India and Pakistan have been arguing for decades over control of the Muslim-majority Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir. Since 1947, the state has officially been a part of India with special status. However, recently, the Prime Minister of India took this special status away by presidential decree. Many Muslim Kashmiris are very upset about this decision and how it was made, but others consider it a positive development. Listen to learn more about the conflict surrounding this change.
Story Length: 3:21
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November 28, 2017
4:27
India's most famous monument, the Taj Mahal, is an example of Mughal architecture and a symbol of India's rich history. Now it is at the center of a bitter controversy. Hindu nationalists say the Muslim emperor who built India's iconic monument was a "traitor." The construction of the mausoleum was completed in the 1640s as a mausoleum for Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan’s favorite wife. Listen to hear about how India’s national pride along with religious ideas are contributing to this controversy.
Read MoreSeptember 6, 2017
6:39
The Caste systems plays a major role in Indian society. It a system that divides people into categories, giving privileges to higher castes and denying them for lower castes. The family you are born into can determine your job, where you live, and whom you marry. Even after discrimination based on the caste system was banned in the 1950s, it has certainly not been forgotten. One woman born into the untouchable caste, the lowest caste in Indian society, moved to America and became a subway conductor in New York. Listen to her story of discrimination and how the caste system still follows her.
Read MoreApril 21, 2017
3:42
In India, only 2% of citizens pay income taxes. There are many reasons for this, including that a large number of Indians do not meet the minimum salary for taxation. But there are loopholes in income reporting, and there is a cultural belief that the government is not using taxes to help the people, so many people just don’t pay. In India, unlike in America, the government doesn’t run large social welfare programs like Social Security, so Indians avoid paying taxes even if it’s illegal. Listen to this story and then debate: Should citizens pay taxes? Why or why not?
Read MoreNovember 4, 2015
8:15
In northern India, arranged marriages are normal. Some girls are married very young, as young as 10 years old. But they aren’t sent to live with their husbands until they turn 15. One charity started a school for child brides. They offer a deal to rural families: delay married life and get a free education. At the school, girls stay in dorms and attend many classes throughout the day. If they don’t pass a tough test at the end of their schooling, they are sent home to their husbands to be housewives. Listen to this story to hear more about the lives of these young girls in India and how different their lives are from young girls in the United States.
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