Philip Hensher attempts a complex act of narrative ventriloquism in his eighth novel. Scenes from Early Life is written as a fictionalised memoir, told from the viewpoint of Hensher's husband, Zaved Mahmood. This re-imagining of his partner's childhood in what was then East Pakistan [now Bangladesh] reads like a fictive account that wants to stay faithful to historical reality. It might be this complicated braiding of the documentary and the dramatic, of fiction and reality, that gives early chapters their static, distant tone.

It is often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Not so, perhaps, when it comes to ancient Hindu temples.

Cambodians protest as construction begins on copy that will be world's tallest Hindu temple

Struggling British bus-builder Optare looks set to fall into the clutches of the Indian billionaire Hinduja brothers after Sir Brian Souter's rival company pulled out of potential takeover talks less than a day after expressing an interest.

Starring: Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Michael Caine

Charities which help the poor and indebted, particularly religious ones, expect to be busier than ever in 2012. January and February are going to be particularly busy months for them as more impoverished individuals and families seek help. Christmas is often a turning point for people with debts; in the cold light of January many decide they need advice.

A court convicted and sentenced 31 Hindus to life imprisonment for killing dozens of Muslims by setting a building on fire during one of India's worst rounds of communal violence nine years ago. 

Members of an international religious movement called the White Brotherhood gathered on the top of the Rila Mountain, near Babreka lake, some 100 km south of Sofia on today to perform ritual dances.

A row has broken out in southern India over whether schoolchildren should be obliged to learn a Hindu religious text in the classroom, with the state's education minister further fanning the flames by saying those who objected to the plan should leave India.

A lawyer and a university professor from the United States celebrated Nepal's first public lesbian wedding ceremony yesterday, after the Himalayan nation began recognising gay rights and drafting laws to end sexual discrimination.

By restoring temples in the Muslim region of Kashmir, the Pandit community is also preserving its past. Andrew Buncombe reports

Faith schools applying for 'free' status are one of Michael Gove's biggest headaches. In part two of his series, Richard Garner wonders how these institutions square with the Government's plans for multiculturalism

Welcome to Bombay, the city where not enough happens

Hindus in India celebrate Lath mar Holi, the festival of colour heralding Spring, by covering themselves in bright pigments.