Kashmiri Separatists Scrabble for Political Relevance

Amid growing scepticism among Kashmiri people that the separatist leadership has lost relevance in the region’s fast-changing political landscape, the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference – an alliance of separatist political parties and religious and social groups - is making a Herculean effort to reclaim some relevance in this disputed region.

India Shrugs Off UK Aid Cuts, Despite Poverty

As India forges ahead with a host of trade agreements with various European countries, including France, some Indian commentators say the country can well do without the “paltry” sum in financial aid it currently receives from the United Kingdom.

The Emerging Global Crisis of Investment Agreements

A growing number of international lawsuits has highlighted an emerging global crisis: the nature and effects of investment treaties signed between governments, which are allowing private companies and investors to sue countries for millions or even billions of dollars.

There’s Life in the AIDS Ribbon

Thirty-year old Swapna Raj of Hyderabad is a woman in a hurry: in time for the International AIDS day Swapna, a HIV positive person on anti-retroviral therapy (ART), has received a contract from the state government to deliver 5,000 red ribbons.

Smoking Kills Mostly the Poor in India

Mujeeb Rahuman (39), a mason in the Venjaramoodu village in Thiruvananthapuram, the southernmost district in India’s coastal Kerala state, has been a chain smoker for the past twenty years.

Evolving HIV Strains Worry Indian Scientists

While India has drastically reduced the spread of HIV over the past decade, new strains of the virus that cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are troubling medical scientists in this country.

Brazil, Turkey, India, Indonesia Key to U.S.-Backed Global Order

The United States should focus increasingly on courting Brazil, India, Indonesia and Turkey, four “global swing states” critical to the preservation of the Western-dominated international order, according to a new report released here Tuesday by two major U.S. think tanks.

Development Targets Ride on Vitamins

One hundred and ninety million – that’s more than the populations of Germany, France and Poland combined. It is also the number of children affected by vitamin A deficiency around the world.

Execution Met With Silence in Pakistan

Wednesday, Nov. 21, dawned like any other in the sleepy town of Faridkot, located some 150 kilometres from the Punjab capital of Lahore in Pakistan. But as the town’s 3000 residents went about their daily routines the air grew thick with apprehension, for a reason none wanted to mention.

India Reaffirms Death Penalty

One day after voting against a United Nations General Assembly draft resolution seeking to abolish the death penalty, India executed Pakistani national Mohammad Ajmal Kasab for the November 2008 terror rampage in Mumbai that left 166 people dead.

Making Waste Management a Sport in India

In a country notorious for the inability to deal with the waste it generates, municipal officials in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh are now resorting to making waste management a competitive sport, in their bid to cajole the entire nation to clean up.

‘Lifestyle Diseases’ Plague Indian Women

Sreelakshmi, an office executive in a major diagnostic laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the southern Indian state of Kerala, ends her 11-hour working day to return home at night to a mountain of domestic chores.

Global Rebalancing – Implications For Asia

Although it remains the fastest growing region, Asia is already experiencing an economic slowdown, with gross domestic product (GDP) expected to fall from 6.8 percent in 2011 to slightly below six percent in 2012. Several countries - including China, India and Turkey - have been adversely affected by weaker demand from developed countries.

No Social Protection for India’s Elderly

At midnight on Oct. 12, 91-year-old George Puthenveettil, a widower living in Kalanjur village in the Pathanamthita district of the southern Indian state of Kerala, was brutally tortured and ousted from his own house by his only son for “not earning any money”.

India Poised to Supply Free Drugs to 1.2 Billion People

As the northern Indian state of Rajasthan rolls out an ambitious universal healthcare plan, the discontent of the state’s doctors stands in stark contrast to the joys of the 68 million people who will benefit from the scheme.

India Puts GM Food Crops Under Microscope

Environmental activists are cautiously optimistic that a call by a court-appointed technical committee for a ten-year moratorium on open field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops will shelve plans to introduce bio-engineered foods in this largely agricultural country.

Violence Against Women Surging in India

As gender-based violence across India becomes more frequent, and more savage, increasing numbers of women are speaking out against the cruelty.

Asia: Saving Grace of Global Economy?

Developing countries – ­relegated to the sidelines of the West-led postwar expansion – have emerged as the saving grace of the global economy against a backdrop of calls for a new economic model that can ease the ravages of globalisation and address the lack of confidence in market-based systems.

Women Hit Hard by Natural Disasters

In the aftermath of a natural disaster, women are often the most vulnerable. Particularly in rural areas, women suffer disproportionately from inadequate shelter and poor sanitation facilities and are often tasked with rebuilding shattered homes.

Q&A: “Indian Reality Is Infinitely Complex”

One morning, Tarun Tejpal awoke to learn that five hitmen had been arrested for having a contract to kill him. Suddenly, the life of the prominent Indian journalist and editor was turned upside down.

Culling or Conservation?

Midway through Wildlife Week in India, celebrations have been marred by news that 29.8 kilogrammes of ivory, worth 336,800 dollars, had been seized on the Andaman Trunk Road.