This article was commissioned by Sputnik International:

A saree is an ethnic attire of women in India and also in some of its neighbouring countries. This dress comprises primarily of a seamless piece of cloth, about 8 meters in length, that is worn in over hundred different traditional styles across different regions of the Indian subcontinent.

The saree is an element of the cultural representation of Indian women. It’s considered as a graceful garment that flatters all body types in a sensuous yet elegant manner. A sari can be a two or three piece set worn with a blouse and a petticoat. The main drape is typically 4.5 to 8 meters in length and 2 to 4 feet in breadth. It’s wrapped around the waist, just below or above the navel. In fact there are varying cultural norms about weather or not the navel should be exposed.

Some people consider it immodest to bare the navel. While others may argue that it should be left uncovered, following the belief that all life emerged from the navel of the Supreme being.

This article was commissioned by Sputnik International:

This article was commissioned by Sputnik International:

This article was commissioned by Sputnik International:

World over there is a notion that women are oppressed in India. This is a gross generalization as the status and identity of women vary across the diverse socio-cultural strata in the country. We spoke to women from different states of India to find out about their own unique situations.

Any mention of Indian women evokes images of ethnically dressed, dusky and demure beauties. One might also recall a handful of achievers who’ve earned international acclaim in fields as varied as modeling and business. In general it’s perceived that women are marginalized and oppressed in India. This notion is at best incomplete if not altogether incorrect. The reason being that India is a multilingual and multi-ethnic country and the socio-cultural frameworks that define the status and identity of women, vary across different regions in the country.

A Bengali woman has a different upbringing from that of an Odia woman. A Sikh girl has greater access to resources while growing up than another girl from Uttar Pradesh. A Malayali lady has financial aspirations that are in stark contrast to another lady from Bihar. Although most of India follows patrilineal family system but there are living examples of matrilineal societies in Meghalaya and Kerala. The reality is that any Indian woman faces the same issues as any other woman in the world, be it gender equality or crime against women. They navigate through their circumstances within the context of their own unique norms and ideologies.

Sputnik spoke to several women from different regions and states of India to capture the essence of their socio-cultural identity. The questions we posed were about the social norms and cultural ideologies that they grew up with. We asked them whether they thought that  they are empowered or marginalized, dominant and independent or subservient.

This article was commissioned by Sputnik International:

Blockchain developers in India see merit in working along with the government’s policy of encouraging the technology but shunning cryptocurrencies. Startups are deploying blockchain solutions across industries, though they believe that an open approach to virtual currencies will further the benefits.

Blockchain technology has been gaining favor in India. The Indian Government and its regulatory bodies have shown encouraging attitude towards innovations in this field, but have repeatedly warned against cryptocurrencies. There have also been a number of reports about bitcoin related scams. Considering that bitcoin uses blockchain, there is an apparently convoluted scenario of one geeky thing called bitcoin-that has been labelled as ‘ponzi schemes,’ versus another equally geeky phenomena called blockchain-that promises operational transparency, efficiency, and above all – trust.

Experts in the field clarify matters by explaining how blockchain and Bitcoin are two different entities in their own right, even though they have been used in conjunction.

“Blockchain technology is an innovative mix of public key cryptography (invented in the 1970s), cryptographic hash functions (born in the 1970s) and proof-of-work (invented in the 1990s). Bitcoin and other similar cryptocurrencies are one of the use cases of blockchain technology. The Indian Government understands the distinction between cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology,” says Rohas Nagpal, co-founder of Primechain Technologies, a blockchain startup.