Rupak De Chowdhuri/ReutersMuslim demonstrators take part in a protest against an anti-Islam film considered insulting to Prophet Mohammad in Kolkata.Image of the Day: October 5
By THE NEW YORK TIMESRupak De Chowdhuri/ReutersMuslim demonstrators take part in a protest against an anti-Islam film considered insulting to Prophet Mohammad in Kolkata.Gandhi Family Member Accused of Illegal Land Deals
By HARI KUMARAnti-corruption activists on Friday accused Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of the Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi, of being involved in illegal land deals with a major real estate company.
Arvind Kejriwal of India Against Corruption said in a news conference that Mr. Vadra’s five companies received an unsecured, interest-free loan of 650 million rupees ($12.5 million) from the real estate firm DLF, even though the companies were valued at only 5 million rupees. Mr. Kejriwal also alleged that the money was used to buy properties from DLF at below-market rates. Read more…
In Kashmir, Rahul Gandhi Talks Business, But Disappoints Students
By BETWA SHARMA
Farooq Khan/European Pressphoto AgencyOmar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Indian Kashmir, Rahul Gandhi, Congress General Secretary and Union minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah pose for a photograph after laying the foundation stone for a tunnel connecting Ladkh with Kashmir.Rifat Mohidin, a journalism student, was disappointed after her first interaction with Rahul Gandhi, Congress Party’s general secretary, at Kashmir University on Friday. Ms. Mohidin, 19, wanted to ask Mr. Gandhi about providing security to Kashmiris when they traveled to other parts of India.
“But I was not allowed to ask any of my questions,” she said. “I went there with a lot of hope, but my hopes were shattered.” (Read Ms. Mohidin’s full opinion of the discussion here.)
Mr. Gandhi’s two-day visit to Kashmir this week reiterated his message made during a visit in September 2011: he said he wanted to understand the pain of violence-stricken Kashmiris, as well as connect the Kashmiri youth with economic opportunities.
Shreen Hamdani, a 21-year-old journalism student, said that the interaction was only an hour long because it started late, and teachers stopped students from asking any political questions. Read more…
What I Thought Of Rahul Gandhi’s Visit to Kashmir
By SHREEN HAMDANI
Courtesy of Shreen HamdaniShreen Hamdani.Everybody in the Kashmir University auditorium was excited, as I was, to interact with Rahul Gandhi and other business tycoons accompanying him on Friday.
Mr. Gandhi, an eminent business leader himself, felicitated the panel of guests on the dais. He seemed so courteous, filling glasses of water for his counterparts. I liked his attitude, because he behaved as a host rather than guest. The interactive session, though, began an hour later than it was scheduled.
Mr. Gandhi has kept his promise of being in communication with Kashmir for the long run, which he made during a 2011 visit. He said Friday he believes that the youth in J&K state are dynamic and they should explore their talents in different sectors. Read more…
What I Thought of Rahul Gandhi’s Visit to Kashmir
By RIFAT MOHIDIN
Rifat Mohidin is a student at the Government College for Women in Srinagar.I saw Rahul Gandhi in an earlier televised speech, during which he said that he wants to hear the deep voices of Kashmiri youth and wants to solve their problems. I was a bit interested. I wanted to tell him what my heart says.
Rahul said that he wanted to construct bridges. And that exactly was the title of the conference on Friday – “Building Bridges.” I had thought that the young leader of India was in the Himalayan region of Kashmir to answer the questions of Kashmiri youth, to build a long bond with them, to resolve all the differences, because his speech a day before had given this impression to me.
I was at the interaction, hoping that Rahul would construct a new bridge in Kashmir Read more…
Your Suggestions for Renaming the ‘Hitler’ Store in Gujarat
By MALAVIKA VYAWAHARE
Sam Panthaky/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesRajesh Shah, right, one of the owners of the clothing store “Hitler” arranges clothes inside the store, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Last month, India Ink called for suggestions for new names for “Hitler,” a clothing store in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Our readers sent in dozens of ideas, ranging from serious to funny.
Many thought replacing the Nazi dictator’s name with a Gujarat native best known for his commitment to nonviolence, Mohandas K. Gandhi, would be appropriate. Others picked popular historical figures like Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and even dictators like Julius Caesar, the Roman general and statesman. (The store owners themselves said they considered the name of the French dictator Napoleon.)
Cheeky suggestions included “Bunker Mentality,” “Bush Clothing,” “Comrade Modi” for the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, and “Oy Vey,” a Yiddish expression that means, loosely “Oh, woe.” Read more…
A Billion Users Raise Stakes at Facebook for Revenue |
Facebook said Thursday that it “had a billion users worldwide who logged into Facebook at least once a month,” Somini Sengupta and Nick Bilton wrote in The New York Times. The company listed the top five countries, in alphabetical order, from which users logged on: Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico and the United States, without revealing the exact number of users from each country, they wrote. Read more »
A Massive March for Land, Years in the Planning
By NIHARIKA MANDHANA
Altaf Qadri/Associated PressPoor and landless people from rural communities taking part in “Jan Satyagraha” a monthlong march from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh to Delhi, organized to demand land rights for the poor.Tens of thousands of India’s poorest people are on a nearly monthlong march through the country’s north, waving green and white flags and chanting slogans to demand that the government provide land to India’s homeless and landless.
“I think enough land can be found for those who don’t have a house to live in or any shelter,” said P.V. Rajagopal, who heads Ekta Parishad, the nonprofit behind this month’s mass protest, which is now making its way through Madhya Pradesh. “It is a question of political will.”
Millions of Indians live on sidewalks and railway platforms, and in illegal slums and shanties. According to the United Nations, 17 percent of the world’s slum dwellers, or 170 million Indians, live in slums. This section of India’s poor, activists say, lives in inhumane conditions, and is often under the threat of displacement, harassment and arrest. Read more…
India Moves Again to Ease Way for Foreign Investment |
Indian policy makers on Thursday proposed that foreign companies be allowed to acquire “up to 49 percent in Indian insurance and pension firms,” Heather Timmons and Vikas Bajaj wrote in The New York Times. At present foreign companies are allowed to hold a 26 percent stake in insurance companies but are not allowed to invest in pension firms.
The measures, “which were approved by the cabinet, will now go to the Parliament, where their passage is far from certain,” Ms. Timmons and Mr. Bajaj wrote. Read more »
For International Students, College Checklists for October
By JOE FREEMAN and PETER JENNINGSHigher Education
The Choice on India Ink
Guidance on American college applications for readers in India from The Times’s admissions blog.
Counselor’s Calendar: October
Timely advice from experts for students who want to stay on track during the college admissions process.
This week, The Choice published our monthly Counselor’s Calendar, designed to keep students on track during the college admissions process.
We’ve asked Joe Freeman, the dean of the 11th and 12th grades at Randolph School in Huntsville, Ala., for this month’s admissions advice for juniors. Peter Jennings, the director of college counseling at Concord Academy in Concord, Mass., offers this month’s admissions advice for seniors.
What follows are excerpts that are most relevant for international students. — Tanya Abrams
Juniors: College Checklist for October
Crush It in the Classroom
Undoubtedly you have already tired of hearing a teacher, parent or counselor remind you that “this is your most important year.” Even so, such a message bears repeating. Colleges evaluate you first and foremost on your performance in the classroom.
Read more…
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