The Morning Wrap is HuffPost India's selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers. Subscribe here to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning.
Essential HuffPost
"If the law can be changed for one Muslim woman, why not Lord Ram, revered by crores of Hindus," said VHP spokesperson Sharad Sharma in a conversation about the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Sharma was talking about Shah Bano. In 1985, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of granting maintenance to the divorced woman, but then the Rajiv Gandhi government legislated to overturn the decision.
How can modern India be built on development and the Internet when its government sanctions cruelty by allowing Jallikattu, the traditional sport of bull taming in Tamil Nadu: "Many animals suffer from broken humps and bitten and twisted tails resulting in dislocation and amputation."
Watch Kalki Koechlin perform a poem written by her called The Printing Machine, set to a percussive electronics track. The actress makes hard hitting statements about how women's issues are politicised and misrepresented.
"If I was never told to get waxed, I would never even think about it," said one young woman in a video which has Delhiites sharing their experiences of getting waxed for the first time. "Societal pressure" emerged as a big factor compelling women to remove their body hair.
Love transcended gender and boundaries for Meera, an Indian classical dancer, who was Gaurav Sharma before undergoing a sex change operation in order to be with her lover in Pakistan. "It's a spiritual experience for both of us," said the Kathak performer from Lucknow.
Main News
Muslims in India have the highest share of children in the 0-19 age group among all religions: 47%, compared to 40% for Hindus, 37% for Christians, and 29% among Jains, according to new Census 2011 data.
President Barack Obama gave his last State of the Union address: "The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period."
In a huge relief to animal rights activists, the Supreme Court has stayed the Modi government's decision to lift the ban on Jallikattu, a bull taming sport, which is very popular during the festival of Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
Pakistani military officers were involved in the attack on the Indian Consulate in Mazar-e- Sharif on Jan. 4, according to Sayed Kamal Sadat, police chief of the Balkh province.
In a heartrending episode, more than 80 whales were washed ashore on the Tuticorin beach in Tamil Nadu. While rescuers managed to get at least 36 mammals back to sea, some of them found their way back to the beach.
A suicide bomber linked to the Islamic State killed at least 10 people and wounded 15 in a tourist hub in Istanbul on Tuesday.
Off The Front Page
In a heartbreaking post, a cash-strapped 20-year-old squash player, who won the 2010 Asian Junior Championship, has put one of his kidneys up for sale to fund his next game:"The price of my kidney is Rs 8 lakh (sic)."
Chris Cox, Chief Product Officer of Facebook, told The Indian Express that they would do Free Basics differently if they could go back in time, but he underlined the need for the initiative for the time being. “We have been a little surprised how difficult it’s been, but we are going to keep working on it," he said.
Parents globally spend 1.3 times more on Facebook than non-parents, keeping tabs on children and teenagers, and sharing their key milestones, a new study has found.
"I'm loyal, disciplined and hardworking": an Islamic State recruit from New Zealand has reportedly set up a LinkedIn account. "Living in the heart of the Islamic State is a good experience and I encourage others to come and see for themselves," writes Muhammad Daniel.
Opinion
The Indian Express published a moving tribute by Peter Doggett for David Bowie, who died on Sunday at the age of 69: "Bowie and Ziggy became the idols of everyone who didn’t know exactly who they were, or where they belonged."
India is at the crossroads after the attack on the Pathankot air base, but the Modi government has already missed its chance to engage with Pakistan, writes K.P. Nayar in The Telegraph: "If only Modi had made his surprise trip to Lahore for Nawaz Sharif's 65th birthday on December 25, 2014, instead of last year, the story of the subcontinent would have been altogether different."
Contact HuffPost India