The imposition of a state of national emergency on June 25, 1975, was India’s closest brush with dictatorship. Thousands of political opponents were jailed without a trial, an otherwise rambunctious press was censored, and, backed by financial incentives from the World Bank and the United States, India embarked on a massive forced sterilisation programme.

More than 8 million men were forced to undergo a vasectomy during that period, which lasted until March 1977, when the state of emergency was lifted. This included 6 million men in just 1976. Nearly 2,000 people died in botched surgeries.

In 1952, just five years after securing its freedom from the British, India became the world’s first country to adopt a national family planning programme. At the time, the idea was to encourage families to have no more than two children. By the 1960s, at a time when birth rates were close to six children per woman, the government of Indira Gandhi began adopting more aggressive measures.

The World Bank loaned India $66m for sterilisation initiatives, and the US made food aid to a starving India contingent on its success at population control. But it was during the emergency, with all the democratic checks and balances removed, that the Indira Gandhi government went into overdrive, using a mix of coercion and punishment to pressure government officials into implementing forced sterilisation, and communities into accepting it.

Government officials were given quotas of how many people they had to sterilise. Those who failed their targets had their salaries withheld or faced the threat of dismissal from their jobs. Meanwhile, irrigation water was cut off from villages that refused to cooperate. The Muslim birthrate in India at the time was significantly higher than that of other communities, making members of the religion a particular focus of the mass sterilisation initiative. #та страна

Chinese scientists claim to have found a new way of injecting helium into rocket engines, which could be used to make missiles that are much harder to detect or intercept. The new technology was allegedly inspired by the faulty spacecraft that "stranded" NASA astronauts on the ISS last year. #та страна

In China, people are hiring ‘climbing buddies’ for big money.
she couldn’t find a friend to join her for the five-hour trek.
They usually charge between 200 to 600 yuan ($30 to $85) per trip.
85/5 = 17 в час
прямо таки дохуа #та страна

In China, people are hiring ‘climbing buddies’ for big money. The more attractive they are, the higher the price

Young Chinese men are earning almost twice the average monthly salary by hiring themselves out as “climbing buddies” to help visitors scale mountains. That’s raising some concerns.

CNN
не очень понятно зачем ей возвращать бабки, ведь вьійти уже не светит — хоть так, хоть сяк, а по-любому смерть в тюрьме #та страна
Truong My Lan: Vietnamese tycoon loses death row appeal over world's biggest bank fraud

She is now in a race for her life - if she can pay back 75% of what she took, she could be spared.

в Иране огласили прайс на прогулки без хиджаба #та страна #☪
интересное из южнокорейской истории #та страна #success story
Killing 'Own' 31 Commandos, South Korea Says Sorry For Silmido Unit Disaster, Who Were Trained To Infiltrate NK

On October 15, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun extended an apology regarding the tragic fate of members of the Silmido unit, a secret commando group trained for infiltration into North Korea.  This marks the first time in over half a century that the government has formally issued an apology for the circumstances surrounding the […]

EURASIAN TIMES
с одной стороны прогресс, а с другой представьте что случится когда электричества не хватит #та страна

The government’s Chief Censor, David Shanks, officially classified the full-unexpurgated 17-minute video as “objectionable.”50 Under the terms of the Films, Videos & Publications Act (1993), possessing or disseminating Tarrant’s video became a criminal offense, publishable by a maximum $10,000 fine, if you were unaware it was prohibited, or up to 14 years in jail if you were aware it was “objectionable.”
но цензура в рашке, конечно же #та страна

Previously, [the government] viewed a newborn as a burden, now they see it as a resource
Давно пора #та страна

Why did China stop its foreign adoption program?

Faced with a shrinking population, China has stopped sending children overseas for adoption. However, many families with pending applications are now in limbo.

Deutsche Welle
Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) on X

Tim Cook explains why Apple chooses China for manufacturing.

X (formerly Twitter)