As a communications shutdown is still depriving people in the predominantly Muslim Kashmir Valley contact with the outside world, five eminent international human-rights advocates say that the Indian military chokehold may be obscuring continuing abuses against civilians, nearly three weeks after stripping the region of its political autonomy. Information has been slowly emerging. “The blackout … Read more
Now was supposed to be the first thaw in relations between Pakistan and India after talks have been stalled since 2016. But Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan recently tweeted about India’s “arrogant and negative response . . . to my call for resumption of the peace dialogue,” hours after India retracted its position on … Read more
Harsh Mander had barely arrived in the remote northeastern Indian state of Assam when he was drawn into a humanitarian horror story years in the making. It was about to get exponentially worse. “The people of Assam are sitting atop a smoldering volcano, one that threatens to erupt into catastrophic suffering and injustice,” he wrote … Read more
HARYANA, India — In 2014, Breakthrough India, an independent human-rights organization, launched a program to tackle gender discrimination throughout 150 schools in Haryana, one of India’s most gender-biased states. A 2011 census showed that Haryana, a primarily agricultural state bordering Delhi in northern India, had the worst child-sex ratio in the country, with only 830 … Read more
Shilpa Raj is not a Bollywood name, though she has starred in a documentary. She is not a best-selling author — yet. But she has written a frank, soulful book that can contribute to important discussions about the human costs of a disrupted childhood, however well-intentioned, based on her own extraordinary story. At the age … Read more
Stephen Lewis is an outspoken and often impassioned Canadian diplomat and former United Nations official with a lot of experience in tracking health crises in Africa. Now he has turned his attention to tuberculosis in India, where he made a fact-finding trip in early October. He was shocked and disheartened by what he saw and … Read more
Manipur, a state of exceptional beauty in a little-known corner of northeastern India, was an independent region until 1949 when, in a controversial move, it was merged into the Indian union. Situated in an emerald green valley surrounded by nine blue mist-covered mountain ranges, the state has been seriously affected since 1949 by many continuous … Read more
Abraham George was a young officer in the Indian army when his postings around the country in the late 1960s exposed him to faces of India that shocked him. His comfortable home in a distinguished Kerala family had not prepared him for the misery he saw. His father was the dean of Kerala University Law … Read more
BANGALORE — Ask any woman to describe marriage in a few words, and she is most likely to say: romance, respect, understanding, support, care. The reality of this relationship for a sizeable number of women, unfortunately, is marred with violence, deceit, exploitation and other traumas. Yet a woman in India cannot imagine her life without … Read more
SHOPIAN, Kashmir — A strange quiet had fallen over the Eidgah, a sacred space and martyrs’ graveyard. The sadness was overwhelming, but there was also an underlying restlessness. A special prayer meeting had been organized by Shakeel Ahmad Ahanger and hundreds from this small town had gathered to remember two of its daughters, one of … Read more
KANDHAMAL, India — Sampati Kahanra, a woman from the Kandha tribal people of eastern India, has a deep connection with the forest. From as long as she can remember, she has been walking in the dense greenery to find food, firewood and leaves. It started when she was a child going out with her mother, … Read more
DELHI — At the landmark London Summit on family planning in 2012, 69 countries pledged to enable fuller access to family planning services for an additional 120 million women globally by 2020. India committed to spending more than $2 billion toward family planning services for 48 million women by 2020, besides sustaining its existing coverage … Read more
DELHI — Bora Bai lives on the outskirts of Guwahati, a large city in the state of Assam located on a hillock, set against the backdrop of lush hills of the Shillong plateau. What looks like an idyllic setting is actually the opposite: life is tough for Bai, a single woman who runs a small … Read more
While governments bask in data showing that the development goal of universal access to primary education has largely been achieved, attention is turning to what that really means in the classroom. Educators and human-rights advocates question whether acceptable standards are being met in many schools, as evidence mounts of the proliferation of private education in … Read more
JAIPUR — Being a qazi, or a Muslim expert on religious law, means much more to Safia Akhtar than just having the power to solemnize a marriage. “As a qazi, I want to be a true counselor to the women of my community and not only help them resolve issues concerning their rights but also ensure that … Read more
It began with a young woman named Bhanwari. In 1992, I was traveling in a remote part of the desert area of Rajasthan, India, near the Pakistan border, far from a main road, down a dirt track. I came into a village of a few hundred people. It was hot and dusty. In a one-room … Read more
AGRA, India — Young people aspire to have a comfortable home, a rewarding career and a loving family — and they work hard to put together the pieces of this perfect life. But what if a person never gets a decent shot at fulfilling one’s ambitions or can break free from the cycle of illiteracy, … Read more
The Hindu nationalist Indian government, on a campaign against independent advocacy groups, ordered the closing of Greenpeace India and gave it 30 days to disband, the organization said on Nov.6. The move comes only weeks before the important United Nations Conference on Climate Change opens on Nov. 30. Greenpeace India has been critical of unabated coal … Read more
DELHI — Moving images and stories of tired, anxious refugees crossing into Europe have occupied the home pages of news sites, dominated air time and gone viral online over the last months. The world is facing the biggest refugee crisis since World War II, media reports say, with a staggering 60 million people forced to leave … Read more
I am a terrible cook, a life skill I am not proud of missing out on. I routinely shame myself for not posting curated selfies of home-cooked cuisine, but my mother couldn’t be happier about my impediment. When I was a young girl growing up in India, my mother, Shashi Dutt, forbade me from entering … Read more
