Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
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Faith and religious tolerance in India
Where tolerance and segregation go hand in hand
A recent nationwide, multi-faith public-opinion survey has found that Indians value both religious tolerance and co-existence, on the one hand, and religious exclusivity and segregation, on the other. But this apparent contradiction, although astonishing to many, is in fact not entirely surprising. By Shashi Tharoor
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Pimping the parliamentary facade
Narendra Modi's Potemkin democracy
India's prime minister has an "edifice complex" that has given rise to grand new government buildings, including a planned new parliament. Sadly, the spirit of deliberation and debate that animated the old parliament building risks being left there. By Shashi Tharoor
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Moosa Raza's "In Search of Oneness"
What do the Bhagavad Gita and the Koran have in common?
Despite over a thousand years of co-existence, India's Hindus and Muslims often know little about each other's religious traditions. In an effort to promote understanding and reconciliation among the two communities, Moosa Raza, an Indian scholar of Islam, compares the sub-continent’s two most important sacred scriptures. By Marian Brehmer
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Indo-Pakistani relations
Detente over Kashmir following decades of conflict?
Over the years, the relationship between arch-rivals India and Pakistan has been shaped by conflict and confrontation. For some time now, however, both countries have been singing a more conciliatory tune. Is this the dawn of a lasting detente in South Asia? By Mohammad Luqman
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India's farmers vs. Narendra Modi
"Modi and the BJP are destroying the country"
In India, hundreds of thousands of farmers are fighting doggedly against laws passed by Narendra Modi’s government to liberalise agriculture. In a nationwide campaign, more than forty farmers’ organisations have called on Indian voters to deny the ruling BJP party their votes in future elections. Dominik Muller reports
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France24: India's deadly coronavirus surge
India’s teens pitch in on social media during COVID crisis
The collapse of the healthcare system during the latest COVID-19 surge has driven desperate Indians to seek help on social media. As adults struggle to cope with medical shortages, India’s wired youths are doing their bit to help – and getting lessons on resilience, initiative and the constructive power of the Internet. By Leela Jacinto
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Eroding confidence in the Fourth Estate
Narendra Modi declares war on India's free press
Freedom of the press is the mortar that binds together a free society. If Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to de-institutionalise what used to be a dynamic and independent Fourth Estate persist, public confidence in the media will steadily decline, along with confidence in Indian democracy, writes Shashi Tharoor
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"We are witnessing a crime against humanity"
The Guardian: Arundhati Roy on India’s COVID catastrophe
It’s hard to convey the full depth and range of the trauma, the chaos and the indignity that people are being subjected to. Meanwhile, Modi and his allies are telling us not to complain. By Arundhati Roy
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COVID-19 and the double mutation
At the heart of India's coronavirus firestorm
India hits record numbers of COVID-19 infections worldwide for the sixth day running, as health systems buckle under the pressure, and shortages of medical oxygen and hospital beds lead to more deaths. In the worst-ever outbreak, the country has been logging over 300,000 cases since 22 April, surpassing the previous highest one-day spike of around 300,300 cases in the USA in January 2021
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India and the farmers' protests
Solidarity mounts against Narendra Modi's BJP
The farmers' protests in India show no signs of abating – despite repressive measures. Government attempts to stigmatise the farmers have only prompted sections of the urban middle class to support the uprising. And the boundaries between the different religious identities, repeatedly invoked by the Hindu nationalists in the ruling party BJP, also appear to be softening. By Dominik Muller
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Arundhati Roy's "Azadi"
Narendra Modi is pushing Indian society to the brink
Arundhati Roy's recent volume of essays and lectures provides an eye-opening account of current political developments in India. Written during the run-up to the last general election, "Azadi" charts India's disturbing slide into authoritarianism. Richard Marcus read the book
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The "India Love Project" on Instagram
Fighting hate with love
Marrying for love is still quite a rare thing in India. Religion often gets in the way, as do caste and parental opinions. After the defamatory term "Love Jihad" started trending on Twitter, three journalists set up the "India Love Project" on Instagram to share stories of love that have transcended boundaries and discrimination of all kinds. By David Pfeifer