India | GlobalPost

Indians seduced by fake gold

Taylor BarnesMay 13, 2010 06:19Updated May 30, 2010 13:32

MUMBAI, India — The price of gold rose to its all-time high dollar value on Wednesday — more than $1,240 an ounce — which is more than triple what it was in 2001 when it started its climb. What is India, the world's largest importer of the metal, to do? India accounts for 20 percent of global demand. But skittish global investors throughout the recession have flocked to the metal as a safe asset when real estate and stocks tottered. Now, they are taking to it again on inflationary fears stoked by Europe's debt crisis, driving up the price.

India: More mobile phones than toilets

Saritha RaiMay 9, 2010 09:56Updated May 30, 2010 13:32

BANGALORE, India — In populous India, more people have access to mobile phones than to toilets. Shocking as that statistic may be, a combination of social, cultural and economic factors are at play, depriving millions of Indians access to better sanitation. On the one hand, India has some 565 million mobile phone connections, covering roughly half the country’s 1.2 billion people. It is a country whose tech-savvy workforce provides sophisticated tech know-how to the rest of the globe.

India autos: The death of the Ambassador?

Saritha RaiMay 17, 2010 06:31Updated May 30, 2010 13:32

BANGALORE, India — It was once the Grand Old Lady of the Indian roads, the drive of choice for India’s prime ministers, Bollywood stars, top bureaucrats and corporate chieftains. With its trademark balloonish shape and roomy interiors, the brawny Ambassador ruled the roads here for more than a quarter of a century. But since the start of India’s liberalization two decades ago, snazzier, sleeker and cheaper cars from a variety of global automakers have eroded the popularity of the Ambassador.

On remote island in northeastern India, health worker challenges tradition

Hanna IngberMay 7, 2010 03:45

AZIMOR, India — After a couple hours of cruising down the Brahmaputra River, the boat clinic I am traveling with arrives at a desolate mud bank. A fisherman nearby dips his pole into the water and pulls up a large net. Two community workers emerge from the boat and set off with a box of medical supplies toward the thatch-roof homes in the distance.

India: Incest, or star-crossed love?

Jason OverdorfMay 5, 2010 10:56Updated May 30, 2010 13:32

NEW DELHI, India — When a Haryana court handed down the death sentence to five family members this spring for murdering a young couple who'd married in violation of an arcane incest taboo, women's rights activists hailed the decision as a landmark judgment. But now a new challenge from the village councils that order such killings threatens to bring more violence. “They say those who marry despite blood and milk ties will be killed,” said Jagmati Sangwan, an activist with the local chapter of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA).

Boat clinics serve India's isolated island villages

Hanna IngberMay 4, 2010 05:54

GUWAHATI, India — We load up in an SUV and make our way through the streets of Guwahati. It is raining, and much of this major city in northeastern India is flooded. Cars, men pedaling rickshaws and our SUV slowly edge their way through the water-filled streets. The water looks orange, stained from the clay that has eroded from the surrounding hills. We are headed to meet a boat that will take us and a group of medical staff to a remote island on the Brahmaputra River.

Surviving culprit found guilty in Mumbai attacks

Jason OverdorfMay 3, 2010 07:03

Ajmal Amir Kasab, caught red-handed after the terrorist attacks on Mumbai on Nov. 26, 2008, was found guilty of the murder of 166 Indians and foreigners by a special court in Mumbai Monday, the Times of India reports. Two Indian who were accused as accomplices, Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Shaikh, were acquitted due to lack of evidence. Arguments on sentencing will be heard tomorrow, with the prosecution likely to seek the death penalty.

The business of sports: Cue the cricket

Saritha RaiMay 1, 2010 09:10Updated May 30, 2010 13:31

BANGALORE, India — Anjali Rai Hamilton, a realtor based in Bangalore, is hooked on cricket, specifically the Indian Premier League (IPL). She follows the matches, conveniently scheduled in the late evenings. Many of Hamilton’s friends are recent cricket fans, and together they root for the home team Royal Challengers.

The Delhi cops' cunning plan

Jason OverdorfApril 29, 2010 02:56

The Delhi Police have come up with a cunning plan to save money recovered as evidence. Instead of keeping it in the unwisely named "safe room" where they say it decays or is eaten by insects, the department is now going to invest the confiscated funds in fixed deposits. Folks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirms that termites do indeed eat money. But I'm compelled to reflect on the similar African phrase (which comes to me via Chinua Achebe).

India health: Spit and polish?

Jason OverdorfApril 29, 2010 06:39Updated May 30, 2010 13:31

NEW DELHI, India — New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is, arguably, India's best hospital. But even though patients travel for hours – even days – to seek treatment here, they don't show the same respect inside its hallowed walls. A new survey shows that a whopping 90 percent of them spit inside the hospital building, raising the risks of dangerous hospital-acquired infections like tuberculosis, pneumonia, and swine flu.