KRUTIKA PATHI

South Asia reporter

Pathi covers India and the wider South Asia region. She is based in New Delhi.
FILE- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda speak during an event organized to release their party's manifesto for the upcoming national parliamentary elections in New Delhi, India, April 14, 2024. India's main opposition party is accusing Modi of hate speech after he called Muslims “infiltrators" and used some of his most incendiary rhetoric to date about the minority faith.(AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)
Modi is accused of using hate speech for calling Muslims ‘infiltrators’ at an Indian election rally
India’s main opposition party has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using hate speech after he called Muslims “infiltrators.”
 
A Deori tribal woman shows the indelible ink mark on her finger after casting her vote during the first round of polling of India's national election in Jorhat, India, Friday, April 19, 2024. Nearly 970 million voters will elect 543 members for the lower house of Parliament for five years, during staggered elections that will run until June 1. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Indians vote in the first phase of the world’s largest election as Modi seeks a third term
Millions of Indians are voting in a six-week election that’s a referendum on Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
 
FILE- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sandalwood paste and vermilion applied on his forehead during the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor, a promenade that connects the Ganges River with the centuries-old temple dedicated to Hindu god Shiva in Varanasi, India, Dec. 13, 2021. Hindu nationalism, once a fringe ideology in India, is now mainstream. Nobody has done more to advance this cause than Modi, one of India’s most beloved and polarizing political leaders. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, File)
Once a fringe Indian ideology, Hindu nationalism is now mainstream, thanks to Modi’s decade in power
Hindu nationalism was once a fringe ideology in India, and now it is mainstream. Nobody has done more to advance this cause than Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
 
Members of Aam Admi Party, or Common Man's Party, shout slogans during a protest against the arrest of their party leader Arvind Kejriwal, in New Delhi, India, Friday, March 22, 2024. Supporters of an anti-corruption crusader and one of India's most consequential politicians of the last decade in India held protests Friday against his arrest, which opposition parties say is part of a crackdown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government before national elections. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A Modi rival is arrested. Now, supporters of the opposition leader are protesting in India’s capital
Supporters of an anti-corruption crusader and one of India’s most consequential politicians of the past decade are protesting against his arrest.
 
FILE- Supporters of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) react as they listen to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak at an election rally in Meerut, India, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)
India’s national election will take place in phases over 44 days. Here’s why it takes so long
Nearly 970 million people are eligible to vote in India’s national elections that start Friday and will be held in phases until June 1.
 
Pranay Karkale, a first-year graduate student at Johns Hopkins University from Nashik, India, stands at the university's campus in Baltimore on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. Karkale is working toward his Master of Science in engineering management. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)
At US universities, record numbers of Indian students seek brighter prospects — and overseas jobs
As India’s booming youth population outpaces the growth of its education system, historic numbers of students are turning abroad for higher education.
 
FILE- Leaders from the opposition INDIA alliance raise their hands together in a show of unity during a protest rally against the suspension of more than 140 lawmakers from the parliament, in New Delhi, India, Dec. 22, 2023. Last year more than two dozen opposition parties in India came together to take on Narendra Modi, one of the country's most popular prime ministers in generations. But the broad alliance, beset with ideological differences and personality clashes, is cracking at a crucial time, just months before the country votes in a national election. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)
The opposition alliance that aimed to oust Modi appears to be cracking just before India’s elections
India’s beleaguered opposition parties, which are beset with ideological differences and personality clashes, joined hands last year to unseat popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defeat his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s electoral juggernaut.
 
Indian farmers who have been protesting for a week to demand guaranteed crop prices wait to march to the capital near Shambhu border that divides northern Punjab and Haryana states, some 200 kilometers (120 miles) from New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb.21, 2024. The protesting farmers began their march last week, but their efforts to reach the city have been blocked by authorities. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
A young man dies as clashes erupt between police and protesting farmers in India
A protester has died as thousands of Indian farmers resume their march to the capital after talks with the government failed to end an impasse over their demands for guaranteed crop prices.
 
Protesting farmers face the police across a barricade near Shambhu border that divides northern Punjab and Haryana states, almost 200 kilometers (125 miles) from New Delhi, India, Friday, Feb.16, 2024. Farmers are blocking highways and holding demonstrations in many rural areas in northern India to protest over a range of grievances that have also led tens and thousands to march toward the capital. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Indian farmers strike to demand guaranteed crop prices as others attempt to march to New Delhi
Farmers are blocking highways and holding demonstrations in many rural areas in northern India to protest over a range of grievances that have also led tens and thousands to march toward the capital.
 
Farmers run for cover after police fired tear gas to disperse protesting farmers who were marching to New Delhi near the Punjab-Haryana border at Shambhu, India, Tuesday, Feb.13, 2024. Farmers are marching to the Indian capital asking for a guaranteed minimum support price for all farm produce. (AP Photo/Rajesh Sachar)
Why tens of thousands of Indian farmers are protesting again
Tens of thousands of Indian farmers are protesting for guaranteed crop prices, renewing a movement that succeeded in getting contentious new agricultural laws repealed in 2021.
 
A general view of the audience during the opening of a temple dedicated to Hindu deity Lord Ram, in Ayodhya, India, Monday, Jan.22, 2024. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to open a controversial Hindu temple built on the ruins of an ancient mosque in the holy city of Ayodhya in a grand event that is expected to galvanize Hindu voters months before a general election. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Modi opens Hindu temple built on ruins on razed mosque, in political triumph for prime minister
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opened a controversial Hindu temple that was built on the ruins of a razed historic mosque.
 
Activists of Gono Odhikar Parishad stand wearing black clothes on the face to protest against what they called a one sided election at the National Press Club in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Jan.8, 2024. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has won an overwhelming majority in Bangladesh's parliamentary election after a campaign fraught with violence and a boycott from the main opposition party, giving her and her Awami League a fourth consecutive term. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Bangladesh’s democracy is strained as Hasina wins a 4th term in a boycotted, low turnout vote
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has swept to power for a fourth consecutive term in Bangladesh. Sunday’s election was boycotted by opposition parties and marked by protests and international scrutiny.
 
Bangladeshi polling officials count votes after the voting ended at a polling station in Munshiganj, outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Hasina wins Bangladesh vote, but low turnout and opposition boycott raise doubts over its legitimacy
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has won an overwhelming majority in Bangladesh’s parliamentary election after a campaign fraught with violence and a boycott from the main opposition party, giving her and her Awami League a fourth consecutive term.
 
Hazera Khatun, 70, holds a portrait of her son Sajedul Islam Sumon, a BNP local politician who has been missing for over 10 years, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. Khatun founded Mayer Daak, or Mother's Call, a platform for family members of victims of enforced disappearances in Bangladesh after the disappearance of her son. In August, Human Rights Watch said Bangladesh's security forces have committed over 600 enforced disappearances since 2009, when prime minister Sheikh Hasina came to power for the second time. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Thousands of opposition activists languish in prison as Bangladesh gears up for national election
In the months leading to Bangladesh’s national election on Sunday, thousands of opposition supporters and politicians have been arrested.
 
FILE- Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks at the opening session in the national parliament in Dhaka, July 14, 1996. The elections in Bangladesh are all about one person: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Analysts predict that since the main opposition party is staying out of the Jan. 7 vote, the 76-year-old leader is practically guaranteed her fifth term in office. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman, File)
Sheikh Hasina once fought for democracy in Bangladesh. Her critics say she now threatens it
The elections in Bangladesh are all about one person: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Analysts predict that since the main opposition party is staying out of the vote Sunday, the 76-year-old leader is practically guaranteed her fifth term in office.
 
FILE - U.S. President Joe Biden, left, and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi talk during the G20 leaders summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 15, 2022. The warm ties India and the United States have built are being tested after US prosecutors on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, accused an Indian official of orchestrating an alleged assassination plot in New York City. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, Pool, File)
India-US ties could face their biggest test in years after a foiled assassination attempt on a Sikh
The warm ties India and the United States have built are being tested after US prosecutors accused an Indian official of orchestrating an alleged assassination plot in New York City.
 
FILE- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau for a ceremonial welcome in New Delhi, India, Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. India restored electronic visa services for Canadian nationals, an Indian foreign ministry official said Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023, two months after Canada alleged India was involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada. A diplomatic spat erupted between the two countries after Trudeau said in September that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar in suburban Vancouver in western Canada. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)
India restores e-visa services for Canadians. The move could ease diplomatic tensions
An Indian foreign ministry official says that India has restored electronic visa services for Canadian nationals two months after Canada alleged the South Asian nation was involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada.
 
Activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party attack security officers during a protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. Police in Bangladesh's capital fired tear gas to disperse supporters of the main opposition party who threw stones at security officials during a rally demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the transfer of power to a non-partisan caretaker government to oversee general elections next year. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Bangladesh’s opposition supporters clash with police as tensions run high ahead of general election
Police in Bangladesh’s capital have fired tear gas to disperse supporters of the main opposition party who threw stones at security forces during a massive rally demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
 
LGBTQ community supporters and members hold each other hand as they watch the Supreme Court verdict on petitions that seek the legalization of same-sex marriage, in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. According to a Pew survey, acceptance of homosexuality in India increased by 22 percentage points to 37% between 2013 and 2019. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
India’s Supreme Court refuses to legalize same-sex marriage, saying it’s up to Parliament
India’s top court has refused to legalize same-sex marriages passing the responsibility back to Parliament.
 
Franziska Ohnsorge, World Bank Chief Economist for South Asia, speaks during the release the October 2023 development updates for India and South Asia, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
South Asia is expected to grow by nearly 6% this year, making it the world’s fastest-growing region
The World Bank says South Asia is expected to grow by 5.8% this year, making it the fastest-growing region in the world even as the pace remains below pre-pandemic levels.
 
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes his way to the podium for a news conference at the Canadian Permanent Mission, in New York, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
India and Canada steer clear, in UN speeches, of their dispute over Sikh separatist leader’s killing
Indian and Canadian diplomats steered clear of their countries’ row over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader when they addressed the U.N. General Assembly.
 
FILE - Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, walks past Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at Raj Ghat, Mahatma Gandhi's cremation site, during the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. Trudeau said that Canada wasn't looking to escalate tensions, but asked India on Tuesday, Sept. 19, to take the killing of a Sikh activist seriously after India called accusations that the Indian government may have been involved absurd.(Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
India had been riding a geopolitical high. But it comes to the UN with a mess on its hands
The recent G20 Summit hosted by India couldn’t have gone better for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But circumstances have changed — quite abruptly.
 
FILE - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau upon his arrival at Bharat Mandapam convention center for the G20 Summit, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. Canada has expelled a top Indian diplomat on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, as it investigates what Prime Minister Trudeau called credible allegations that India’s government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Sikh separatism has long strained Canada-India ties. Now they’re at their lowest point in years
Relations between Canada and India have sunk to their lowest point in years as the two countries swap accusations and expel each other’s diplomats over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader.
 
A photograph of late temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar is seen on a banner outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, where temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the temple parking lot in June. Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that India’s government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist.(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Sikh activist whose killing has divided Canada and India?
A Sikh independence advocate who was killed two months ago in western Canada is at the center of a widening breach between the Indian and Canadian governments.
 
A photograph of late temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar is seen on a banner outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, where temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down in his vehicle while leaving the temple parking lot in June. Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat Monday as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations that India’s government may have had links to the assassination in Canada of a Sikh activist.(Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
India expels Canadian diplomat, escalating tensions after Trudeau accuses India in Sikh’s killing
India has expelled a senior Canadian diplomat and is accusing Canada of interfering in its internal affairs.
 
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers a statement in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada expels an Indian diplomat as it investigates a Sikh’s killing. India denies an alleged link
Canada has expelled a top Indian diplomat as it investigates what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called credible allegations of ties to the assassination of a Sikh activist in Canada.
 
U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at the Rajghat, a Mahatma Gandhi memorial, where G20 leaders will paying their respects, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Kenny Holston, Pool)
G20 leaders pay respects at Gandhi memorial as they wrap up Indian summit and hand over to Brazil
G20 leaders are paying their respects at a memorial site dedicated to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi on the final day of this year’s summit.
 
FILE- A woman adjusts her sari as she walks past art works by students calling for peace amid fears of a Russian offensive on Ukraine, on a pavement in Mumbai, India, Feb. 21, 2022. Ahead of the G20 summit of leading economies, India has promoted itself as a rising global star with the potential to bridge the gap between the West and Russia. That stance also will be put to the test during the summit. So far, none of the G20 meetings this year have been able to agree on wording about Russia's war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)
India’s rising geopolitical clout will be tested as it hosts the G20 summit
As host of the G20 leading economies this year, India has pledged to put the concerns of developing countries front and center and make sure they’re not left behind.
 
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at a special session of the Business 20 or B20 Summit ahead of the G20 Summit to be held in September, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023. The B20 is the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community, which aims to deliver concrete actionable policy recommendations on priorities by each rotating presidency to spur economic growth and development. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Modi says India as G20 host will be inclusive and invites African Union to become permanent members
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says his country’s role as the G20 host this year would focus on highlighting the concerns of the developing world, and has proposed the African Union to become permanent members of the forum.
 
Schoolchildren celebrate the successful landing of spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 on the moon, in a school in Guwahati, India, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
India lands a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole, a first for the world as it joins elite club
India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole on Wednesday. It is a historic voyage to uncharted territory that scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water.
 
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