Empty Promises: These UP Villages Were ‘Adopted’ By BJP Leaders—Only To Be Neglected And Abandoned

‘If the MP appears, we’ll beat him up. And then we'll ask, “Who the hell are you?"’

The Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna was launched by Narendra Modi amidst much fanfare a few months into his tenure as the Prime Minister. A "significant" date was selected – October 11 – famed social reformer Jayaprakash Narayan's birth anniversary. Under this plan, Members of Parliament from across political parties choose a village from their respective constituencies and ensure it becomes a "model village", by taking on the responsibility of developing its physical and institutional infrastructure. This process is romantically also termed as "village adoption" or sansad god liye gaon.

‘Maybe It Is Time To Change My Son’s Name’: The New Reality Of Being Muslim In India

Rumours, lies, violence and political support for bigotry embolden many Hindus to reveal hidden prejudices.

Saira does not call her son by his name when they are out of the house. “I prefer using J, it doesn’t have a Muslim ring to it,” said Saira, 40, a former colleague whose first name I have changed on her request and whose Muslim identity was never previously a point of discussion. “I cringe as I say this, but it is true.”

Whenever J asked his mother the difference between him and his friends, she always told him there was none. They were all Indian with different names, she said. That explanation, an evidently troubled Saira told me, is weakening at a time of uncommon anti-Muslim prejudice and violence.

Trolling – An Ever Growing Menace In India

The social media is now literally everywhere. Abuse on social media is hurtful and unacceptable, but it will not be easy to stop this ugly trend.

It has been phenomenal in its rise. The social media is now literally everywhere. Across the world, people have taken to blogging, tweeting and Facebooking with such fervour that at times the traditional media seems to be a pre-historic creature. With very few moderators vis-à-vis the number of social media users, it has become almost a free-for-all match on the worldwide web. There is so much blah blah blah all around us that it even prompted a columnist of a British newspaper to say that he is discontinuing his column to reduce word emissions. He was joking, of course.

'I Saw My Passengers Drenched In Blood, Many Were Weeping': Bus Driver Salim Sheikh Who Powered Through A Hail Of Bullets 'Showed Exemplary Courage'

As the bullets rained down on his bus Salim Sheikh (above, right) kept driving through the darkness. His courage under fire saved the lives of dozens of his pilgrim passengers during a terrorist attack in Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir government and Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) separately announced rewards totalling Rs 5 lakh while Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani has said he would recommend Salim's name for a bravery award. Seven of the passengers were killed and more than a dozen wounded in the attack.

Hyderabad's 'Ohri Restaurant' Calls Milkshakes 'Item Bombs' That Are Named After Women Celebs

Hyderabad's Ohri restaurant Hitec City is just about learning this lesson. The restaurant serves milkshakes named after Kim Kardashian, Shakira, Katrina Kaif and Sonakshi Sinha, all listed under a page called 'Item Bombs'. Can someone please explain to them why that's NOT okay?

Over the years, we've seen a lot of dubious advertising under the guise of pinkwashing. Clueless marketeers jumping on the women's bandwagon without really examining what they're trying to say and what's actually being said. But every once in a while comes a marketing ploy so tasteless and brazenly tone-deaf, you can't help but wonder how any sane person could have approved it.

Why Are We Still Calling Sexual Harassment 'Eve-Teasing' In India?

The first 'beti bachao' advice that most of us were given is to not pay attention to 'teasing'. It was deeply confusing as a teenager. Just how is 'teasing' -- a word used to describe how I pull my brother's leg over his math score, or how my best friend jokes about boys I'd want to date -- a legitimate way to describe men on the road hurling sexually abusive invectives at me?

Bloody 'Period' Pain: Mensuration Pain Can Be “Almost As Bad As Heart Attack,” Why Aren’t We Researching How To Treat It?

It’s time to talk about period pain. Every month, every woman you know who’s pre-menopause and post-puberty bleeds from their vagina. Periods are one of the most basic facts of life. Any squeamishness around the subject is both ridiculous and harmful, because too many women are suffering in silence, grimacing through the agony they experience with their periods.

India Is The Best Place In The World For 'Lipstick' Lovers

Pucker up, ladies. If you’re living in India, chances are you’re paying a lot less for your lip colour than shoppers around the world.

After Vietnam, India is the second most affordable market for beauty products and treatments out of 50 countries, according to a beauty price index by Linio, a Mexico-based e-commerce company.

At $14.36 (Rs926), the average cost of a lipstick in India is the lowest in the world. In comparison, the average cost in Venezuela, the most expensive market for lipstick, is an astounding $1,110 (Rs71,627), largely because of the country’s inflation crisis. Peru comes in second, with the average price of a lipstick at $58.78 (Rs3,792).

Islamic Style: How The Hijab Has Grown Into Fashion Industry?

Muslim spending on fashion is expected to touch $488 billion by 2019.

Nike, the well-known US sportswear company, recently introduced a sports hijab. The reaction to this was mixed: there are those who are applauding Nike for its inclusiveness of Muslim women who want to cover their hair, and there are those who accuse it of abetting women’s subjugation.

The Real Problem With India’s Jobs Data Is That They Hide More Than They Reveal

Employment data in India have rarely been robust or foolproof. Measures of employment are released sporadically and exclude a number of sectors, notably the informal economy that employs over 80% of Indians. While the Narendra Modi government has put in place a task force to address these gaps, there is still no clarity over how the new data will be computed or how often they will be published.

Media In The Modi Era: How Did India’s Watchdog Press Become Docile?

The government does not need to impose any kind of direct curb on the media.

India is talking about the 1975 Emergency again even as its 42nd anniversary, on June 25, hovers around the corner. Some people believe that freedom of the press is endangered once again. Yet how many people are really bothered about the freedom of the press?

The Harsh Reasons These Housewives In Bangalore Chose To Become Sex Workers

Editor’s note: For decades, sex workers in India have been pushed to the margins, forced to deal with shame and stigma from society. ‘Unheard Stories’ is a series of stories by INNLIVE that aims to bring these narratives to the fore, to build a more inclusive and accepting society.

“I am illiterate and unskilled. I need money to run my household. Now, this (sex work) is my job and I am proud of it as I have sacrificed a lot for my family,” says Jaya Prabha (name changed) with a stoic face. For her, sex work is a lesser evil than watching her children starve.

Why So Many Rape Victims Don't Simply 'Fight Back'?

A new study shows it’s common for women to experience involuntary paralysis during sexual assault.

Last winter, a judge in Turin, Italy, acquitted a 46-year-old man who had been accused of sexually assaulting a female colleague. His rationale for tossing the case, The Washington Post reported, was that the woman did not react strongly enough. She said “stop it!” and “enough” while being attacked, but did not scream.

How 'Wazawan' came to Kashmir and the secret of its sensual flavors?

When done right, Kashmiri cuisine is a feast for all the senses and not just the palate.

Kashmiri Pandits celebrate the birthday of Sharika Devi, the Mother Goddess of Kashmir on the ninth day of the month of Ashad in the Hindu calendar (June-July in the Gregorian calendar). On this day, throngs of devotees carry offerings to propitiate the Devi in her sanctum on the summit of a hillock in Srinagar named Hari Parbat, or peak of God. One of the offerings served to the Goddess is the traditional Pandit dish of Tahar (turmeric rice) mixed with tcharvun(cooked liver).

Drought-led migration makes girls prey to trafficking, pushes Andhra Pradesh's Kadiri towards HIV/AIDS

Dr Mano Ranjan has been working at the Institute of Infectious Diseases situated on the Anantapur-Kadiri Road in Andhra Pradesh since 2009. This is the premier institute for the entire Rayalaseema region (southern Andhra Pradesh) for those suffering from HIV/AIDS. Dr Ranjan gets 25 new HIV/AIDS patients every day. "It is a ticking time bomb," he says.

Thirty percent of the cases are from hamlets in and around Kadiri, unarguably the HIV/AIDS capital of Andhra Pradesh. The hospital has 26,000 plus registered cases, 8,000 of whom are widows. It is shocking that most of the victims are in the age group of 25 to 40. Another 3,000 cases are children born most often to an HIV-positive parent.

The Muslim Law Board has proposed a social boycott of men who use triple talaq – but is this legal?

The Supreme Court in 1962 struck down a law banning excommunications. But Maharashtra criminalised social boycotts last year.

The Supreme Court is expected to pronounce its verdict on the constitutional validity of triple talaq soon, having concluded hearings in the case on Thursday. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board – an NGO that claims to represent India’s Muslims – is doing all it can to convince the court not to ban the practice.

Will universal maternity entitlements in India remain a pipe dream?

Existing minimal entitlements to women are now being undermined further through the half-hearted Maternity Benefit Programme.

Maternity entitlements have been in the news several times over the last year. In August 2016, the Maternity Benefit Act was amended to extend the period of paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. Later, in his New Year’s eve address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the expansion of a maternity benefit scheme to all districts. Last week, the Cabinet approved a Maternity Benefit Programme that does cover all districts across the country but dilutes the entitlements to each beneficiary and imposes conditions that will exclude many women.

Fitness and fasting: Making exercise during Ramadan work for you

It’s a dilemma faced by many Muslims every year. INNLIVE breaks down how you can both fast and exercise.

Going to the gym on an empty stomach, without any water and slightly sleep-deprived during the long summer days of July may seem a little loony. Yet all across the world, many Muslims choose to do this. On the first day of Ramadan, my friend and I went to the gym, naively thinking we’d be the only Muslims there. How wrong we were.

Violence in hospitals: Three steps towards mending doctor-patient relationships

Delhi’s mohalla clinics and Mumbai’s Swasth clinics have the right idea – make primary healthcare better.

Even after repeated protests, mass leaves and assurances from authorities of better security, incidents of violence against doctors continue unabated. Last week, a man whose critically ill father died at Sion Hospital manhandled a resident doctor, even though several security personnel had been deployed at the hospital since April.

Unpaid and shunned, ragpickers are critical for waste management in India

They help clean up a significant proportion of the 62 million tonnes of waste generated annually.

The Ajmer Shatabdi pulls into the New Delhi station every night at around 11 pm. During the six-hour journey from Ajmer, the train serves tea, snacks, soup, dinner and dessert – more food than an average person can eat in that time.