Latest India News
Rohit Bal, one of India's best-known fashion designers, dies at 63
NEW DELHI (AP) — Rohit Bal, one of India’s best-known fashion designers, died late Friday after a prolonged illness, the fashion designers association in the country announced. He was 63. The Fashion Design Council of India, or FDCI, said in a post on Instagram,...
India protests Ottawa's allegation its home minister ordered targeting of Sikh activists in Canada
NEW DELHI (AP) — India officially protested on Saturday the Canadian government’s allegation that the country’s powerful home minister Amit Shah had ordered the targeting of Sikh activists inside Canada, calling it “absurd and baseless.” Relations between the two countries...
Toxic smog cloaks India's capital as Diwali firecrackers push air pollution to hazardous levels
NEW DELHI (AP) — A thick layer of toxic smog cloaked India’s capital on Friday as smoke from firecrackers used to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, pushed air pollution to hazardous levels. New Delhi's air quality index plunged into the “severe” category,...
We are what we celebrate: America's holiday calendar is increasingly diverse
NEW YORK (AP) — John Albert's daughter isn't going to school on Friday. And he couldn't be happier about it. For the first time, the high school senior and all of New York City's public school students have the day off to mark the holiday of Diwali, celebrated in India and among...
What is Diwali, the Festival of Lights? How is it celebrated in India and the diaspora?
Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India — and for Hindus in particular. It is celebrated across faiths by more than a billion people in the world’s most populous nation and the diaspora. Over five days, people take part in festive gatherings, fireworks...
India says frontier disengagement with China along their disputed border is 'almost complete'
NEW DELHI (AP) — India and China have moved most of their frontline troops further from their disputed border in a remote region in the northern Himalayas, India’s defense minister said Thursday, some 10 days after the two countries reached a new pact on military patrols that aims to end a...
Indians celebrate Diwali by lighting a record number of clay lamps
LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Millions of Indians began celebrating the annual Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, by symbolically lighting a record 2.51 million clay oil lamps at dusk on Wednesday on the banks of the river Saryu in a northern Indian city they believe to be the birthplace of the deity Lord...
Use of smoke-emitting firecrackers renews air pollution debate in India's capital ahead of Diwali
NEW DELHI (AP) — As India gears up for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, people are divided over whether they should celebrate by setting off firecrackers, which worsen the country’s chronic air pollution. Diwali, which will be celebrated Thursday, is marked by socializing...
AP PHOTOS: River and air pollution in India's capital pose a severe health threat to residents
NEW DELHI (AP) — One of India’s most sacred rivers, the Yamuna in New Delhi, is covered with white toxic foam, with vast sections frothing as a result of pollutants discharged from industries around the city. The pollution poses a severe health threat to residents since the river provides more...
An explosion of fireworks injures more than 150 people at a temple in India
NEW DELHI (AP) — A huge explosion of fireworks injured more than 150 people at a religious festival in a temple in southern India, a report said Tuesday. The explosion occurred Monday night when a fireworks storage facility near Veerarkavu temple caught fire, the Press Trust of...
