Though advocacy groups and helplines in recent years have given homosexuals a voice and some solace, they are still largely a hidden community.
India and China have signed an agreement to resume trade across the Himalayas along an ancient artery of the Silk route that has been blocked for 44 years. Giant warehouses and roads have been constructed on both sides of the 4 500m Nathu La pass, which once accounted for 80% of the border trade between the two neighbours.
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/ 21 November 2003
A radical Hindu political party in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, and a key ally of the country’s ruling party, is encouraging Hindus to have more children because of fears of a Muslim population explosion. The militant Shiv Sena Party said that couples with more than 10 children will be given gifts of gold or silver.