Sanjoy Hazarika’s Lal Thanhawla: The Boy from Zarkawt, and the Making of Mizoram

The Political Biography of a Former Chief Minister: A Life That Mirrors Mizoram

The enduring lesson of Mizoram is not that the state won and the insurgents lost. It is that both sides eventually found a political space in which neither needed to win everything. That is the essence of accommodation and perhaps the most enduring lesson Lal Thanhawla’s life offers India.

The Empty Chair at Islamabad: When Taliban Saw Women's Rights Subordinated by Islamic Law

The Taliban, therefore, is not challenging whether Islam should shape women’s rights. Both the OIC and the Taliban begin from that premise. The disagreement is over what Islamic rights mean and, more importantly, who has the authority to define them. 

Who Defines Where Home is? Confronting Partition Trauma and its Aftermath Eight Decades Later

As of January this year, at least 296 Bangladeshis have died in border areas over the past decade, as India’s Border Security Forces (BSF) pushes “illegal Bangladeshis” across the border in the dead of night.

'The Election Commission Expose': A Seminal Moment for Indian Journalism

It is true that only a handful of newspapers have the resources and persistence to pursue big stories of the kind that came alive in the EC exposé. Nevertheless, to the extent that it inspires others to pursue even smaller news stories with steadfastness this could potentially redeem the otherwise sordid state of affairs in the Indian media.

More on Soft Power, Culture, Society and Gender

Delhi's Nizamuddin Dargah preserving 'tradition of spring' for 800 years

When the golden yellow colour envelopes the entire country on the occasion of Basant Panchami every year, sunflowers mesmerise people, new crops of wheat and oat spread happiness everywhere and butterflies sprinkle joy and smile, a silent tradition being followed at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Aullia Dargah in the Indian capital

Pakistani influencer of viral Pawri video over the moon after Bollywood recognition

Pakistani influencer Dananeer Mobeen's viral ‘Pawri Ho Rahi Hai’ video has taken over Bollywood too

First international Holi conference in Trinidad

The National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC) will host its first international virtual Phagwa or Holi conference in Trinidad on March 13 and 14

Preserving India's world-famous Ajanta Cave art for posterity

Images of the rock sculptures and restored paintings of the Ajanta Caves,  30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in western India,  is being digitized and restored for future generations

Manipur's 500-year-old all-women's market reopens after eleven months

Ima Keithal or Mother's Market,  dubbed as the world's largest all-women-run market located in the Manipur state capital Imphal, was formally reopened on Monday after 11 months, bringing smiles on the faces of over 3,600 women traders

Pakistan’s continued love, hate for all things Bollywood

Pakistan’s entertainment industry, going by media reports, is increasingly conscious that political relations with India are unlikely to improve anytime soon, lengthening any prospects of collaborating with Bollywood

Celebrated Pakistani designer highlights anti-dowry campaign through fashion

Celebrated Pakistani designer Ali Xeeshan, in a powerful fashion campaign, highlighted the age-old tradition of dowry practiced mostly in South Asia and rampant in Pakistan. The fashion campaign was supported by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women Pakistan

New dates for Kathmandu Triennale

Kathmandu Triennale has announced new dates for the fourth edition which will now take place from October 27 to November 27, 2021

Indian woman, P Sameera Khan, with Himalayan ambitions

A cyclist and mountaineer, she is out to prove to the world that girls are capable of doing anything without family support

Kolkata Book Fair to be dedicated to Bangabandhu

The 45th edition of the International Kolkata Book Fair, to be held in July this year, will be dedicated to Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and Bangladesh will be the country-in-focus of the event, said the organisers

Sri Lanka sets up Technical Advisory Committee for cricket development

A new Technical Advisory Committee for cricket has been appointed by Sri Lanka's Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, the local media reported

Breaking down barriers; Bangladeshi transgenders to pursue higher studies

For the first time in the country, two Bangladeshi transgender women have been nominated to study at an international platform at Brac James P Grant School of Public Health (JPGSPH), Brac University, a private research university in Bangladesh

Remembering Ritwik Ghatak on his 45th death anniversary: A filmmaker’s filmmaker

In 2018, noted filmmakers Kumar Shahani and Saeed Akhtar Mirza met in Delhi for a very special event

Once beggars, they are now picking up vocational skills in a reformed life

An elegant heritage building in Jaipur is playing host to 33 destitute who were left to begging on the streets and who are picking life skills thanks to an innovative Rajasthan state government initiative

Couple tie knot, exchanges garlands underwater in Bay of Bengal

A couple in Tamil Nadu tied the knot 60 feet underwater in the Bay of Bengal near the coast off Neelankarai in the south of Chennai