Harsh laws on free speech, homosexuality, and adultery are remnants of British colonial rule and Victorian sensibilities and are unworthy of a true democracy, writes Shashi Tharoor

Indian poultry firms expect demand to pick up after a ban on beef in the country’s western state of Maharashtra, with other states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party also aiming to toughen laws on livestock slaughter.

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.

Al Qaida has expanded into the Indian subcontinent, the leader of the terror group said in a video statement released today, with a united group that will “wage jihad against its enemies”.

So what’s the best away to scare monkeys away from an urban city? Why ape them of course!

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.

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.

A second suspect was arrested for the rape of a 5-year-old girl who New Delhi police say was left for dead in a locked room, a case that has brought a new wave of protests against how Indian authorities handle sex crimes.

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.

At least 16 people have been injured in a bomb blast near the office of a political party in the southern Indian city of Bangalore.

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

About 100 protesters held a demonstration outside the Irish embassy in New Delhi, India, over the death of Savita Halappanavar.

The Government has launched diplomatic efforts to repair the country’s reputation in India after the parents of Savita Halappanavar blamed Ireland’s abortion laws for her death.

Ireland’s ambassador to India is attempting to ease concerns in the country over the death of a woman who was refused an abortion as she miscarried.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh assured migrants from the northeast of the country that they were safe as thousands fled Mumbai, Bangalore, and other cities yesterday, fearing a backlash from violence against Muslims in Assam.

India’s Parliament opened its winter session today and then quickly adjourned amid renewed protests by politicians angry about everything from corruption to soaring inflation.

A prominent anti-corruption activist has been detained by police just hours before he was set to embark on a public hunger strike which was certain to embarrass India’s scandal-plagued government.

Eleven Muslims have been sentenced to death for starting a train fire that killed 60 Hindu nationalists and triggered one of India’s worst outbursts of religious violence.

A school principal fatally stabbed a Hindu nationalist politician while he was meeting supporters at his residence in an east Indian state, police said today.

India’s main opposition party today demanded a parliamentary investigation on into the Commonwealth Games, which were hit by embarrassing allegations of corruption, building delays and cost overruns.

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.

A bomb detonated in a crowded bakery popular with foreigners in western India killing nine people and wounding 57, officials said today, the first terrorist attack in the country since the 2008 Mumbai massacre.

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

North Indian farmers are selling their wives to survive, it has been revealed.

An Indian investigation into the 1992 demolition of a 16th-century mosque by Hindu nationalists has finally submitted its report to the prime minister Manmohan Singh.

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

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.

Scores of protesters clashed with government troops in Indian Kashmir’s main city today as the country went to polls in the parliamentary election.

The fourth phase of parliamentary elections in India began today on a peaceful note amid high security.

A BRUTAL heat wave sweeping much of India, together with threats of violence from communist guerillas, marred the second round of voting yesterday in the country’s month-long election, keeping millions away from the polls.

TENS of thousands of troops and police fanned out across parts of India as polling stations opened yesterday in the world’s biggest democratic exercise.

The first day of polling in India’s general election was disrupted by Maoist-led violence that left at least 17 people dead.