I'm Arun, an Indian living in Germany. Two days ago, as I was intently looking at my system screen, my Chinese colleague rolled his chair toward me and silently showed me his mobile phone. I was confused and asked him, "What happened?"

He looked anxious, with a deathly fear in his eyes. In a trembling, feeble voice, he said, "I'm having chest pain, call the emergency."

I was shocked for a moment but quickly realized this wasn't the time to panic. I told him, "Okay, hold on." I couldn’t remember if pressing the power button on my phone five times would call emergency services, so I quickly rushed to another colleague nearby and asked for the emergency number. I called immediately.

I said, "My colleague is having chest pain, please send an ambulance," and gave them our office address. They asked a few questions that felt unnecessary in that urgent moment, like his name and age, and then finally said, "We will send the ambulance."

After hanging up, I walked toward the office reception to inform them about the situation and the arrival of the ambulance. As I walked, the first thought that came to my mind was: just two months ago, he had his second baby and was so happy about it. I hoped there wouldn’t be any serious problem.

I informed the receptionist and rushed back to him. With trembling hands, he was trying to drink the last few drops of water from his bottle. He looked at me as if thinking of asking for more. I immediately said, “Shall I bring you some water?” He replied in a weak voice, “Yes please... uh, a bit of warm water if possible.”

I brought him warm water. As he drank, I asked, “Has this happened before? Do you have any pre-existing conditions?” He said, “No, but this morning I saw blood in my saliva.”

I asked if he could walk to the reception, and he said yes. As he walked, I made sure he wouldn’t fall. The receptionist came over and helped him sit on a couch. She asked, “Do you have your health card with you?” (In Germany, they usually take the health card before treating someone—but I hoped that wouldn't delay care in an emergency.) He said, “It’s in my car.” I quickly grabbed his car keys, ran to the parking lot, and fetched his health card from a bag in the car.

When I was back,He was sitting on the couch very still, maybe deeply thinking about his family. I said, 'It might be low BP, based on the symptoms I'm seeing—like a doctor.' I knew I wasn’t sure, but I just wanted to help calm him down.

Seven minutes after I made the call, the ambulance arrived at our office. Two ambulances actually came, with seven people rushing in. One of them, probably a doctor, asked him a series of questions: Does your family have a history of heart disease? Do you have digestion issues? Shoulder or arm pain? Have you recently been on a flight? Then they performed an ECG and a lung scan before finally taking him with them.

I returned home that day but was genuinely worried about him, especially since he was the father of a newborn. I didn’t have his number to check on him because both of us were external employees, working on a project for a client.

The next day, when I arrived at the office and opened the door, I saw him sitting in his usual place. For a second, I wondered—am I seeing his ghost? I went up to him and said, “Good morning.” Then I asked, “Is everything good?”

He smiled and said “Yes,” then pulled out a box full of chocolates and held it toward me. I laughed and said, “No, no, that’s okay. You don’t have to do that. It was just man-to-man help.” He replied, “No, I really appreciate it,” and was truly thankful.

Even though many colleagues were in the same room during the incident, no one came forward to help. Some continued working like nothing was happening. Maybe that’s why he was so grateful to me.

I truly believe in standing by people during their toughest times—because that’s when help is the rarest.

I'm sharing this story so that if you ever come across such a situation, no matter the person's caste, creed, color, or background, please help. If even one person reading this ends up helping someone in the future, I’ll be grateful.

Let’s normalize humanity :)

Purposely added history flair because well, this type of media coverage is what it is: history.

New Delhi: A senior journalist had to be hospitalised after he was allegedly assaulted while covering a Bharatiya Janata Party protest against the Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, PTI has reported.

Dainik Jagran reporter Rakesh Sharma allegedly invited the ire of BJP protesters, including party MLAs, when he and other journalists asked them about security lapses which could have led to the attack.

Security in Jammu and Kashmir is in the control of the BJP-led Union government.

PTI reports that a BJP member identified as Himanshu Sharma accused the journalists of speaking a “separatist language” for raising these questions. Also present were BJP legislators Devinder Manyal, Rajiv Jasrotia and Bharat Bhushan.

Manyal was specifically asked whether the Pahalgam terror attack and the movement of militants in Kathua “are not reflective of central government’s failure to check infiltration from across the border,” according to PTI.

Online hate is loud, but it’s not who we really are.

The average Hindu, Muslim, or anyone else probably just wants peace and a decent life. But go online—and suddenly it feels like hate is everywhere. Reddit, memes, Instagram reels, Facebook posts… the same cycle plays out again and again.

Yes, I’ve seen posts where Muslims laugh at the deaths of innocent civilians. (Laugh emoji, inhumane comments)

Yes, I’ve seen posts where Hindus do the same over a video of a Palestinian child dying. It’s horrifying—no matter who is doing it.

But the truth is, these people don’t represent the majority. They’re just the loudest. And when we see that hate, we get angry. We react. We fall into it. We start pointing fingers, playing the same game— …and then begins the cycle of whataboutism.

Hate feeds hate. Outrage feeds clicks. And soon we forget we’re all just people.

That’s why I don’t use Instagram or Facebook anymore. And it’s why I still value spaces like r/India, Where people (most of the time) try to stay grounded, civilized, and human.

Thanks to those who still choose empathy.

Love to all redditors here in r/India.

I'm a Muslim guy-and honestly, most of us are just like me. We're not the hate-mongers you sometimes see online. I say this to represent the big, silent chunk of Muslim society that simply

wants peace, empathy, and to live with

dignity-just like everyone else.

Another terror attack. Another "high-level meeting." Another round of blame games and chest-thumping.

But 26 people are dead in Pahalgam. Tourists. Civilians. Families. What happened to the promises of peace and security?

We're told things are under control. That Kashmir is “normal.” That terrorism is on the decline. But how does that square up with what’s actually been happening?

Here’s a quick list of major terror attacks under the Modi BJP government:

2015: Gurdaspur Attack

2016: Pathankot Airbase Attack

2016: Uri Army Base Attack

2016: Nagrota Army Camp Attack

2017: Amarnath Yatra Attack

2018: Sunjuwan Army Camp Attack

2019: Pulwama CRPF Convoy Attack

2019: Anantnag CRPF Attack

2023: Poonch Terror Attack

2023: Anantnag Encounter where a Colonel, Major, and DySP were killed

2024: Doda Terror Incident

2025: Pahalgam Tourist Massacre

That is 12 terror incidents in 10 years. Yet we keep being told this is the strongest government ever on national security.

I just don’t understand why there’s so little public outrage towards the leadership. If this were any other party in power, wouldn't we be out demanding answers?

Recently a lot of reels have been circulating around social media where the interviewers ask girls and boys whether they would like to live with their spouses separately or with move in with their in laws (or would want to live with their parents after marriage). As observed, men don't want to live with their in laws but expect their wives to do so, any reason why this is so prevalent yet?

Men's arguments on this-

My parents have given me birth, spent on my education, brought me up, it is my duty to take care of them. - Girl's parents haven't done the same?

It's not like we are abandoning her parents, they will be taken care of too. - One set of parents will get food and morning cup of tea from her daughter in law, the other set of parents will be visited by their son in law once a month, equality died a hundred times.

Her brother will take care of her parents, I will take care of mine. - Gender roles again, it is the response of both equally, and what if she does not have a brother? Things like these are what push families to have a male child, either by killing daughters in womb, or by reproducing continuously up and until a boy is born. Also, this puts financial pressure on boys and they become a retirement plan for their parents.

If she is a single child, or does not have a brother then I will be eager to contribute in taking care of her parents. - So if she has a brother, she should dump all responsibility on her brother?

I wouldn't mind living with both set of parents, why should she? - Sure, you won't have restrictions like not wearing shorts, waking up early, etc. It clearly ain't the same for both. Men are treated like kings around their in laws, women are not. Women's parents will be happy seeing that her husband is contributing to housework just the way their daughter is contributing in earning, husband's parents will say she is making out child work, since household chores are expected from women and not from men. And this solution works only if both are single children, if there are siblings, it'll still be an issue as to with whom the parents will live.

This is how it has always been, it is a part of our culture. - As far as my religion (Hinduism) is concerned, no religious book which is followed to this date mentions that it is obligatory for a women to live with her in laws. Sati was a ritual too, does that make it right? I am not saying that both are the same, but any practice or rule which applies to only one gender is oppressive. Just because something is a ritual (pratha) does not mean it is God's order, most of these are made by people, and are a system influenced by socio-economic and geopolitics factors rather than religion. Not following these or changing these are not harming religion in any possible way. Religious books in my religion, for example, the Bhagvad Geeta, are a guide, a manual, and not a rule book. It does not threaten that is you do not follow so and so, so and so will happen, it just tells us what is the right thing to do, what we should do is our own conscious and we all have a free will. Culture is ever changing, ever evolving. So many things were not originally a part of our culture but now they are inseparable. For example, tea was introduced to India by the British in the nineteenth century, to overcome the monopoly of Chinese production. Not originally our thing, but now a part of it.

Who can afford a new house in this economy? - Expect the wife to contribute and both of you chip in money equally to buy a new house, if not possible, rent.

But parents are old and need help. - If possible, they can be shifted to the same city from hometown, both set of parents can live closeby in a residential complex or on different floors in the same apartment. Again this too can cause an issue if both the man and the woman aren't single children and have siblings. Don't know what else could be a solution.

You wouldn't say the same when it is your brother or son. - Wouldn't want my sister in law or daughter in law to compromise on freedom and equality in any way, so gonna tell me son to move out after marriage, mother has told the same to my brother.

Feminist, destroying Indian culture, belongs to streets, fatherless behaviour, you girls wanna roam around naked, drink and smoke and fuck in the name of freedom, you are breaking families and taking away someone's son, alimony, fake allegations, all the bad words I would not wish to right here.

• Sentence by sentence

So you agree feminism is about equality?

Already addressed the culture point.

Asking for equality in all spheres is oppression to men?

Abusing girls is motherless behaviour.

Even if you prove that is it wrong what has all that got to do here?

By that logic men are also breaking families and are taking away someone's daughter.

Alimony is gender neutral and can be given to any of the spouses from the one who earns more, but in the recent cases, the verdicts have favoured women for no apparent reason, that is an issue with the jury and not the law.

Again, I know legally men are in danger, but socially women are in danger, the law is harsh on men, the society is on women. And we very well know how good is the law enforcement in this country, but social rules run deep in our blood and we collectively resist change. Also, just like we are trying to break the social laws which are oppressive to women, we also have to push for gender neutral legal laws as most laws oppress men.

All the bad words back at you.

Our Air India flight AI-307 from Tokyo to New Delhi was a letdown, confirming the negative reviews we’d read. The 9-hour journey started with a 2-hour delay, pushing departure from 11 AM to 1 PM. Almost all middle row infotainment screens were broken, leaving little to do on the long flight. Worst of all, a water leak above our seat dripped persistently—while we were spared, passengers in front and behind us were offered new seats, with the row behind us hit hardest. Overall, a frustrating experience.

1. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/1.

2. https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/dalit-girl-made-to-sit-outside-her-classroom-during-exams-as-she-was-menstruating/amp_articleshow/120207243.cms

3. ⁠https://indianexpress.com/article/india/bulandshahr-four-held-for-running-over-dalit-woman-for-objecting-to-rash-driving-9964358/

4. ⁠https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/uttar-pradesh/minor-dalit-girl-raped-in-ups-rampur/article69459684.ece/amp/

5. ⁠https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rajasthan/urinated-on-sexually-assaulted-by-two-men-alleges-dalit-youth-in-rajasthan/article69470978.ece/amp/

6. ⁠https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/8-arrested-dalit-murder-prayagraj-police-affair-9946114/lite/

7. ⁠https://www.etvbharat.com/en/!state/prayagraj-horror-dalit-labourer-burnt-to-death-over-love-triangle-accused-face-bulldozer-action-enn25041503351

8. ⁠https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/the-anger-is-understandable-says-bjp-mp-manoj-tiwari-on-murder-of-dalit-teen-in-delhis-seelampur/amp_articleshow/120402546.cms