Asia

India's new ruling party has earned itself the reputation of inciting communal tension, and its leader has been accused of turning a blind eye to anti-Muslim violence. Marian Brehmer spoke to India's leading political scientist, Rajeev Bhargava, about Narendra Modi's electoral victory, Hindu–Muslim relations and secularism.

Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) controversial top candidate, won a surprising landslide victory, raising high expectations for many and fears among others.

To which results will the elections in India lead? Will the regional vote decide or the urban vote? Rainer Hörig travelled to the countryside and asked farmers and workers about their opinions.

The new Aam Aadmi Party is spreading hope for many people. The manifestos published before the elections are usually overrun with generalities because they want to please everyone and not alienate any voter group. For the poor, inflation and corruption are the main concerns. The youth wants better education and career opportunities, and an end to corruption.

In three short articles, German journalist Rainer Hörig, who has been living in Pune since 1989, reports on the election campaign in India. He visited a village in Maharashtra, accompanied young campaign aids from the Aam Aadmi Party on a canvassing mission in Pune, and interviewed urban slum dwellers on what they expect from the election. These reports provide a vivid impression of how the election campaign is carried out there and what moves the people politically.

The Karzai era has been given a moderate appraisal. But the Afghan president alone isn't responsible for everything he's being accused of. The West must take part of the blame too.

A decade of UPA-Congress rule in India ends with limited progress on the Indo-Pak relations.The fact that outgoing Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, despite his good intentions, could not visit the country of his birth even once sums up the structural constraints of this troubled relationship.

It is election season in India, and there are few places like Uttar Pradesh to get a feel which way the wind is blowing. Photo journalist Nikhil Roshan has captured some impressive scenes on his travels.

For three years, Pakistan has single-handedly – and successfully – blocked the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva from discussing an effort that would put a cap on fissile materials.