Indian society

All Assam Students Union (AASU) activists hold hands together as they form a human chain to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act on a road in Gauhati, India, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020. Critics say the bill threatens the secular fabric of India. 

Citizen pain: Part I

Critical State

Critical State, a foreign policy newsletter by Inkstick Media, takes a deep dive this week into how states determine citizenship, with a spotlight on Assam, India, as the case study.  

An man sits at a desk with a book and looks at the camera

The US isn’t safe from the trauma of caste bias

Caste in America
An Indian woman in a sari and glasses and an Indian man in a suit and glasses sit for a portrait.

Love conquers caste for this couple, but Indian marriage traditions continue in US

Caste in America
The World

The life of the ideal woman, as seen through the eyes of India’s ‘Mad Men’

Lifestyle
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a speech in Toronto, Canada, on April 15, 2015.

India’s Narendra Modi is the master of political reinvention

Global Politics
Flashy multi-colored lights from China have become popular in India for the Hindu festival of Diwali. But this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is asking Indians to go the traditional route and use clay oil pots made in India.

I wanted the flashy electric lights for Diwali, but my dad wanted the boring oil lamps

Culture

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.

Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls' rights to education, and Kailash Satyarthi won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

Meet the Nobel Peace Prize winner you don’t know

Global Politics

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.

At a government school in Paposa, Haryana, children devour kadhi and rice.

India’s school lunch program not only fights hunger — it can breed tolerance

Lifestyle & Belief

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.

India rape case

New rape case in India is not just about gender, but caste too

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.

India rape case

New rape case in India is not just about gender, but caste too

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.