snigdhasen

The general assumption in the climate change circles has been that there can be no substantial outcome at Copenhagen unless the U.S., India and China -- among the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters -- agree to binding norms. Given the current state of the U.S. economy, that will be a tough sell for President Obama and his negotiators, since India and China are unlikely to give in to mandatory targets or trade barriers; they are pushing for developed countries (accused of being prime polluters) to bear the heavier financial burden of keeping Earth from heating over two degrees Celsius, a debt the U.S. has stoutly denied that it owes developing nations. However, both India and China seem to be aware of how crucial it is for them to develop at a fast clip, but sustainably.  Read more >

First they called her "that girl". Then, "madam". Eventually, they referred to her as "sir."  Read more >

The "immigrant experience"  is a phrase I usually associate with the U.S., what with people from across the world streaming in here everyday. A travelogue is what I'd associate with literature by foreigners from India. But the blogosphere is telling a different story. Many American and other Western citizens, who have either got on the love train or are riding the global economy wave that took them to India or simply love living there, are blogging about their experiences in a personal way that travel guides are unlikely to offer. Some are there for a few years.  Read more >

It has been an eventful year for sexual minorities in India. After successfully challenging in the Delhi High Court a Colonial-era law that criminalizes homosexuality, the community cleared another hurdle last month when the Central Government declined to take a stand on the issue and left it up to the Supreme Court (which is hearing a challenge to the high court ruling) to decide.  Read more >

Talk to any Indian woman about travel and transportation in India, and she will have a story to tell; of cat-calls, bottom pinches, lewd gestures and remarks, molestation -- everything that can make living or traveling by yourself feel like a risky enterprise. More so in urban centers, where more and more women are working and living alone.  Read more >