Weekend Reads

  1. In this series of articles using data and interviews, the Mint explores how internet has dramatically changed the way Indians find romance in the last two decades. 
  2. The United States last week forced Jamaaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed to be put in the international list of banned terrorists. But for Pakistan, Saeed has remained a valuable asset. Khaled Ahmed in the Indian Express tells you why. 
  3. Suhrith Parthasarathy writes in The Hindu on why Tamil Nadu’s new law enabling the bull-fighting sport of jallikattu creates a crisis for the dignified treatment of animals. 
  4. Fountain Ink reports on how a drop in ad revenues following demonetisation in December has led to a series of layoffs in Indian media outlets. 
  5. Samuel G Freedman in New Yorker details how complex politics surrounds the functioning of NFL football in the United States. 
  6. More women are playing hardened criminals on TV shows. What does this transformation point to on the screen and in the society? Gabu Hinsliff of the Guardian explains. 
  7. In the context of Donald Trump becoming the president of the United States, Danielle Morgan in the Al Jazeera tells you why celebrating Black History Month is crucial. 
  8. While Democrats may have the right ideas, absence of a sound strategy to implement them could hurt the party in this Trump era. Frank Bruni of the New York Times wonders if the Democrats are falling into Trump’s trap. 
  9. After its historic success in the 2015 Spanish elections, left-wing political party Podemos was ripped apart by internal differences. Can it sustain its success under such stress? Eoghan Gilmartin says the party congress next week could be do or die.  
  10. Meera Srinivasan of The Hindu reports on how a new Right to Information Act  in Sri Lanka is helping people find their loved ones who’ve disappeared since the final stages of the civil war in 2009.