Indian society

For Indian-American writer Deepak Singh, Diwali in India was a time for getting new clothes, eating sweets and arguing with his father over Diwali lights.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on Friday to 17-year-old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, the now-famous advocate for education, but it wasn’t her prize alone. Few people know of Kailash Satyarthis, the Indian anti-child labor activist who shared the award with her.

When India launched its massive school lunch program, the aim was to boost school enrollment and feed some of the country’s poorest children. But in some schools, it is having an added, and unexpected, benefit — reducing discrimination against those in lower castes. When India launched its massive school lunch program, the aim was to boost school enrollment and feed some of the country’s poorest children. But in some schools, it is having an added, and unexpected, benefit — reducing discrimination against those in lower castes.

This week a horrific scene shocked villagers in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. Bodies of two girls, raped and murdered, hung from a mango tree. The case has sparked fresh debate about violence against women and castes in India.

This week a horrific scene shocked villagers in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. Bodies of two girls, raped and murdered, hung from a mango tree. The case has sparked fresh debate about violence against women and castes in India.