West Bengal

A woman politician gives a thumbs up on back of truck

Women are becoming ‘electable’ candidates in India — even when they don’t win

May 29, 2019Global Politics

Historically shut out of Indian politics, women are now busting societal prejudices and gaining political power.

A group of children from the Shaktimaan group pose together in a slum in Kolkata, India, convincing child dropouts to go back to school.

Child ‘superheroes’ free children from child labor and marriage

March 28, 2018Culture

Each neighborhood in Kolkata has its own celebration with a different artist creating the idol of Durga, showing her killing the demon.

Why do we celebrate goddesses, but treat our women so poorly?

October 3, 2014Belief

An artist applies the finishing touches on an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga in preparation for a yearly festival for Bengali Hindus.

For Bengali Hindus, radio is an unchanging part of a religious tradition

September 24, 2014Media

Why the vast majority of middle-class Indians didn’t protest after the latest gang rape and murder

June 6, 2014Conflict & Justice

An American teacher in India enjoys the traditions of a Bengali wedding

February 5, 2014Arts, Culture & Media

In which city in West Bengal, India, would you find a traditional wedding ceremony where a bride covers her face with a betel leaf and where guests blow on a conch shell to celebrate the couple?

Trafficking of young girls in India a growing problem amid gender imbalance

August 15, 2013Conflict & Justice

India has a growing problem with trafficking of young women. Oftentimes, though, these women aren’t sold into prostitution, per se, but rather into forced marriages. It’s a problem exacerbated by a culture that has allowed female fetuses to be aborted, leading to many more men than women.

The Trafficking of Girls in India

August 14, 2013Conflict & Justice

Every year tens of thousands of girls in India are sold into a life of violence and abuse. Many are sold to be brides. That has a lot to do with gender imbalances and the widespread practice of aborting female fetuses in northern India.

India Protects Its Most Valuable Tea

August 14, 2013Arts, Culture & Media

We’re looking for the name of a town in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. This town in the foothills of the Himalayas gives its name to one of the world’s most popular tea varieties.