Pakistan awarded Bill Gates, billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder, one of its top civilian honors in recognition of his service in the field of poverty alleviation and diseases like polio and tuberculosis control
Pakistan's Literary Festivals Inject Oxygen into Constrained Intellectual Spaces, but Cross-Border Exchanges Remain Frozen
Inspired by the Jaipur Lit Fest, Pakistan’s first literary festival took place in the country’s largest city Karachi in 2010. Subsequently replicated in Lahore and Islamabad, such festivals now take place around the country, from the agricultural and industrial hub of Faisalabad, formerly Lyallpur, to the port city of Gwadar on the Balochistan coast.
An Unending Struggle for Justice: A Rare Insight into the Everyday Lives of Migrant Workers in India
While the overall picture is depressing, Ramaswami also describes hopeful strands within the social fabric of workers’ lives such as the mutual support and 'bhaichara' (fellowship) between men across ethnic, religious and caste boundaries that become more fluid within the city. The inter-religious and inter-caste ties forged between workers can be seen as small glimmers of hope in the context of the rising tide of Hindutva politics over the past decades.
Suman Kalyanpur: A Silken Echo Falls Silent
Today, as we bid farewell to the Dhaka-born singer once fondly called the “Dhake ki malmal,” one is reminded that the softest fabrics often endure the longest. Her voice was just that. Fine, delicate, yet enduring beyond time. And now, as that voice falls silent, it leaves behind not an emptiness, but an echo. An echo that will continue to drift through radio waves, old recordings and the private corners of memory.
Aurat March is About Women's Identity: Movement for Gender Justice in Pakistan and Across the Region
Two girls stood silently holding a placard that read: ‘Forcing your daughter to get married is forcing her to get raped.’ The message speaks to a reality across the South Asian region where the priority for most families is to get their daughters married. On a sheet where attendees were penning messages to their mothers -- words they could not say aloud -- an anonymous note read: “Would you rather see me married or alive?”
More on Culture and Society
Helping Kashmiris become doctors: Indian Army's unusual non-combat role
Battling negative perceptions about its security role in Kashmir and its alleged involvement in human rights violations, the Indian Army has embarked on a series of measures that are earning the force the goodwill of the local population
Autistic Bangladeshi person, who strayed into India years ago, reunited with family - thanks to Facebook
Liton Bhumij, a 25-year-old Bangladeshi man, accidentally entered India in 2017. At the time little did he know that he would next meet his family four years later.
Pakistani brother, on life sentence for honor killing of model sister, acquitted by court
A Pakistani man, who was serving a life sentence for killing his sister Qandeel Baloch, a social media celebrity, in 2016, was acquitted of murder by the Lahore High Court
A mass apology to Sundarbans in Bangladesh for deforestation and pollution damages
In an act of mass expiation, dozens of activists organized an event on Monday in Bangladesh, offering a mass apology to the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, for deforestation and other damages, in an attempt to raise awareness about the wanton destruction of the environment
Teaching the intricacies of cricket to US and Japanese foreign ministers a 'major advancement': Indian foreign minister
Quad foreign ministers, at the end of their deliberations Friday, visited the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) where Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar gifted his Australian counterpart Marise Payne with a cricket bat signed by former India skipper Virat Kohli and then taught cricket to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa, both from non-cricket playing countries
India has the world's longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet
India's newly-built over nine km long Atal Tunnel has officially been certified by the World Book of Records, as the 'World's Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 Feet', said the Ministry of Defence
Trekker rescued by Indian Army high-altitude warfare team in a challenging operation
A young trekker, trapped between rocks on a hill in Kerala's Palakkad since Monday, was rescued this morning after a marathon effort by the Indian Army in a difficult and challenging operation
Kerala man trapped between rocks for two days; Indian Army, Indian Air Force in massive rescue operation
A youth, in his 20s, has been trapped on a hill between rocks in Malampuzha area of Palakkad in Kerala in southern India since Monday with rescuers unable to reach him or provide him with food or water
Broken pledges of Nepal's grandees leaves Kathmandu zoo animals in distress
Last year, KP Sharma Oli, then Prime Minister of Nepal, and his wife had announced taking sponsorship of a one-horned rhino, living in the Central Zoo of Nepal, for a year and promised to pay NPR 1.5 million to cover the feed, care, and medication
South Asia grieves over Lata Mangeshkar's death; reflects subcontinent's cultural connectedness
The passing away of legendary Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar has triggered an outpouring of grief not just in India, but in the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives as well, showing that music has no boundaries and recognises no political divisions
Kerala’s famed snake boat race to be held in UAE
After the Indian Premier League, the Nehru Trophy boat race, one of the famed annual events held in Alappuzha of Kerala, is slated to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this year
World's best new building: Bangladesh's rural hospital exemplifies sustainable development
Bangladesh’s Friendship Hospital, built in a remote part of the southern district of Satkhira, has won the world's best new building award by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for putting “care and humanity” at the heart of its design
India, with 49, has most Ramsar sites In South Asia
Two more wetlands in India were declared as Ramsar sites, taking the total number of protected sites in the country to 49, India's Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Wednesday
Role of women in India's growth cycle expanding; old thinking about women needs to change, says PM Modi
The role of women is continuously expanding in a changing India, and women’s commissions should also work to promote and recognise women entrepreneurs
