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 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.

ONE of the world’s oldest dialects, which traces its origins to tens of thousands of years ago, has become extinct after the last person to speak it died on a remote Indian island.

A 71-year-old economic reformer and political veteran was set to become India’s next prime minister, receiving his Congress party’s endorsement today after its leader Sonia Gandhi shocked supporters by abandoning her claim to the top job.

India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party wrested control of three of four state legislatures in elections seen as a strong indicator for the country’s parliamentary ballot next year.