Donate

Narendra Modi

Two men, US President Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi standing with the arms stretched outward to wave

What to expect from Modi’s historic visit to the US

Biden administration

Modi will hold bilateral talks with Biden and address a joint session of Congress, followed by a lavish dinner reception at the White House. The US and India have long enjoyed warm relations, but this visit is particularly momentous.   

A security personnel speaks to people from inside the main gate of Jamia Millia Islamia university in New Delhi, India

Blocking BBC documentary on Gujarat riots goes against India’s democratic values, journalist says

Free speech
Activists from right-wing Hindu organization Bajrang Dal burn an effigy of Islamic terrorism during a protest against the Tuesday killing of Kanhaiya Lal, a Hindu man in a suspected religious attack in western Udaipur city of Rajasthan state, in Ahmedabad

‘India is a tinderbox’: Religious tensions come to a boiling point after brutal murder of Hindu tailor

Violence
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media during a joint press statement as part of a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, May 2, 2022. 

Democracy, interrupted: Part II

Critical State
Woman in white dress laughs while talking to woman facing away from camera in red dress

Twitter’s ban on actor Kangana Ranaut could lead to confrontation with Indian government

Social media
Protesters demand the release of Indian climate activist Disha Ravi

India cracks down on climate activists supporting farmer protests

Protest

Amid massive, ongoing farmer protests, the Indian government has cracked down on climate activists, including Disha Ravi, who founded Fridays for Future India.

Three women protestors hold up signs reading "More Love, Less Hate"; "We are One. Do not divide us in the name of religion"; and "Love is not a crime."

The problem with India’s ‘love jihad’ laws

Lifestyle & Belief

India’s most populous state has brought in a law to police interreligious marriages, known as the ‘love jihad’ law. Here is what that means.

India Citizenship Bill protests

Citizenship law could do ‘irreversible damage’ to India’s secular fabric

Protests against a new Indian Citizenship Amendment Act based on religion are spreading and becoming more violent. Even the Bollywood film industry, not known for taking political stances, is out in the streets.

Thousands of people are packed into an outdoor space listening to speakers

India is trying to market its elections as a tourist attraction

Forget the Taj Mahal — what about a Modi rally? The upcoming election takes more than five weeks to allow everyone to vote and tour groups are offering packages that include traditional tourist sites with political events.

Indian tri-colored balloons fly around a statue head of Indian founding father Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

India unveils the world’s tallest statue, celebrating development at the cost of the environment

Development

The enormous “Statue of Unity” has been condemned for its lack of environmental oversight and its displacement of local Adivasi people, whose land was forcibly taken to build it. The Gujarat government says it will promote tourism and sustainable development.