Sameer Yasir
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Dozens, Mostly Children, Drown During a Hindu Festival
3 hours ago A video of singer Arijit Singh is going viral. Singh, who is currently on a tour of the UK, was seen standing up for a female fan after a security personnel allegedly grabbed her by the neck. In the video going viral on social media, Singh is heard apologizing to the female fan. In this clip, the …
Dozens, Mostly Children, Drown During a Hindu Festival Original
At least 46 people drowned in the eastern Indian state of Bihar as millions of Hindu devotees were celebrating a three-day festival for the well-being of children, officials said on Thursday. Thirty-seven of those who died were children and seven were women, according to a statement released by the government of Bihar State.
Kashmiris Are Voting Again. But Do They Have a Voice? Original
The Tao cafe in Srinagar, capital of the disputed Kashmir region in India, is a bustling place. At outdoor tables shaded by majestic trees, Himalayan trout is served with loaves of fresh bread to the young, affluent Kashmiris who frequent it. But when conversation turns to politics, a hush falls, even though it's an election season. People describe a loss of direction, a drift into an unsettled future. They are not sure what place mostly Muslim Kashmir has in an increasingly Hindu-nationalist India.
Monday Reads
Photo by Nick Hillier on Unsplash Happy Monday! Here are some fine reads from around the web, plus what you might have missed from the newsletter and elsewhere this week. Jill Filipovic is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. How Egypt’s abortion ban is pushing women towards dangerous black market practicesby Mariam Zaki in The New Arab Democracy Needs the Loserby Barbara F.
Is India a Safe Place for Women? Another Brutal Killing Raises the Question. Original
In December 2012, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student boarded a bus in New Delhi a little after 9 p.m., expecting it would take her home. Instead, she was gang-raped and assaulted so viciously with an iron rod that her intestines were damaged. She died days later as India erupted in rage.
Medic’s killing fuels protests and walkouts in India
NEW DELHI — After a long shift last Thursday, a junior doctor went to sleep in a seminar room at the Kolkata hospital where she worked. The next morning, her colleagues found her dead, her body showing signs of rape and extreme physical brutality. The killing, at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, has stirred angry protests over entrenched misogyny and violence against women and led thousands of doctors to walk out of major public hospitals across India to demand a safer working environment.
Indian Kashmir to Hold Legislative Election for First Time in a Decade Original
For the first time in a decade, Muslim-majority Kashmir in India will hold an election for its regional legislature starting next month, the country's election commission said on Friday. The announcement is a step toward returning some measure of self-governance to Kashmir after the Hindu-nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi stripped the region of its semiautonomous status in 2019 and suspended democracy there.
Landslides in southern India kill more than 100 People
By Sameer Yasir and Anupreeta Das At least 108 people were killed and dozens more injured in the southern Indian state of Kerala after days of heavy rainfall set off multiple landslides in an area known for a rugged, natural beauty that is a big draw for tourists. The landslides in the district of Wayanad uprooted trees, knocked down communication lines, submerged roads and washed away a bridge.
Landslides in Southern India Kill at Least 23
At least 23 people were killed in the southern Indian state of Kerala on Tuesday, officials said, after landslides triggered by heavy rains struck an area with rugged, hilly terrain. The death toll was expected to rise. Rescue workers were struggling to reach the area, in the rural district of Wayanad, because bridges had collapsed and roads had been swept away.
Heavy downpours and flooding kill dozens across South Asia
By Sameer Yasir Torrential rainfall and floods have killed more than 200 people and displaced millions across South Asia, the result of more frequent extreme weather and rapid urbanization that has pushed people into flood-prone areas. In recent days, more than 100 people were killed in India alone and nearly 40 died in Afghanistan. Flooding and landslides have killed more than 100 people in Nepal in recent weeks.
India’s Cable News Predicted a Big Modi Win. How Did They Get It So Wrong?
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India's Cable News Predicted a Big Modi Win. How Did They Get It So Wrong? Original
Through the months of India's sprawling national election season, the country's hundreds of cable news outlets all seemed to be trying to outdo each other: They predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would win, and win big. It was a shocking result to many, and now India finds itself wondering why so few foresaw the popularity of an opposition movement.
Stampede at Religious Gathering in Northern India Kills Dozens
NEW DELHI -- At least 27 people were killed, and dozens more injured, in a stampede during a religious event in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where hundreds of devotees had gathered. Umesh Kumar Tripathi, a medical officer in the district of Etah, in western Uttar Pradesh, said a majority of the dead so far were women and children unable to avoid a crowd of devotees trying to exit. “More people are being brought to other hospitals,” Tripathi said.
Stampede at Religious Gathering in Northern India Kills Dozens Original
At least 27 people were killed, and dozens more injured, in a stampede during a religious event in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where hundreds of devotees had gathered. Umesh Kumar Tripathi, a medical officer in the district of Etah, in western Uttar Pradesh, said a majority of the dead so far were women and children unable to avoid a crowd of devotees trying to exit. "More people are being brought to other hospitals," Mr. Tripathi said.
Rahul Gandhi, Long on the Ropes, Looks Set for an Unexpected Comeback
What the humbling of Modi means for India Jun 5th 2024 Narendra Modi, the strongman of India, will have to compromise now his party has lost its majority. What does the surprise result mean …
Rahul Gandhi, Long on the Ropes, Looks Set for an Unexpected Comeback Original
Just last year, Rahul Gandhi and the once-powerful party he led, the Indian National Congress, seemed to be on the ropes and little threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's consolidation of political power. Congress had not been a competitive factor in national elections in years, winning fewer and fewer votes each time Mr. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party was elected. And Mr. Gandhi himself had been convicted on a slander charge and barred from holding a seat in Parliament.
Needing Help to Stay in Office, Modi No Longer Appears All-Powerful
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Suddenly, the aura of invincibility around Narendra Modi has been shattered. In an Indian election in which his party's slogan had promised a landslide victory and Mr. Modi even repeatedly referred to himself as sent by God, the results announced on Tuesday were unexpectedly sobering.
By Mujib Mashal Verified, Alex Travelli Verified, Hari Kumar Verified, Suhasini Raj, Sameer Yasir Verified, Pragati K.B, Atul Loke
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The New York Times
Verified
Desperate for water, some Delhi residents are prepared to kill mogaznewsen
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In Delhi's Parched Slums, Life Hangs on a Hose and a Prayer Original
Before the water tanker rolled into one of New Delhi's largest slums, Arvind Kumar was pacing between the gate of a public school and a tea seller's stall hundreds of yards from his home, where he lives with nine members of his family. "There, it is coming," Mr. Kumar shouted to a woman waiting on the slum's edge. It had been days since their small portion of the slum, which typically receives one water tanker about every two weeks, had gotten water.
Leaflet by leaflet, a few aging activists fight India’s tide of bigotry
They have continued to hit the pavement even as the price for dissent and free speech has become high, trying to keep the flame alive for the nonsectarian ideal embedded in India’s Constitution and in their own memories Sameer Yasir Lucknow Published 01.06.24, 04:35 PM Shabnam Hashmi, left, a 66-year-old activist, and another woman hand out pamphlets with a message of peace and tolerance in New Delhi, May 9, 2024.
Folleto en mano, un puñado de activistas mayores luchan contra la oleada de intolerancia en la India
Sameer Yasir 29 de mayo de 2024, 2:18 p. m.·5 min de lectura LUCKNOW, India— Una mañana reciente, Roop Rekha Verma, una activista por la paz de 80 años y exlíder universitaria, caminó por un vecindario del norte de India propenso a conflictos sectarios y se estacionó cerca de una tienda de té. De su bolso cruzado sacó un fajo de folletos con mensajes de tolerancia religiosa y coexistencia mutua y comenzó a repartirlos a los transeúntes. “Conversen.
Leaflet by Leaflet, a Few Aging Activists Fight India's Tide of Bigotry Original
One recent morning, Roop Rekha Verma, an 80-year-old peace activist and former university leader, walked through a north Indian neighborhood prone to sectarian strife and parked herself near a tea shop. From her sling bag, she pulled out a bundle of pamphlets bearing messages of religious tolerance and mutual coexistence and began handing them to passers-by. "Talk to each other. Don't let anyone divide you," one read in Hindi. Spreading those simple words is an act of bravery in today's India.
Storms Pummel Mumbai, Killing at Least 8 Original
Heavy rains accompanied by strong winds ripped through Mumbai, the financial capital of India, on Monday, killing at least eight people, uprooting trees and causing power outages in many parts of the city, officials said. The deaths were caused by a large billboard that toppled onto a crowd of people seeking shelter, a local official said.
Australian Journalist Says She Was Pushed Out of India Original
Avani Dias said that she had been denied a visa renewal for weeks because of her reporting on the Sikh separatist movement. Indian officials disputed her account. A senior journalist with Australia's national broadcaster says she was effectively pushed out of India after her reporting on Sikh separatism angered the Indian government, accusing the authorities of hindering her from going to events, seeking to have her reporting taken down and refusing for weeks to renew her visa.
India to Redo Voting at Polling Stations Hit by Violence Original
The attacks occurred in Manipur, a northeastern state that has been troubled by ethnic unrest. Witnesses reported that voting booths were captured and bogus ballots cast. India's election authorities have directed officials to redo voting at several polling places in the troubled northeastern state of Manipur, after armed men attacked polling stations and captured voting booths despite the presence of dozens of paramilitary soldiers.
Why India's Opposition Can't Get It Together Original
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party has never had the support of most voters. But his rivals are too fractured and dysfunctional to capitalize on that. The last time Indians voted in a national election, in 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, won running away. But even then, more than 60 percent of voters cast ballots for other parties.
Why India’s Opposition Can’t Get It Together
Responding to the issue, Shama said that she had not made any inappropriate remarks and asked why she was being charged in this case. Congress …
How Xi became a constant thorn in Modi’s side | India News - Times of India
As Narendra Modi seeks a third term as prime minister, the rupture with China looms over a pillar of his campaign: making India a major power Narendra Modi once looked up to China. As a business-friendly chief minister of Gujarat, he travelled there repeatedly to attract investment and see how his country could learn from its neighbor’s economic transformation. China, he said, has a “special place in my heart”. Chinese officials cheered on his march to national power as that of “a political star”.
How Xi became a constant thorn in Modi’s side
As Narendra Modi seeks a third term as prime minister, the rupture with China looms over a pillar of his campaign: making India a major power Narendra Modi once looked up to China. As a business-friendly chief minister of Gujarat, he travelled there repeatedly to attract investment and see how his country could learn from its neighbor’s economic transformation. China, he said, has a “special place in my heart”. Chinese officials cheered on his march to national power as that of “a political star”.
China had a ‘special place’ in Narendra Modi’s heart. Now it’s a thorn in his side.
Lasith Malinga 1 hour ago Lasith Malinga exposes MI reality after Arjun Tendulkar unleashes yorkers to strike single stump ahead of CSK clash hindustantimes.com - HT Sports Desk • 1h Arjun Tendulkar has yet to make his first appearance for the Mumbai Indians this season.
China Had a 'Special Place' in Modi's Heart. Now It's a Thorn in His Side. Original
As Narendra Modi seeks a third term as prime minister, India's rupture with China looms over a pillar of his campaign: making his country a major power. Narendra Modi once looked up to China. As a business-friendly Indian state leader, he traveled there repeatedly to attract investment and see how his country could learn from its neighbor's economic transformation.
Tax Dispute Becomes Political as India Freezes Opposition's Accounts Original
India's largest opposition party accused the national authorities on Thursday of paralyzing its political activities by blocking the party's access to its bank accounts, in what it described as a heavy-handed response to a tax dispute just weeks before a pivotal general election. Officials with the party, the Indian National Congress, said that eight of its 11 main accounts at four banks had been frozen, and that there was no clear indication of when the party would regain access to the money.
India Law That Sparked Deadly Riots Is Enacted After a 4-Year Delay
NEW DELHI -- Weeks before a national election, the Indian government has abruptly announced that it will begin enforcing a citizenship law that had remained dormant since late 2019 after inciting deadly riots by opponents who called it anti-Muslim. The incendiary law grants Indian citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Jains, Parsees and Christians from a few nearby countries. Muslims are pointedly excluded.
Disney Joins a Media Empire Run by India's Biggest Tycoon
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries will control what is left of Disney's grasp at India's burgeoning media market. The Walt Disney Company had an India-sized twinkle in its eye as early as 1993, when it first came to the country of now 1.4 billion potential media consumers. It started small and found a distributor to broadcast some of its content over airwaves that were just opening to global capitalism. Along with India's market, Disney's ambitions grew bigger.
India Zoo Official Gave Revered Names to 2 Lions. He Was Punished.
The names, Sita and Akbar, evoking a Hindu goddess and a Muslim emperor, drew outrage from Hindu activists who saw it as blasphemy. The lions look bemused or even bored in photos but not unhappy. Sita and Akbar had been living together for years. Now in a captive-breeding program in India's eastern state of West Bengal, they are as married as animals can be. But many of the humans around them are upset.
Esta es la Universidad de India que es peligrosa por sus ideas 'anti-India'
La Universidad Jawaharlal Nehru, que lleva el nombre del primer Primer Ministro de India, es una de las principales instituciones liberales del país, un lugar de fuertes opiniones y valores de izquierda cuyos graduados llenan los niveles superiores de la academia y el Gobierno. Pero para los nacionalistas hindúes que tienen el poder en India, la universidad y otras instituciones similares son peligrosos antros de ideas “anti-India”. Y están trabajando para silenciarlos.
India’s Supreme Court Strikes Down Contentious Election Fund-Raising Tool
India’s Supreme Courtroom on Thursday struck down a contentious fund-raising mechanism that allowed people and companies to make nameless political donations, a system that was broadly seen as a bonus for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing celebration.
‘It Is Suffocating’: A Top Liberal University Is Under Attack in India
1 day ago In a recent interview, Bhumi Pednekar, renowned for her roles in films like Raksha Bandhan and Toilet Ek Prem Katha alongside Akshay Kumar, shared an intriguing aspect of working with the Bollywood star. A curious fan asked whether she recites her lines the same way Akshay does – by reading them …
Aquecimento global deixa estação de esqui no Himalaia sem neve em pleno inverno
THE NEW YORK TIMES — Todas as manhãs, Ishfaaq Ahmad Malik, instrutor de esqui na Caxemira, controlada pela Índia, abre a janela de seu quarto e, como muitos outros na região, se pergunta: Onde está a neve? “Isso nunca aconteceu antes em janeiro. Não em minha vida”, disse Malik, 65 anos.
Netflix Film’s Removal Shows Power of India’s Hindu Right Wing
The trailer for “Annapoorani: The Goddess of Meals” promised a sunny if melodramatic story of uplift in a south Indian temple city. A priest’s daughter enters a cooking match, however social obstacles complicate her inevitable rise to the highest. Annapoorani’s father, a Brahmin sitting on the high of Hindu society’s caste ladder, doesn’t need her to cook dinner meat, a taboo of their lineage. There may be even the trace of a Hindu-Muslim romantic subplot.
Traveling Through Words: 13 Captivating Stories of 2023
The year 2023 has been marked by incredible travel experiences and riveting journalistic efforts to document the human experience from around the world. From conflicts in the Middle East to cultural phenomena in Europe and South America, the stories captured by correspondents have brought to light the good, the bad, and the wrenching experiences of people globally. Capturing the Human Experience The essence of a dispatch involves bearing witness at close range and often at great risk.
Alleged plot to kill Sikh separatist highlights thorn in India's side
NEW DELHI — The federal indictment this week of an Indian citizen in an alleged murder-for-hire scheme targeting a Sikh separatist in New York threatens to damage ties between the United States and India just as the Biden administration has been courting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The charges are rooted in a decades-old dispute: the demand by some Sikhs for a sovereign state known as Khalistan carved out of northern India, which the Modi government opposes.
Alleged Plot to Kill Sikh Separatist Highlights Thorn in India’s Side
The charges are rooted in a decades-old dispute over the demand by some Sikhs for a sovereign state known as Khalistan carved out of northern India. Reporting from New Delhi Dec. 1, 2023Updated 2:02 p.m. ET The federal indictment this week of an Indian citizen in an alleged murder-for-hire scheme targeting a Sikh separatist in New York threatens to damage ties between the United States and India just as the Biden administration has been courting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
After Days Trapped in a Tunnel, Workers Wait for a Rescue’s Plan B
Four days after 40 workers became trapped in a Himalayan road tunnel, the Indian authorities were still trying on Thursday to find a way through debris and rescue them, as anguished family members and colleagues protested outside to demand faster action. The workers became stranded on Sunday about 500 feet from the tunnel’s entrance after landslides in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand caused a partial collapse.
After Days Trapped in a Tunnel, Workers Wait for a Rescue’s Plan B
Asia Pacific|After Days Trapped in a Tunnel, Workers Wait for a Rescue’s Plan B https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/16/world/asia/india-tunnel-collapse.html The Indian authorities are trying a second drilling technique to reach 40 men who are getting by on water and food sent in through a pipe. Reporting from New Delhi Nov. 16, 2023, 4:39 a.m. ET Sign up for Your Places: Global Update. All the latest news for any part of the world you select.
Toxic Air Is No Reason to Stay Inside for Delhi’s Joggers and Yoga Fans
Asia Pacific|Toxic Air Is No Reason to Stay Inside for Delhi’s Joggers and Yoga Fans https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/12/world/asia/delhi-air-pollution.html In India’s capital, skipping exercise and the social routines that often come with it is seen as worse than going out and breathing poison. Practicing yoga in Lodhi Garden with smog lingering over India’s capital city, New Delhi, on Wednesday.Credit...Elke Scholiers for The New York Times Reporting from New Delhi Nov.
What’s in Our Queue? ‘Paatal Lok’ and More
What’s in Our Queue? ‘Paatal Lok’ and More Sameer YasirWriting from New Delhi I am a reporter for The Times covering India and South Asia. Clean air is a luxury, I realized, after relocating to New Delhi.
India’s Top Court Rejects Gay Marriage, While Voicing Sympathy
India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a plea to legalize same-sex marriage, a stinging setback for gay people seeking equal rights in this socially conservative country of 1.4 billion people. A five-member bench of judges ruled unanimously against the petitioners, with the chief justice saying it was up to Parliament to create any laws recognizing same-sex unions.
India’s Top Court Rejects Gay Marriage, While Voicing Sympathy
Asia Pacific|India’s Top Court Rejects Gay Marriage, While Voicing Sympathy https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/world/asia/india-same-sex-marriage.html Though it expanded the definition of discrimination, the ruling was a sharp setback for petitioners seeking a landmark victory on marriage equality. Sameer Yasir and Reporting from New Delhi Oct. 17, 2023, 7:52 a.m. ET Sign up for The Interpreter newsletter, for Times subscribers only.
India’s ‘lake man’ relies on ancient methods to ease water crisis
After Anand Malligavad tumbled into a lake, he thought he might die — not from drowning, but from the stench. Like hundreds of other lakes in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, the one Malligavad suddenly found himself in was a receptacle for sewage, plastic debris and construction waste. His unplanned dip happened in 2017, when Malligavad, a mechanical engineer, was on a stroll with friends near his office.
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