The South Asia Politics, News, and Analysis Thread

At least they're both elderly now?

So this Indian guru got 400 of his followers to cut their own balls off to get "closer to god."

He sounds like a douchebag from the rest of the article. Not really surprising, considering all the other shit I hear about these bullshit "gurus" in India, but the 800 cut off balls is just, damn.

edited 3rd Mar '15 6:51:28 PM by Ekuran

Not all gurus are like him, just to be clear.

Obviously, that's why it's bullshit "gurus."

India has banned the broadcasting of India's Daughter, the documentary on the 2012 New Delhi bus rape. Cue the BBC bringing forwards airing of the documentary in question. Good on them.

At least one Indian lawmaker thinks that the documentary is an attempt to defame India. Well, try convincing me that the Indian government's response to their rape issue is not "la la la I can't hear you" now...

Not really the Beeb's place to do it, if only because it sounds patronizing. Which is rather counterproductive.

Would have been more impressed if it had been local, I think.

edited 5th Mar '15 7:50:14 AM by FFShinra

My only issue with the documentary and with the Beeb in general is that they used the victim's name without her family's permission. Apart from that, the government needs to stop running away from the problem and pretending it doesn't exist, and actually face it like how we believed Modi would do.

The second I heard that both one of the defendants and two of the defending lawyers said that it was her fault, I felt physically ill.

Link, if needed

edited 5th Mar '15 9:48:26 AM by arcanephoenix

So it was discussed on the last page that India would play a massive role in geopolitics should it take a much more proactive stance against the PRC's expansionism in the near-future. Well this came out today.

US cannot counter China in Asia without India's support: MK Narayanan

Or they could ally with China and utterly destroy the balance of power, stranger things have happened.

The trouble for the US is that India is playing its own game — it won't necessarily play to the US's book if it feels like it doesn't have to. India won't trust anyone with its own Defence but itself.

Quite.

edited 9th Mar '15 2:56:54 AM by Greenmantle

Why should it? India will be happiest doing what's best for India.

Cross posting from the women's issues thread: Reuters interview with the maker of "India's Daughter".

And on that: Why some Indians want to 'Ban BBC'

India's a good friend to have, but Washington will be smart to understand the difference between friendship and puppetry.

Hopefully it will be.

An Indian male student denied an internship because he comes from a country with a 'rape problem'.

This kind of thing is the reason that people oppose the documentary being aired - the reinforcing of the perception that rape is somehow endemic to India and India alone, and Indian men are more prone to it than other men (making every Indian man by virtue of nationality alone guilty unless proven innocent). Of course, a lot of people go down separate routes - Western conspiracy, racism in the Western media, many rape cases are in fact fake (supported by evidence, BTW), sensationalisation by the BBC, all that.

Another issue is that the one witness in the case, Nirbhaya's friend, has stated that the documentary is fake. I'm not naïve, of course, but it does add that much doubt to my mind.

Alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks releases by Pakistani court

I foresee a calm and measured response from India.

Well to be fair it would be like Pakistan capturing Bin Laden and then letting him go, then again they do hate India so I'm kind of surprised he wasn't given a medal for this. If Obama really wants to get on India's good side, take out this guy with a drone strike.

In completely unrelated news Indian women dumps groom after he fails to add 6 and 15, claiming he was illiterate

Edit 2: Is Gandi becoming less of a hero to India? Apparently Hindu nationalists are trying to discredit.

edited 13th Mar '15 1:07:37 PM by JackOLantern1337

Not that easy. Islamabad is not Abbottabad. And the government is charging him again, I believe.

As for Gandhi, the BJP will fail in that regard. Honestly, I'm increasingly of the opinion that except for Modi himself, the rest of the party consists of idiots.

Indian Convent School in West Bengal destroyed, 74 year old Nun raped Sexual and religious violence, it must be my fucking birthday.

Church in Pakistan blown up,killing at least 10,

Man ties 8 year old daughter to motorcycle to make sure she sits for test (sigh) At least he's educating his daughter.

edited 18th Mar '15 9:06:47 AM by JackOLantern1337

Crossposted in the Arab Spring thread:

The Indian military has successfully managed to evacuate over 4,000 Indian civilians from Yemen

Twenty-three other countries, including Germany, France, Ireland and the United States, have requested assistance in evacuating their own citizens

-salutes-

This is the reason people voted for Modi - great co-ordination and decisive action to place the lives of Indian civilians paramount. I am normally a critic of the Modi government, but credit must be given where due, just as criticism when due.

It seems a Pakistani frigate did the same thing, taking on Indians and Chinese.

Kudos all around, it seems.

It's easy to be decisive when any operation is going to be a brief 'in-n-out' with an obvious threat to the citizenry. I'd be wary of such "decisiveness" in other contexts.

Which is why Pakistan's deliberation on entering the Yemen imbroglio is a pleasant surprise.

The mastermind of the Mumbai attack was allowed to have a relatively luxurious stay in prison,with several rooms and a TV. But apparently that wasn't good enough for him as he has now been released.