(ANALYSIS) After a decade in power, Modi and his party seemingly overlooked a fundamental question: If Modi is the face of the party as well as its election campaign, what does that face represent? Did they assume his image alone would signify a “guarantee” to the country’s people? If so, they should have highlighted the “guarantees” that were fulfilled and honored. However, they appeared to lack such examples.
Read MoreIndia’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, scored 240 seats in the final tally. It will need the help of its coalition partner, the National Democratic Alliance, to meet the requirement of 272 seats to form the government. Here’s everything you need to know about the election results and what it all means for Indian democracy.
Read MoreAs India gears up for the largest national elections ever conducted on the planet, the Christian community, although a minority, faces unique challenges that underscore the significance of its political representation. The issues range from persecution to the enforcement of anti-conversion laws, with the recent unrest in Manipur spotlighting the urgent need for their voices to be heard.
Read MorePulling off Vacation Bible School for 700 children is a daunting challenge for most churches. Pulling off VBS for 700 children during community upheaval is not just challenging, it is practically impossible. But Anna Yumnam* and her team from TMG Bible Church* in Manipur, a state in northeast India, managed to accomplish the seemingly impossible in June 2023. This was Yumnam’s first year as the church’s children’s ministry director. She expected hurdles of course, but perhaps not trials of this intensity.
Read MoreThe speakers that took to the stage at MIT this past week addressed a series of issues surrounding AI, including how it impacts a number of areas such as communications, entertainment, healthcare, politics, climate change and the military. In fact, speakers talked about the numerous potential pitfalls in a world where AI is becoming more ubiquitous.
Read MorePakistani Hindu refugees have once again garnered attention following the notification of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. The law aims to grant Indian citizenship to immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who belong to the Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist or Christian faiths and had entered India before 2014 due to religious persecution.
Read MoreMohammed Soheb is a farmer in the northern Haryana state’s Nuh district, India’s least developed region. With a majority Muslim population, Nuh had been known for Hindu-Muslim harmony until July 2023, when a nine-day spate of communal violence disrupted that harmony. The unrest seemed to fit a pattern often seen in Hindu-Muslim relations in India.
Read MoreWith nearly a dozen releases timed strategically around the electoral period, Indian cinema is amplifying Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party's Hindu nationalist political agenda. The slew of new films — ahead of the April 19 national elections — are helmed by major production houses that rely on storylines that overtly either promote Modi and his government’s policies or target rival politicians.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On the festival of Baisakhi, celebrated usually on April 13, Sikhs the world over will joyously wear yellow saffron colors, symbolizing spring harvest and the solar new year, when the Sun enters the constellation Aries.
Read MoreBhupat Bhai Sekhaliya, a rickshaw driver from Gujarat, a state in western India known for its economic progress and as the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, faces significant challenges due to his background. He belongs to the Dalit community, which is at the bottom of India’s caste system.
Read More(EXPLAINER) Cherry blossoms hold a profound significance in various cultures around the world, often intertwined with religious and spiritual symbolism. Both their beauty and delicate nature have inspired poets, artists and thinkers. Here’s a look at how different cultures — from Japan to India to the United States — feel about at these dazzling flowers that bloom each April.
Read More(REVIEW) There’s enough of the classic action formula and faith-based reverence in “Monkey Man” that fans of those things will find a lot to enjoy on their visit to the unique world that Dev Patel, making his directorial debut, has created. But the weaknesses are frustrating enough (and pervasive) that it’s likely they will also be glad when the visit is finally over.
Read MoreThe issue of young women wearing hijabs in schools has become a controversial and heated topic in the Indian state of Rajasthan following a similar battle in the southern state of Karnataka. Hijab bans in Hindu-majority India are nothing new. However, such edicts have intensified recently under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, who adhere to Hindu nationalism and have focused on limiting the rights of religious minorities.
Read MoreEven though the days of slavery and indentured labor in South Africa are long gone, the Hindu and Muslim festivities that take place on Easter weekend have become beloved occasions for their respective communities. In a variety of ways, South African Hindus and Muslims have made the Christian holiday their own.
Read More(EXPLAINER) India has implemented a new citizenship law that excludes Muslims, a religious minority, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. Although the Citizenship Amendment Act was passed five years ago by the country’s parliament, it was not enacted at the time due to the pandemic.
Read More(TRAVEL) In the 19th century, an ascetic known as Sai Baba settled in the village of Shirdi in central India. With his long hair and beard, flowing robe and unorthodox lifestyle, he attracted followers from different faiths to listen to his spiritual teachings emphasizing unity.
Read MoreDays after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a Hindu temple built over a mosque demolished by agitators in 1990, a new report by the Archaeological Survey of India found that another mosque had been built over a pre-existing Hindu temple. A court ruling that followed the survey granted Hindus permission to conduct prayers in one of the mosque's four cellars, igniting tensions with Muslims.
Read MoreFollowing a vote by CUNY’s Board of Trustees, Chancellor Felix Matos Rodríguez said on Wednesday that the the New York City system will become one of the first in the nation to designate Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Lunar New Year and Diwali as holidays on the school calendar.
Read MoreValentine’s Day often revives attention on romantic themes in literature. Stories are cited in media with the aim of helping people navigate the demands of the human heart on a day that has become intimately associated with romantic love. One literary tradition rarely highlighted is that of Hindu “bhakti” or ecstatic devotion, which birthed some of the most stirring mystical poetry composed in the world.
Read MoreAmid the chilly winter winds sweeping through Pakistan's unsettled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the election campaign for the Peoples Party of Pakistan's candidate Dr. Saveera Parkash is in full swing. The wind is not the only thing sweeping across the region, change is as well. In fact, Parkash’s candidacy is historic for several reasons.
Read More
