Back in a Bit blogger Scott Bridges turned over his menu in Mysore, India to discover a helpful little public health message about the golden opportunities available to smokers. First prize: death!
India
Murder, racism and Melbourne
The murder of Indian student Nitin Garg has reopened the debate about racist attacks and the safety of Indian students studying in Melbourne. What are the pundits saying?
Bartlett: The developing politics of tweeting
When it comes to politics and social media, the greater potential for improving genuine public engagement lies in developing countries and democracies using the technology, not just the Anglosphere, argues Andrew Bartlett.
The confused, clueless and racist Australian public
Many Indian students in Melbourne are terrified, with little or no support system. And it’s not just males under attack, women are just often too fearful to report to police or even their parents. Who will help them? asks Gautam Gupta.
Colebatch: When it comes to violence, India shouldn’t point fingers
The outbursts on Indian televisions about recent attacks on Indians in Melbourne is unfair, particularly when you look at India’s violent history of honour killings and other crime, writes Tim Colebatch.
Crime reporting, Indian style
Not every country views the newspaper as form of restrained reporting with non-emotive language. Scott Bridges examines the crime reporting from newspapers in India.
A very Delhi belly Christmas
Christmas wasn’t quite the presents and turkey standard for Scott Bridges, thanks to the joys of travel gastro. Instead, he reflects on the season with some light Indian Christmas television. Isn’t travel glamorous?
Best of frenemies: why Pakistan hates the US
Pakistan and the US have long had a complicated relationship but Pakistan’s recent actions have turned it toxic, writes Christopher Hitchens. When will the US realise that its true closest ally in the region is India?
How India could fall to militant Muslims
If Pakistan fails, its territory and population could be consumed by India — adding 180 millions Muslims to the country, many of them a little upset about the loss of a Pakistani state. Throw in some radical Hindu nationalists and neo-Maoist guerrillas, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.
Imagining India
As Scott Bridges prepares to head overseas on a year long adventure (to be chronicled at Crikey’s new ‘Back in a Bit’ blog), he wonders if his preconceptions of India — the seething mass of humans, the insane noise — will live up to the reality. Can you share your experience?
PHOTO GALLERY: The Bhopal disaster, 25 years on
On December 3, 1984, 15,000 people were killed in one of the the worst industrial disasters in world history at the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, India. Twenty-five years on, locals are still grappling with the fallout.
Obama’s secret climate deals with China and India
Behind-the-scenes on his recent trip to Asia, Barack Obama was pushing China and India to come to the negotiating table on carbon emissions for Copenhagen, reveals Michael Wolff — and it’s looking like he had some success.
Political snippets: Rudd’s Indian diplomacy to be tested
Diplomacy to be tested … A good time to have something else on his mind … A glutton for interest rate punishment … Words of wisdom from on high
How global warming could ignite an India-Pakistan war
The always heated relations between India and Pakistan over Kashmir could flare up into a raging blaze if climate change worsens Pakistan’s droughts, as both countries battle for access to the region’s glacial water supply.
Political snippets: Libs need to stop playing by the Government’s rules
Richard Farmer reckons the Libs should start talking hospitals and health, public servants and politicians can learn from Graham Richardson, and India might commit to reduce its greenhouse emissions.
Why Islamic extremists hate India
India doesn’t have a single soldier fighting in Afghanistan — so why are suicide bombers targetting the Indian Embassy in Kabul? Salil Tripathi explains the long and complex relationship between India and the Islamic world.
Indian students are standing up for their rights
Indian students in Australia are standing up for their rights, arguing they have been exploited by the education industry, which is happy to take their money but has shown little interest in their welfare. Geoff Maslen reports.
Indian students and Immigration: a case of too many cooks …
In the second of a three-part series, Geoff Maslen looks at immigration law and the stampede for visas by foreign students. What happens now to students who thought that would qualify for residency?
Green energy helps power India’s growth
India may get criticism for its lack of green credentials, but its entrepreneurs and investors are popping up in green tourism and the clean energy industry, in search of the fertile green dollar.
India has a cow over tweeting pollie’s cattle call
There are few more sacred cows in India than, well, cows, as India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor learned the hard way after a throwaway cow-related pun on Twitter caused a nation-wide media storm.
Question Time: is a long-winded answer better than a punch in the face?
Let’s turn to other democracies for inspiring tips on how to keep Question Time proceedings moving in a civilised way. Best to avoid South Korea though, writes Crikey intern Nina Nicoll.
Spiderman, Captain America… Ravana the 10-headed demon king?
Fresh from acquiring Marvel Comics, Disney is now eyeing off the lucrative market for Indian comic books and cartoons. Based on ancient Hindu mythology, the stories are apparently big business with the world’s 900-odd million Hindus.
Why Indians can’t write good resumes
India has the second-largest English-speaking population in the world, so why are so many highly educated, English-speaking, job-seeking Indians a little… “CV-challenged”? Saritha Rai investigates.
Population boom bursts water demands
China and India are two growing super powers, who currently use less than the global average for water. However, as their population boom, so will their need for fresh water. Hence their working relationship regarding the health of the Himalayan glaciers.
Why China will attack India
China will attack India by 2012, says Bharat Verma: the country needs a military victory to unite its fractured population, and pacifist India is the softest target.
