india

A therapist tried AI therapy on himself after an assault and wrote about it in The Free Press. What the trials show, what can go wrong, and what it means

Criticism of Indian democracy is legitimate — and selective: Western indices, Xinjiang silence, Bangladesh. Scrutiny follows alignment, not principle.

Oil at $110, China's demographic collapse, the India-US AI talent corridor, an unplanned soft power moment, and why the rupee at 87 is not the real problem.

Bell-bottoms, oversized collars, wide-frame sunglasses, and the Mumtaz sari — how Amitabh Bachchan and 1970s icons shaped Indian fashion.

When toilet paper vanished in March 2020, India had the answer all along: the lota, the spray bottle, the handheld bidet, and the Toto.

In February 2017, Elon Musk tweeted he was 'hoping for summer this year' to bring Tesla to India. It took eight more years — the first showroom opened in

Filicide — a parent killing their own child — is rare but real. From Susan Smith to John List to the 'candyman' case: the cases and the motives behind them.

Meera Jain, a Naperville graphic designer turned mixed-media art teacher, transforms photographs and everyday objects into art — and shows novices they can

In January 2015, Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal told Maria Bartiromo that oil would 'never' see $100 a barrel again — history had other plans.

A weekly roundup of reported sexual abuse cases from January 2015 — from a tourist attacked in India to a US lawsuit naming Prince Andrew.

Indian singer-songwriter Surjo released his debut album 'The Key Has Turned' in November 2014 — twelve acoustic songs written over three months.

Olivier Lafont, the French actor who played Suhas Tandon in 3 Idiots, launched his epic fantasy novel Warrior with Penguin India in late 2014.

In 2014, a 22-member team of Vedic Brahmins from Karnataka performed yagnas in Oman for the health of Sultan Qaboos — one of the most unusual interfaith

Koral Dasgupta's Power of a Common Man uses Shah Rukh Khan as a case study in branding and consumer behaviour — an academic, Westland-published look at

On October 3, 2014, Modi launched Mann Ki Baat, the monthly radio address that became a fixture of his premiership. A TI essay, from the archives.

In October 2014, Mark Zuckerberg visited India to address the Internet.org summit and meet PM Modi — his bid to connect the world's 5 billion offline.

On September 28, 2014, PM Modi told 20,000 at Madison Square Garden that PIO cardholders would get lifetime visas and the PIO and OCI schemes would merge.

Mukesh Ambani topped Forbes' India rich list for the eighth straight year in 2014 at $23.6B — the year all 100 on the list became billionaires.

After the July 2014 rape of a 6-year-old at a Bangalore school, police booked more than 180 schools for failing to implement child-safety guidelines.

In February 2014, the Bandits of Robin Hood coaster at Adlabs Imagica tilted mid-ride, injuring a mother and daughter — raising hard questions about

In February 2014, Badrinath chief priest Keshavan Namboodiri was arrested by Delhi Police over an alleged molestation of a pregnant woman in a Delhi hotel.

A January 2014 guest op-ed on Arvind Kejriwal and AAP's 49-day Delhi government — the dharna, the intention-method-effect argument, and what followed.

Sunanda Pushkar died in January 2014 amid a public marriage crisis. A reflection on what was known then — and what the case became.

In December 2013, India's Supreme Court upheld Section 377, recriminalizing gay sex. Five years later, the court reversed itself — the 2018 Navtej Singh

In November 2013, Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal was accused of sexually assaulting a young colleague. The scandal — and the case's long road — unfolded over

In November 2013, a woman was brutally attacked inside a Bangalore ATM at 7:30 AM — caught on CCTV. The footage sparked a national debate on safety.

In 2013, the University of Chicago announced a 17,000-square-foot academic center in Delhi's Connaught Place. It opened the following year.

How Hindu women celebrate Karva Chauth: the dawn-to-moonrise fast, the rituals, and the colorful state-by-state variations across India.

In August 2013, a teenage girl accused godman Asaram Bapu of sexual assault. A look at the case as it broke — and the convictions that followed.

In 2012 India recorded 24,923 rapes with a 24% conviction rate — and behind every number was a woman. A 2013 editorial on the stories that forced a nation

The family of 8-year-old Gurkiren Kaur Loyal claimed she died after a mystery injection in Punjab in April 2013, and that her body returned to Britain

India worships women as goddesses yet tolerates rape and blames victims. A 2013 op-ed on the hypocrisy — and who will fight for women's rights.

Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh lay on a ventilator in a Lahore hospital after a jail attack, with conflicting reports over whether he was brain dead.

In Jaipur, Kanhaiya Lal begged for help for 40 minutes after a truck rammed his motorcycle, killing his wife Guddi and their infant daughter.

English Vinglish showed what it costs not to speak English in India; Anju Gattani on Shashi's quiet stand for her own worth.

Hyderabad's illegal ‘contract marriages’: wealthy foreigners paying for one-month ‘wives’ — a racket exposed by teenager Nausheen Tobassum.

Saurabh Agarwal of Sterling, Virginia, was arrested by the FBI for allegedly molesting a sleeping woman on American Airlines Flight 1142.

After Wharton dropped Narendra Modi as keynote speaker, Mohandas Pai turned down his own invite — and explained why in unusually blunt terms.

Italy told India its two marines facing trial for killing two fishermen would not return from home leave — setting up a diplomatic standoff.

After Anoushka Shankar's revelation and a damning Human Rights Watch report, a 2013 TV panel confronted India's child sex abuse crisis — and the silence

A Naperville book club takes on Aravind Adiga's Booker-winning 'The White Tiger' — and splits three ways over its brutal portrait of class and caste.

Author Anju Gattani on Walmart's India entry: why a retail giant's American playbook collided with Indian roads, kirana shops, and cultural walls.

A Melbourne reader's diary of an Indian comedy night: Raju Srivastava, Irfan Malik and Ali Hasan had a full house laughing at itself for four hours.

A 2013 ThoughtfulIndia column argues that Shah Rukh Khan's 'Being a Khan' essay struck a false note — from a star this country had already made its own.

In 2013, with growth halved and scandals mounting, the dragon-versus-elephant debate looked settled. A decade later, the race had a different leader.

From Russia's paperwork maze to India's beautiful chaos, eight destinations where even seasoned travelers are smarter with a guide at their side.

In late 2012, Chandrasekhar Vallabhaneni and his wife Anupama were convicted in Oslo of gross maltreatment of their seven-year-old son and jailed.

As FDI in multi-brand retail opened up in September 2012, the fear was Walmart would change India. The counter-argument: India would change Walmart.

In September 2012, Mamata Banerjee withdrew TMC support over FDI in retail — and Manmohan Singh's UPA government held on anyway.

On September 6, 2012, Union Minister Sachin Pilot became the first serving minister commissioned as a regular officer in the Territorial Army.

McDonald's announced its first all-vegetarian outlets near Amritsar's Golden Temple and the Vaishno Devi shrine — a milestone for the Big Mac empire.

Bengaluru police widened a terror-module probe in September 2012, arresting Dr Nayueem Siddique as the 14th suspect — the alleged Kaiga nuclear-plant plot

Deep Foods started in 1977 with Bhagwati Amin's Gujarati snacks in New Jersey. It became one of America's largest Indian food brands.

Suzuki's chairman donned a turban in New Delhi and talked history — Sanjay Gandhi, Maruti, and the Indian judge Japan still reveres.

Around 60 Hindu families from Pakistan's Balochistan and Sindh arrived in India in August 2012, fleeing violence, kidnappings and forced conversions.

String theorist Ashoke Sen of Allahabad's HRI won the $3 million Fundamental Physics Prize in 2012 — the richest prize in physics, ahead of even the Nobel.

Grids supplying half of India collapsed on July 31, 2012 — the world's biggest blackout — even as Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde was promoted to Home

A mystery woman in red marched with India's Olympic contingent at London 2012's opening ceremony. She turned out to be Madhura Nagendra, a Bangalore dancer.

Pranab Mukherjee was sworn in as India's 13th President on July 25, 2012, in Parliament's Central Hall, succeeding Pratibha Patil.

Oprah's 2012 India episode of Oprah's Next Chapter drew fierce backlash from Indian viewers over its 'still eat with their hands' moment and stereotyped gaze.

Marrying into Indian family life means marrying the family, the festivals, the food debates — and learning that 'compromise' has a much larger cast than two.

The Aakash, India's $35-40 tablet from DataWind and the government, promised to bridge the digital divide for students — but the shipped device fell far short.

A school in India reportedly used height as an admissions criterion. Why the policy failed every test — developmentally, ethically, and legally under the

2G, coal, Commonwealth Games: India's corruption isn't a few bad apples — it's structural. How opacity got woven into how the country actually runs.

The 1,360-km India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway — agreed in 2002, perpetually delayed and re-announced. India's road to Southeast Asia.

Mumbai Police released photos of alleged LeT terrorists who had entered the city — but reporters found the men in Lahore, running shops, tied to no plot.

India was working toward the Washington Accord, which would give its engineering graduates international credential recognition. Two years later, it happened.

In March 2012 India granted its first compulsory drug license: Natco Pharma could make a generic version of Bayer's cancer drug Nexavar at a fraction of the

Manmohan Singh skips the 2011 Commonwealth summit in Perth — and the reason is Australia's refusal to sell uranium to non-NPT India.

Published the day after Steve Jobs's death: the story of his adoption, his childhood in Mountain View, and the turbulent boyhood that shaped Apple's co-founder.

In 2011, Additional Solicitor General Darius Khambata's legal opinion forced the Mumbai passport office to concede: a divorced woman may keep her married name.

A new generation of Mumbai's underworld families is walking away from the family business — training as pilots, doctors, engineers and bankers instead.

In September 2011, speculation swirled that Nandan Nilekani might quit UIDAI as Aadhaar faced opposition from within government — including the Home Ministry.

In 2011, historian Thant Myint-U argued Burma would be the hinge of 21st-century Asia — the new crossroads of China and India. His case, revisited.

Could Delhi become a true capital of the world? The boosters' evidence, the detractors' evidence — and why cities become what they accumulate.

In 2011, The Economic Times reported that Chinese executives in India — some 60,000 strong — were choosing to stay. Warmth, it turned out, was the pull.

Why group dates caught on in India: safety, lower pressure, and the friend-group as chaperone. Inside the 2011 trend and what became of it.

In 2011, stories of an underground fight circuit in Mumbai echoed the famous film. What the scene said about unmet demand for combat sports in India.

Why did India rank 134th of 153 countries on the 2010 World Giving Index? An essay on survey bias, informal giving, and the culture of Indian philanthropy.

In January 2011, reports that China issued stapled visas to Arunachal residents sparked debate: a policy shift, or just another obstacle? History answered.

On a Fulbright teaching exchange in the Adirondacks, English teacher Ajay Kumar Nair introduced American students to kabaddi — shoes off, rules on.

LinkedIn's 2010 list of the most overused profile words revealed a national quirk: India loved 'dynamic.' America preferred 'extensive experience.'

The 2011 IPL auction in Bangalore created 15 millionaires on day one — with Gautam Gambhir fetching $2.4M — while Sourav Ganguly went unsold.

A BVA-Gallup survey ranked France among the world's least happy nations and India among the most optimistic. Subjective wellbeing is about expectations.

2G, the Commonwealth Games, Adarsh, the Radia tapes: 2010 was the year India's scandals made Caesar's standard of probity look naive.

A WikiLeaks cable quoted Rahul Gandhi telling the US ambassador that radicalised Hindu groups may pose a bigger threat than Islamist terrorists. The fallout.

At 14, Suhas Gopinath founded Globals Inc from a Bangalore cyber cafe. A decade on: a multinational IT firm, a World Bank roundtable, and a WEF honor.

Architect Didi Contractor spent decades in Kangra building with mud while India chose concrete. On tradition, climate, and the status signaling of “modernity.”

Pakistani journalist Jawed Naqvi's critique of Indian corruption provoked outrage — and uncomfortable recognition. On the messenger, the message, and 2010's

Obama told the Indian parliament in November 2010 that a stable Pakistan serves India's interests. Logically sound — and operationally complicated.

Article 370, AFSPA, and decades of military presence: what ordinary Kashmiris want is not complicated. Getting there is.

They are called half widows — women in Kashmir whose husbands vanished in the conflict, stuck in legal limbo: no death certificate, no inheritance, no way

In autumn 2010 Kashmir was rocked by street unrest and a Delhi speech that sparked sedition complaints — questions nobody in power wanted to answer.