News and reports from the sub-continent.
India’s erstwhile colonial laws outlawing homosexuality are out of touch with a changing society, Chinmayee Manjunath discovers. “Homophobia, and not homosexuality, is new to Indian culture,” says Vinay Chandran of Bangalore-based charitable trust, Swabhava, which works with gender and sexual minorities in the country. His argument has a sound basis considering homosexual acts have been […]
Continue ReadingThe carefully structured notions of India’s caste hierarchy have remained unchallenged for thousands of years but a power shift is dawning, says Sreerekha Pillai. The highest of the four main Hindu castes, Brahmins – the priestly caste – have enjoyed a lofty social status above Kshatriyas: Rulers and warriors; Vaishya: Farmers, merchants, traders, and craftsmen; […]
Continue ReadingMobile phone mania is sweeping Pakistan with a rapid increase in national subscribers due to low connection costs and cheap pre-paid packages and phone sets. Everyone from top business executives to daily wagers look busy on mobile phones in offices, on roads and in marketplaces in this developing South Asian country. “The number of cellular […]
Continue ReadingEvery summer, like the water in this parched land, young men ‘evaporate’ from the face of Bhilwara and other neighbouring districts in Rajasthan, West India, to look for work. It’s unusual, almost surreal, to see women take the mantle during this period in this otherwise patriarchal society, known for its tales of valiant Rajput warriors […]
Continue ReadingNo expense was spared at year’s European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) annual meeting in Uzbekistan. The country’s capital, Tashkent – one of the oldest cities in Central Asia – played host to the investor’s lavish three-day conference last week. It focussed on "project financing for banks, industries and businesses in countries that are […]
Continue ReadingShe blows bubbles into her glass of water, her little forehead furrowed in concentration. Each time a bubble bursts, Misha’s tiny voice reverberates and she laughs. “Don’t do that, Mishuma,” her mother admonishes gently. Glancing indulgently at his daughter, Misha’s father explains: “She is just learning to swim. She thinks she must breathe like that […]
Continue ReadingYou can easily mistake Falun Gong followers for elegant ballet dancers. With their knees slightly bent and with the precision and poise of a ballerina, they move their arms gracefully around their body, as if weaving an enormous invisible net around themselves. And with oriental Chinese music playing in the background, the resemblance is too […]
Continue ReadingIndian health authorities are awaiting the results of 13 suspected SARS cases, which if positive, could triple the country’s known number of carriers. Test results from two cases in Mumbai and a two cases in Delhi are also awaited though India’s health ministry believes they could merely be "silent carriers" who themselves do not have […]
Continue ReadingUnited Nations chemical weapons inspectors are to visit a fertiliser plant in the southern city of Karachi this week to certify Pakistan is not producing chemical or biological weapons. The Foreign Ministry of Pakistan says the visit by UN inspectors is “not a chemical weapon inspection as Pakistan is not a chemical weapon state.” The […]
Continue ReadingThe Pakistan government’s decision last week to block pornographic web sites is more a political stunt than an effort to purify society, experts say. State-run Pakistani Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) announced last week it had blocked more than 1,800 pornographic web sites in an attempt to protect Internet users from what they call "their evil […]
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