· November, 2006

Stories about India from November, 2006

India: Why he won't fly that airline anymore

  30 November 2006

Dateline Bombay on rude airline staff and why the one of the best airlines in India will lose its grip. “So you can have the best technical staff, the best equipment and the best food (in the airline business). But when your number one position gets to you and arrogance...

India: Cornershops in the era of big retail stores

  29 November 2006

Wal-mart's entry in India along with other big retail plans elicits quite a few reactions from those who feel it might threaten the traditional kirana stores (cornershops). The Indian Economy Blog on why that's not likely. “A vast majority of middle class India still shops from one of the millions...

India: A city named Madras (or Chennai)

  29 November 2006

DesiGirl at My Word! muses on Madras (now Chennai), on how the city has room for the new and the old with its own unique charm. “The old and the new have meshed together so well that one barely leaves a dent on another. The Geetha cafes and Saravana Bhavan...

India: Gandhigiri, Hinduism and the Media

  29 November 2006

Ambimama reflects on reactions to a popular actor being tried in the court of law under charges of terrorism and a religious leader being tried for murder, drawing links political will, the underworld and the silence of the media. “In North only film industry is controlled by the underworld. But...

Pakistan, India: Governance in Azad Kashmir

  29 November 2006

The Glasshouse comments on the state of governance and lack of telecommunications in Azad (Free) Kashmir. “It was shortly after the earthquake that I learnt that the so-called president, prime minister and cabinet ministers of that benighted place were more or less permanently ensconced in Rawalpindi, only making infrequent trips...

DRC: Insurrection in North Kivu

  28 November 2006

UDPS Liege wrote yesterday (Fr): “According to the UN Mission in the Congo (MONUC), fighting resumed this Monday morning at Kasengezi, about 20 kilometers from Goma. UN troops from India intervened using helicopters and ground operations to bring the men loyal to [General Nkunda] back to their positions near Sake,...

India: A popular actor and public memory

  28 November 2006

A popular actor who was charged under an act to prevent terrorism is partially let off the hook. World of India! on public memory and law. “The actor has been let off the much serious charge of abetting terrorism, though. A youth was quoted on NDTV saying – ” his...

Africa: Africa's economies

  28 November 2006

Eliesmith writes about the 2006 African Development Indicator, “According to the report, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of South Africa have retained their dominant positions on the economies of sub-Saharan Africa. Both countries account for 55% of the GDP of the region.”

India: Caste and reservations

  27 November 2006

National Highway on caste matters and reservation. “But if a ‘meritorious’ person like him could achieve so much in life despite such hardships, why do we need reservations at all? “I was an exception,” he says, “dalits are deliberately discriminated against and excluded and we need reservations to make sure...

India: A writing exercise

27 November 2006

Caferati has a writing exercise that asks writers to write from the other side of the fence. “It could be a poem extolling child labour. A monologue from a necrophiliac. An essay in favour of stronger government controls if you're a libertarian (or a paean to free markets of you're...

India: On Butterchicken in Ludhiana

  25 November 2006

Chandrahas is impressed with Pankaj Mishra's book – Butterchicken in Ludhiana. “Reading it this week for the first time, I was struck both by the smoothness of its style – it is a book without any dull bits, and the language has a full, rich flavour – and the strength...

India: The NRI Marriage and Dowry

  25 November 2006

A blogger at Together We Bond shares a heartbreaking story of a marriage that fails because of the husband's demand for dowry. “Then came the expectations. He wanted $25000 from my parents that too to be transferred to his account immediately. Initially I did not comprehend why?”

Trinidad & Tobago, India, Pakistan: In praise of cricketers

  23 November 2006

Mani sings the praises of West Indies cricket superstar Brian Lara, in the wake of the lightning-fast 216 runs he scored in the recently concluded 2nd Test against Pakistan. India's Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistani bowler Danish Kaneria — “only the second Hindu to ever represent Pakistan” — receive kudos as...

India: Photographing Allahabad

  23 November 2006

the shad king finds himself in Allahabad and shoots some dazzling photographs of the city. A glimpse of the pace, the traffic, the river and the people. “It was definitely an experience.. living in a “modern” city like Pune really blinds you from what the reality is for cities in...

India: Karva Chauth, women and their husbands

  23 November 2006

The Mad Momma reflects on the ritual of Karva Chauth – a fast kept by married women to pray for their husbands to live long. “Does your husband not love you then? Doesn't he want to fast and pray to God to give you a long life?”

China: India

  22 November 2006

Been a busy week for Chinese President Hu Jintao, first in Vietnam and now in India, and just what for? asks Hexun blogumnist Liu Dingcai: 胡哥访印度可以学什么 What can big brother Hu learn in India? 中国国家主席胡锦涛11月20日抵达印度首都新德里,开始对印度进行国事访问;21日胡锦涛在新德里海德拉巴宫同印度总理曼莫汉&S226;辛格举行会谈,双方就发展中印战略合作伙伴关系达成重要共识。(据《人民日报》) China's national chairman Hu Jintao arrived in the Indian capitol New Delhi on November 20...

India: Statues in Chennai

  21 November 2006

Metroblogging Chennai on the politics of statues in public areas in the city. “The noise associated with the removal is directly proportional to their caste association, that is how much influence they had over their caste, it doesn't matter if they had a huge pan-caste image like Nehru or Gandhi....

India: The war with China in 1962

  20 November 2006

Kamla Bhatt has a podcast with a Professor who teaches at the School of International Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University. “Prof. Rajesh Rajagopalan talks about the events leading up to the India-China war of 1962. What were the perceptions, misperceptions that led to the war?”

India: Bad Roads and Good Economy

  20 November 2006

Atanu Dey links the importance and contribution of infrastructure (in this case good roads) to economic development. “He believed that because India was an underdeveloped economy that the roads were bad. He got the causality wrong. It is because the roads are bad (among other things) that India is a...

South Asia: Politics, Happiness, Religion and The Birds

  20 November 2006

The latest from different blogs about the following South Asian Countries: Bangladesh: Bangladesh is facing a political crisis. Unheard Voices: Drishtipat group blog informs about a citizens movement in Bangladesh in which people are urged to wear a black badge demanding a free and fair election and to bring an...