Based out of New Delhi, I work with a team of dedicated journalists to cover the major developments in India and several of its neighboring countries — Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. While my focus remains on the political and geopolitical trends at a time when India is coming into its own as an important international power, I also travel around the region to bring cultural and social stories of life in a complex and layered place.
My Background
I have a degree in South Asian history from Columbia University, largely focused on the Indian independence movement. My more than a decade of experience in journalism has almost entirely been in South Asia. I covered Afghanistan for five years for The Times, focusing on the human toll of the war at the peak of the conflict there. For the past three years, I have reported from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.
I started my journalism career as an intern with The Times in 2010, before I moved on to work for Al Jazeera English in Doha, Qatar. For three years, I pursued magazine writing, contributing to The Atlantic, Harper’s and Time. I returned to The Times in 2015 as an international correspondent.
I was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. I lived in the United States for eight years, where I attended high school and university. My life has been shaped by influences from the region I cover — from Indian music and cinema, to Urdu literature, to cricket, one of the most-watched sports in the world.
Journalistic Ethics
As a Times journalist, I share the values and adhere to the standards of integrity outlined in The Times’s Ethical Journalism handbook. I strive for accuracy over speed in what is a particularly complex place, especially at a time of heightened disinformation. I try to reach out to every side of a story to understand the complexity, and to make sure we have done our utmost for fairness and giving people a chance to respond. The vastness of the region we cover also requires us to apply extreme caution in cross-checking information in corners we might not have immediate access to. I do not accept gifts, which at times can be difficult to communicate in a region where hospitality is a matter of pride.
Across Asia and Europe, the event stoked concerns about American stability, both domestically and on crucial foreign policy issues like Washington’s commitment to alliances.
More than 1,300 people died, and a Saudi official said most of them were not registered for the pilgrimage. That left them with little protection from the heat.
Consumption of tainted bootleg alcohol has caused several instances of mass deaths in recent years as drinkers seek out illicit liquor to save money or evade the law.
The former House speaker joined a congressional delegation that met with the Tibetan spiritual leader at his home in India. China calls him a separatist.
Forced into a coalition government, the prime minister faces the challenge of governing differently than he has so far in two decades in elected office.
The Indian leader used his singular persona to lift his party to new heights. Then the opposition found a way to use his cult of personality against him.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi tapped influencers and gamers to draw in young voters, many of whom are discontent with the economy and unemployment.
Though Narendra Modi will take up a third term as India’s leader, the election was closer than expected, forcing him to rely on coalition partners that don’t share his Hindu nationalist agenda.
By Mujib Mashal, Alex Travelli, Hari Kumar, Suhasini Raj, Sameer Yasir, Pragati K.B. and Atul Loke