India is admired on the cricket pitch and for Bollywood blockbusters. But in the social studies classes of 16-year-old boys, there seems to be more suspicion than curiosity about their rapidly progressing neighbor to the East. When asked if anyone in a class of 50 students wanted to travel to India, the reply comes back as a loud unanimous "No!"

:: via npr.org

For someone who was unceremoniously dropped from the Bharatiya Janata Party government, Shobha Karandlaje seems extremely calm. Karandlaje, who started her political journey as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker, rose through the ranks and earned the tag of 'Super Chief Minister' because of her proximity to Yeddyurappa.

:: via rediff.com

When no one was around, Jassi Kaur quietly slipped into her niece's room, where the 19-year-old woman sat huddled in a corner sobbing. Angry relatives had confronted her for one reason: she had a boyfriend. "It was awful," Kaur recalls. She cradled the girl, told her everything would be fine. It wasn't

:: via thestar.com

Three generations of Grewals live in their five-bedroom pebble-dashed house under the Heathrow flight path in Windsor. For two months this summer it was also home to 28 cameras, 37 microphones, several miles of cabling and a production crew hiding in the back garden. Twelve months after the Hughes family allowed their bickering, moaning and heroic teenage slouching to be captured for national posterity The Family is back. This year Channel 4 has picked the first British Indian family to undergo the rigours of hard line reality TV surveillance.

:: via guardian.co.uk

Flipping through her wedding album, a 30-page collection of glossy photos with sugary captions such as "Perfect Match," Sandeep Kaur grimaces as she recalls her wedding last year to a young man from Brampton. There was no problem with the celebration itself, mind you. There was more than enough mutton, fish and chicken for several hundred guests.

:: via thestar.com

Although the Taliban have openly claimed responsibility for the recent epidemic of suicide bombings against civilian targets in Peshawar and Islamabad, many Pakistanis appear convinced that the real culprits are India or the United States. "These are India's agents," an anti-narcotics bureaucrat tells me in Islamabad with a confident grin. With its operatives active in a string of Indian consulates along the Pak-Afghan border, so goes the popular claim, they direct New Delhi's latest attempt to topple the Islamic Republic. It is a common refrain in Pakistan. In fact, so common, that almost everyone I venture to ask blames the Indians, or Americans, or foreigners for the terrorism. The country has faced many crises over the years, but these are particularly unsettling days. In the past, violence tended to be unilateral: avoid the angry mob on days of protest, neighbourhoods patrolled by gangs, or criticising vocal mullahs and life was generally quiet. But today's enemy moves with stealth and could be anywhere.

:: via guardian.co.uk

Race is an insensitive issue in China. The sighting of someone who is not of the majority Han race does not stop conversation here, but sparks comments of all sorts – of surprise, wonder, bewilderment and defensiveness. Being cautious about what one says about colour or heritage in China is seen as silly and blinded. That is not to say that talking about race in China is a dialogue suffused with respect. For example, during the late summer, Luo Jing, a resident of Shanghai of mixed-race descent (her father an African-American, her mother is Chinese) appeared on a television talent show that was seen across China. The farther Lou advanced in the contest, the louder the voices and vitriol became, especially against her mother for having slept with a black man and producing what many Chinese saw as an impure prodigy.

:: via guardian.co.uk

The Pakistani Army ran training camps for a Muslim extremist group, at least until recently, with the acceptance of the US Central Intelligence Agency, according to France’s foremost anti-terrorist expert. The links between the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Pakistani Army are more than close. Brigitte observed this twice,” Mr Bruguière said. “When the camp was resupplied, all the materiel was dropped off by Pakistani army helicopters. And there were regular inspections by the Pakistani Army and the CIA.” The US agency carried out spot checks to ensure that Pakistan was sticking to an agreement not to train any foreigners at the militant organisation, the judge said. “After 9/11, the Americans put pressure on the Pakistani Government to put more effective controls on the activities of the Islamic organisations linked to al-Qaeda,” he said. Mr Brigitte, originally from the French West Indies, and other foreign personnel were moved out to another camp when the CIA was due to visit, Mr Bruguière said. The judge said that it was possible that the Americans had been turning a blind eye to the organisation’s training of foreign operatives.

:: via timesonline.co.uk

Gujarat’s first Muslim Director General of Police, SS Khandwawala, has urged Muslims to sing Vande Mataram, saying it’s not un-Islamic to do so. He cited his personal example to make his point. “I give a salaam to my mother everyday before I leave home and also to my motherland,” he told The Sunday Express. “When we offer namaaz, we bow down and kiss the ground, which itself is a salute to the motherland. Religion never prevents a man from respecting his motherland.”

:: via indianexpress.com

Police have arrested and charged three individuals suspected of being involved in more than 25 burglaries that mostly targeted Indian families in Fairfax County. On Thursday, Fairfax County Police charged the suspects, all from New York, with nine felonies in connection with the string of gold, jewelry and document burglaries

:: via fairfaxtimes.com