMBER 2012
From the Delhi police: Why women deserve to be raped http://forums.asiaone.com/showthread.php?t=57392#1
30 DECEMBER 2012
India gang-rape victim’s body cremated
The body of a woman who died after being gang-raped and beaten on a bus in India’s capital has been cremated amid an outpouring of anger and grief by millions across the country demanding greater protection for women from sexual violence. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/12/201212306127972964.html http://www.euronews.com/2012/12/30/family-holds-private-funeral-for-indian-gang-rape-victim/
29 DECEMBER 2012
India mourns death of gang-rape victim
Shocked Indians are mourning the death of a woman who was gang-raped and beaten on a bus in New Delhi nearly two weeks ago in an ordeal that has galvanised people to demand greater protection for women from sexual violence http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/12/2012122973834570942.html
28 DECEMBER 2008
Indian teenager commits suicide after gang rape
A 17-year-old Indian girl who was gang-raped has committed suicide after police pressured her to drop the case and marry one of her attackers, police and a relatives have said. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9768614/Indian-teenager-commits-suicide-after-gang-rape.html
23 DECEMBER 2012
India gang rape: journalist shot dead as protests continue
The Indian government failed to stem a wave of furious protest against the gang-rape of a student on Sunday, as a journalist was shot dead by police during a demonstration against another sex attack.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9763983/India-gang-rape-journalist-shot-dead-as-protests-continue.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9763657/India-gang-rape-protests-intensify-as-water-cannon-and-tear-gas-deployed.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/23/world/asia/india-rape-protests/index.html?hpt=ias_c1
20 DECEMBER 2012
India elections: BJP’s Narendra Modi secures Gujarat win
Narendra Modi, the Hindu nationalist chief minister reviled for failing to stop the 2002 massacre of Muslims in Gujarat, was hailed as a candidate for India’s next prime minister after a landslide victory in the state elections.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20778816
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9758527/Narendra-Modi-hailed-as-Indias-next-prime-minister.html
ASEAN-India ties boosted by FTA conclusion
Twenty years of ASEAN-India ties received a boost in New Delhi on Thursday 20 with the announcement that the much-awaited ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has been concluded, after discussions on the investment and services chapters were completed http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southasia/view/1243743/1/.html
12 DECEMBER 2012
Ravi Shankar, Indian sitar maestro, dies
Legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, a major influence on musicians ranging from The Beatles to violinist Yehudi Menuhin, has died at the age of 92 after surgery in the United States, his family said Wednesday. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20690632 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/1242390/1/.html
5 DECEMBER 2012
Indian government wins controversial foreign retail vote
India’s government has won a crucial vote in parliament on its controversial plans to open the retail sector to foreign competition
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20604455
30 NOVEMBER 2012
Inder Kumar Gujral, former Indian prime minister, dies
Former Indian prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral has died after a long illness in a hospital near the capital, Delhi, aged 92. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20552041
21 NOVEMBER 2012
Mumbai attack gunman Ajmal Qasab executed
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab, the sole surviving gunman in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has been hanged. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20422265 http://www.france24.com/en/20121121-india-mumbai-kasab-terror-hangs-surviving-gunman-attacks
17 NOVEMBER 2012
Bal Thackeray, Hindu leader and Shiv Sena founder, dies
Hindu fundamentalist politician Bal Thackeray, the founder of the right-wing Shiv Sena party, has died in Mumbai at the age of 86.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20376653 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/11/2012111712347525901.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20180376
16 NOVEMBER 2012
Rahul Gandhi to lead Congress poll campaign
Congress party leader, Rahul Gandhi, has been appointed the head of a committee which will look after party activities relating to the 2014 general elections.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20352518
India textbook says meat-eaters lie and commit sex crimes
Meat-eaters « easily cheat, lie, forget promises and commit sex crimes », according to a controversial school textbook available in India.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20354669
4 NOVEMBER 2012
India’s Rahul Gandhi uses rally to take centre stage
Rahul Gandhi, scion of India’s Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, addressed tens of thousands of supporters at a rally in New Delhi on Sunday, raising his profile before a possible bid to become prime minister.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9654146/Indias-Rahul-Gandhi-uses-rally-to-take-centre-stage.html
28 OCTOBER 2012
Indian prime minister reshuffles cabinet
Manmohan Singh, India’s prime minister, has reshuffled his cabinet in a bid to overhaul his government’s image ahead of state and national elections taking place over the next 18 months. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/10/2012102882712401450.html http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/manmohan-expands-cabinet-with-new-faces/article4040545.ece
26 OCTOBER 2012
Foreign Minister S M Krishna quits before India reshuffle
The move comes ahead of an expected cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this weekend.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20096813
23 OCTOBER 2012
Indian girls ‘should be banned from owning mobiles’
Girls should be banned from owning mobile phones to stop them eloping, an Indian MP has said
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9628163/Indian-girls-should-be-banned-from-owning-mobiles.html
21 OCTOBER 2012
Bollywood veteran film-maker Yash Chopra dies
One of India’s most influential film-makers, Yash Chopra, has died from dengue fever in Mumbai, aged 80. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20023315
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/yash-chopra-king-of-romance-leaves-a-void-in-bollywood/1020177/%22
18 OCTOBER 2012
India’s aircraft carrier hits more troubled waters
India’s long-stated intention to procure an aircraft carrier has suffered a further blow, hurting efforts to match China’s growing maritime clout, especially in the Indian Ocean region and the South China Sea, where India has invested to explore for oil and gas. The deferment by at least a year was conveyed last week by Russia, which is reconditioning the Admiral Gorshkov at an already escalated price of US$2.3 billion. The ship rechristened INS Vikramaditya was to have been delivered this year after several delays already
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/NJ19Df01.html
5 OCTOBER 2012
Five condemned to death for India ‘honour’ killing
Five members of a family in India were sentenced to death on Friday for the torture and « brutal » murder of a young couple in a so-called « honour killing » two years ago
http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20121005-375852.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-19840429
25 SEPTEMBER 2012
India’s Congress Party facing leadership crisis over Rahul Gandhi’s reluctance
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh turns 80-years-old on Wednesday, and senior party figures believe he will not lead the party into the next general election, which could be as early as next year
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9565858/Indias-Congress-Party-facing-leadership-crisis-over-Rahul-Gandhis-reluctance.html
23 SEPTEMBER 2012
India slowly confronts epidemic of missing children
More than 90,000 children are officially reported missing every year, according to data compiled and released late last year by leading children’s rights group Bachpan Bachao Andolan, which showed the problem was far greater than previously thought. Up to 10 times that number are trafficked, according to the group
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/india-slowly-confronts-epidemic-of-missing-children/2012/09/22/395d51b0-fd95-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html
22 SEPTEMBER 2012
Nuclear protesters briefly block Indian port
A government official says thousands of fishermen in nearly 500 boats blocked a port for nearly two hours, protesting construction of a nuclear power plant in southern India http://asiancorrespondent.com/89799/nuclear-protesters-briefly-block-indian-port/
20 SEPTEMBER 2012
Nationwide strike begins in India
Schools, shops and government offices were shut in some Indian states as protesters blocked road and rail traffic as part of a one-day nationwide strike against sweeping economic reforms announced by the government last week http://www.euronews.com/2012/09/20/india-national-strike-govt-formally-approves-supermarket-reforms/ http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/09/201292005144775438.html
18 SEPTEMBER 2012
Trinamool Congress quits India coalition over reform plan
A key regional party has pulled out of India’s governing coalition over its decision to open up the retail sector to global supermarket chains
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19637424
14 SEPTEMBER 2012
India Backs Foreign Investment in Retailing
After years of intense debate, India’s government agreed on Friday to open the country’s retail sector to global behemoths like Wal-Mart and Ikea, pushing for a profound shift in India’s economic and political direction
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/business/global/india-backs-foreign-investment-in-retail-sector.html?ref=asia
12 SEPTEMBER 2012
Manmohan Singh’s rendezvous with history
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has come under increasing scrutiny in the Western media, mostly for the issues Indian journalists have been reporting about for several years: corruption in his party and elsewhere, slow economic growth and poor governance
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/NI13Df02.html
10 SEPTEMBER 2012
Indian cartoonist jailed for mocking corruption
A political cartoonist whose drawings mock Indian government corruption has been jailed in a sedition investigation that was widely condemned as evidence of political leaders’ growing intolerance of criticism http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9533671/Indian-cartoonist-jailed-for-mocking-corruption.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-19540565
31 AUGUST 2012
Gujarat riots: BJP’s Maya Kodnani jailed for 28 years
A special Gujarat court today sentenced Bharatiya Janata Party legislator and former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani to 28 years in jail for her involvement in the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Naroda Patiya where 97 Muslims were killed
http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=421803&catid=35 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-19432982
29 AUGUST 2012
2008 Mumbai attack gunman death penalty upheld
India’s Supreme Court has cleared the way for Ajmal Kasab, the last surviving member of the Pakistani terrorist organisation that killed 166 people in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, to be executed. http:/