Blame it on the British. When India names its children, the mother's side of the family is all but forgotten. The children are given the father's surname.

Women at war is part of Indian history, from Jhansi Ki Rani to Rani Durgawati to Razia Sultan. But they weren’t part of modern India's war strategy till very recently. Independent India’s Army restricted women to the medical corps, dental corps and the nursing service.

Israel believes it is constantly at war, facing an existential crisis in a sea of hatred. The national narrative is clear and society's expectations of the young are rigid.

It's been called the invention that "defined the 20th century". On May 9, 1960, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the world's first birth-control pill called Enovid-10.

Poonam Malik is a typical 'Haryanvi bahu', head demurely covered with a dupatta, a shy introvert woman, busy with household chores in her joint family of 15. She covers her face with a 'ghunghat' if elders come visiting.

The room is crowded, there's loud music and the liquor is flowing freely. One face catches the eye. Her hair falls onto, barely offering a glimpse of come-hither brown eyes.

There are stories. And there are remarkable stories. And then there are people who write remarkable stories. Perhaps Pulitzer-prize winning writer Geeta Anand belongs to the third category.

"Cause we are living in a material world and I am a material girl" crooned Madonna in the Eighties. Fast forward to the 21st century, and we all know there is more to a marriage than love. Today's woman has become assertive about more than her rights. She also makes known her likes and dislikes with the result that society labels her as materialistic.

Parliament recently amended the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act to give it more teeth and enable the ASI to effectively protect and develop the 4000 monuments it looks after. Conservationists have raised a cheer. But more is required to enforce the law.

Photographs get morphed; contact numbers from stolen mobiles are used to stalk; confidential emails and text messages become grounds for bullying.

When Fatima Chhipa leaves home, in the congested by-lanes of the Belan Market area, she carries her work trousers and shirt in a plastic bag.

Nandita Sengupta hops on to the Reservation Express, which travelled through 56 cities to build support for the women’s quota Bill

The typical family drama in the TV soap or the Bollywood flick revolves around weddings and property disputes.

Oncologists say the awareness of breast cancer is limited to cities. And when women are aware, the stigma attached to it prevents them from speaking out openly.

Is the Punjabi kudi as brash as some make her out to be? What lies beyond the Kashmiri’s serene beauty?

It’s not just us. Women in every country are defined by stereotype

A film club that screens politically and socially charged films in the hinterland has been resisting sponsorship and censorship with equal vigour.

There is little to distinguish Kamalasagar, a sleepy hamlet in Tripura's Sipahijala district, from the hundreds of villages that line the state's border with Bangladesh. But it is no ordinary village.

It all started with an honest Facebook post.

In 1994-95, as part of a national campaign, I travelled through hundreds of Indian villages, mofussil towns and cities, explaining how miracle-mongers make sly use of chemicals and herbs and exploit the ignorance of common people about certain natural phenomena to fool the gullible and win their unquestioning devotion.

All over the country, bookshops are closing down. And all over the country, litfests are springing up. So there is a paradox for you.

Along the TN and Kerala coast, fishermen turned surf instructors are helping local boys stay in school and off drugs.

In every other store on the streets leading to the beach in Mamallapuram sit a row or two of Ganeshas, tiny turtles, elephants, reclining Buddhas and scattered stone figurines, all carved by the locals.

Progressive Maharashtra is dotted with temples and dargahs that keep women out

These are the last-mile months to convince your boss that you deserve the coveted grade with some quick moves

Self-radicalized youth are the dangerous new weapon of the Islamic State. Intelligence sleuths and Muslim clerics are devising ways to counter this ever-growing threat

She is fair, light-eyed and the perfect clothes horse. But on days when regular modelling assignments dry up, she doesn't mind changing 50 outfits and being photographed in a small studio against a plain white backdrop. Front, side, and back and you are done, says Anushree, 24, a Mumbai model.

The truth is, there can be no fair, defi nitive answer to the query. The two careers overlapped a bit. But remember: pitches, bowlers, batting equipment, rules – all have changed dramatically since 1989, when Sachin played his fi rst Test and ODI.

Historian Sumathi Ramaswamy’s seminal book The Goddess and the Nation, Mapping Mother India shows how Bharat Mata has been reimagined over the years, going from a benign, giving figure or a tragedienne to a martyr and often an ultra-nationalist warrior.

In an increasingly globalized world, words like territory and identity seem anachronistic. Yet the march of nationalism continues across the world. Sunday Times decodes the strange pull of identity politics

It is said that nothing wilts faster than laurels that have been rested upon. On the anniversary of the crisis-compelled 1991 reforms, amidst the ring of congratulatory applause and certification of successes, it is essential to assess if the political imperative for transformation has been influenced at all by the experience of 1991, if there is systemic change and, if indeed, the laurels are for real.

Mota Samadhiyala village, in Una block in Gujarat’s Gir-Somnath district, has now become a place-name for social terror. The video that went viral a few weeks ago, of cow-protection vigilantes beating seven Dalit men for skinning a dead cow, was recorded and spread by the gau rakshaks themselves.

As solar panels get cheaper, more people are embracing the sun. Some of them are not only reducing their electricity bills, they’re even selling the surplus to the state.

Worldwide, the virus is confirmed to have infected nearly 4 million people and killed more than 276,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University based on data reported by governments.

The number of coronavirus cases worldwide topped four million as some of the hardest-hit countries readied Sunday to lift lockdown restrictions, despite concerns about the second wave of infections. Governments around the world are trying to stop the spread of the disease while scrambling for ways to relieve pressure on their economies with millions unemployed.

Like many couples in the era of social distancing, Ma Jialun and Zhang Yitong held their wedding ceremony online -- but they added a twist by livestreaming the event to more than 100,000 strangers. Coronavirus lockdowns and travel restrictions have forced people around the world to delay their nuptials or adapt to the unusual times by celebrating via web link.

Her coronavirus test came back negative two days after her death, but Branngard, who claims she died of neglect, says the nursing home staff lacked protective gear and were spreading the virus around the home. Sweden, whose softer approach to the coronavirus has garnered international attention, admits it has failed to adequately protect the elderly, with around half of Covid-19 deaths occurring among nursing home residents.

Top government sources told ANI that at the time of the incident, Pakistan was already carrying out an aerial exercise about which India also had information. "Soon after the death of the Colonel, the Pakistani Air Force increased its patrols involving its mix of fighter aircraft including the F-16s and the JF-17 which were being constantly monitored by our surveillance platforms," they said.

അമേരിക്കയില്‍ കൊറോണ വൈറസ്‌ ബാധിതരുടെ എണ്ണം വര്‍ധിക്കുന്നതിനിടെ രാഷ്ട്രീയ പോരാട്ടവും ചൂട് പിടിക്കുന്നു.

South Korea's had 18 new cases in 24 hours with all but one of them linked to a 29-year-old man who visited three clubs in Seoul's Itaewon district before testing.

Spain's health ministry reported 179 new confirmed deaths on Saturday, increasing the death toll to 26,478.

The move came as more nations review restrictions on blood donations imposed during the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis, with some countries imposing blanket bans, some waiting periods after gay sex, and others - like Italy - having no limitations at all.

The US is the country with the most deaths at 77,280, following by Britain on 31,241, Italy 30,201, Spain 26,478 and France 26,230.

The Indian mission in Saudi Arabia is arranging four flights next week to repatriate Indians - including a Riyadh to Delhi flight on Monday.

Pakistan, which has reported 26,435 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 599 deaths, has announced it will start lifting a countrywide lockdown from Saturday in a bid to restart economic activity.

Cuomo had on Friday disclosed the death of a 5-year old linked to the coronavirus and a syndrome that shares symptoms with toxic shock and Kawasaki disease, which was the first known fatality tied to the rare illness in New York.