The present political leaders on the sub-continent have decisively repudiated the legacy of Gandhi and Nehru, inaugurating what could be a dark new chapter in the history of the region, writes Ramachandra Guha.

During the Fine Gael ard fheis on Saturday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he did not plan to call an election before Christmas.

Ten women died and 14 were in a serious condition after messed operations at a government mass sterilisation ‘camp’ in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, officials said last night.

India’s new government introduced a reform-minded budget today, focusing on promoting manufacturing and infrastructure and expanding the tax base.

Thousands of cheering supporters have welcomed India’s next prime minister on his arrival in the capital after leading his party to a staggering victory in national elections.

Narendra Modi thundered to victory in India’s election, trouncing the ruling Nehru-Gandhi dynasty in a seismic political shift that gives the Hindu nationalist and his party a mandate for sweeping economic reform.

Opposition leader Narendra Modi is set to win India’s election by a landslide, according to preliminary results.

Violence has flared in Indian-controlled Kashmir as millions of people vote on the penultimate day of national elections.

Indian Maoist rebels have killed 14 people in two separate attacks as they continue a campaign of violence aimed at disrupting a five-week national election.

Indian voters, worried about jobs and angry about corruption, look set to turf out the ruling Congress Party in the world’s biggest election starting today in favour of the opposition Hindu nationalists under hardliner Narendra Modi.

An Indian government minister promised to co-operate in a probe into the death of his wife days after she accused him of adultery in a case that has become an embarrassment for the ruling Congress in an election year.

At least 64 people were died in a stampede by masses of Hindu worshippers crossing a bridge to a temple in central India, police said.

A second suspect has been arrested over the rape of a five-year-old girl who New Delhi police say was left for dead in a locked room, a case which has brought a new wave of protests against how Indian authorities handle sex crimes.

Sporadic violence has broken out in India as unions began a two-day strike to protest at rising prices and plans for foreign takeovers.

A bone test is being conducted to confirm the age of a juvenile suspect in custody for the fatal assault and gang-rape of a young woman in India, while prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the other five men arrested with him, police said yesterday.

India remained in mourning today over the death of the New Delhi gang rape victim, with many New Year celebrations cancelled in respect.

Society should be shouting from the rooftops and insisting more be done to stop the escalation of rape attacks, according to the head of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.

Indian police have charged six men with murder, adding to accusations that they beat and gang-raped a woman on a New Delhi bus two weeks ago in a case that shocked the country.

Indian police charged six men with murder today, hours after a woman who was gang-raped and beaten on a bus in New Delhi nearly two weeks ago died in a Singapore hospital.

Police in India’s capital have used water cannons and batons for a second day to break up protests by hundreds of people demonstrating against the gang rape and brutal beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus.

The hours-long gang-rape and near-fatal beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus in New Delhi triggered outrage and anger across the country as Indians demanded action from authorities who have long ignored persistent violence and harassment against women.

India plans to send a spacecraft to Mars next year in a giant leap forward for science and technology in the country.

Whether they have a strong political pedigree or none, women are climbing to the top of Asian politics, writes Vishakha Desai

Mercy petitions by three men sentenced to death for the 1991 assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, have been rejected by President Pratibha Patil.

The triple bombing that killed 17 in the heart of India's financial capital has sparked anger over the government's inability to prevent terror strikes despite overhauling security forces after the 2008 Mumbai siege.

Shops and businesses were shut and public transport halted as a two-day strike demanding the creation of a new state in southern India paralyzed the region.

Thousands of tearful devotees, including top politicians, gathered today for the funeral of Sathya Sai Baba, one of India’s best-known Hindu ascetics revered as a divine incarnation with miraculous healing powers.

Several members of the Yemeni president’s ruling Congress party have resigned as tens of thousands of people again took to the streets to demand his removal.

Protests demanding economic reforms by Oman’s ruler have reached a key oil region in Oman, Government officials said.

THE groom wore a garland made of bank notes and received a helicopter as a gift, there were 18,000 guests — or perhaps it was 30,000 — and 1,000 workers took 40 days to prepare the venue.

Trains and planes were halted across India today by strikes in protest at fuel price rises.

A law giving Indian women a guaranteed third of all state and national parliament seats passed a key vote today.

Protesters set buses on fire and clashed with police over India's decision to carve a new state out of the southern region of Andhra Pradesh.

POLITICAL leaders paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on the 140th anniversary of his birth yesterday, which is also World Non-Violence Day.

A top Indian politician and four other people were killed when their helicopter crashed in the jungles of southern India, it was reported today.

A leading Indian politician was arrested today after she suggested a rival leader should be raped so she could better understand the plight of sex victims.

The young stars of 'Slumdog Millionaire', Azharudding Ismail and Rubina Ali, have been offered new homes by the Indian government - just days after director Danny Boyle purchased apartments for the child actors.

Manmohan Singh was sworn in as India's prime minister for the second time in New Delhi today.

Indian president Pratibha Patil today appointed Manmohan Singh as prime minister for a second consecutive term.

INDIA’S Congress Party yesterday began putting together a new cabinet amid euphoria over its definitive election victory.

More than a quarter of the MPs elected to form India’s new government have criminal cases pending against them.

India’s Congress party today began putting together a new Cabinet amid euphoria over its definitive election victory that will give the government a free hand to pursue economic reforms.

The ruling Congress party swept to a resounding victory today in India’s mammoth national elections, defying expectations as it brushed aside the Hindu nationalist opposition and a legion of ambitious smaller parties.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has declared victory in India’s national elections, saying voters have given the Congress party-led coalition a “massive mandate”.

The governing Congress party will win India’s month-long elections and form the next government, media reports said today.

Indian political parties were today focusing their attentions on their post-election strategies ahead of the results being announced over the weekend.

Clashes marred the final phase of India's parliamentary elections today, which left two people dead.

Voting for the fifth and final phase of parliamentary elections in India began today.

Sporadic violence marred the fourth phase of parliamentary elections in India today.