Fifty years ago today the exiled Dalai Lama crossed the border from Tibet into India, leaving his homeland behind under Chinese annexation. Earlier this month the spiritual and political leader of Tibet said that life for Tibetans under Chinese rule has been “Hell on earth.” Joining us to consider the Dalai Lama’s enduring influence is Pico Iyer, the renowned essayist, novelist and travel writer. He first met the Dalai Lama over thirty years ago. His connection with the Dalai Lama and their conversations, which span decades, are the basis of Iyer’s book The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

Imagine if, after 9/11, the U.S. government said it was so concerned about another attack, that it decided the World Series would be played outside America. Well, that’s pretty much what’s just happened in India. After the Mumbai attacks and rumbling instability in neighboring Pakistan (remember the recent attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team there?) the Indian government moved the Indian Premier League cricket competition...to South Africa. To discuss the global implications of this move, The Takeaway is joined by Alex Capstick, the BBC’s Sports News correspondent.

Tiny, affordable cars may seem like a great idea for the environment and the pocketbook. But our guest Linda Blake says putting thousands of Tata Nanos on India's roads is actually a bad idea for India's developing and smog-choked cities. She joins us now to explain.

TIMELINE: CARS FOR THE PEOPLE

Ford Model T
1909
Considered the first affordable car in America, Henry Ford's Model T sold for $850, undercutting competition priced between $2,000 and $3,000. "It will be low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one, and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces," Ford said.

AMC Rambler
1958
The Rambler's manufacturer, American Motor Corporation, was the only auto company to turn a profit during the recession of 1958. Created cheaply by conserving on steel, it became a car of choice and eventually won a Motor Trends "Car of the Year" award in 1963.

Toyota Tiara
1964
The 1960's forced American car manufacturers to face competition from abroad. Toyota's Tiara was the first of many successful Japanese imports. In 1967, the Tiara sold for $1,670, cheaper than the average American car.

Volkswagen Beetle
1960's
The Volkswagen Beetle, another car in the new wave of imports, sold at around the same price as the Tiara, $1,675. But by 1973, Beetles were selling much better than the Tiara, surpassing sales records of the previous record holder, the Ford Model T.

Zastava Yugo
1985
Just 141,500 of Zastava's Yugos sold in the United States from 1985 to 1991, making it one of the worst-selling cars ever. However, priced at $4,000 when it was first introduced, it was the cheapest car available at the time. In 1991, due to United Nations sanctions on Yugoslavia, the car had to be pulled from the U.S. market. An updated version of the car is still sells in several countries, including Egypt and Poland.

Chevrolet Aveo
2009
Priced at $11,965, the Aveo is currently the cheapest small car produced by a U.S. automaker. "Well, the Aveo is cheap, but, well, it's cheap," read a recent review of affordable small cars in U.S. News & World Report.

Tata Nano
2009
The Nano, produced by India's Tata Motors, is small. It's 10 feet long and five feet wide, and runs at a top speed of about 60 mph. In India, one can purchase the basic model, without radio, air conditioning or air bags, for $2,500 — It meets Indian safety standards and gets an admirable 50 miles to the gallon.

Every Monday morning The Takeaway takes a look at the nation's agenda —what will drive the headlines for the week ahead? This week: The government tries to figure out how to deal with toxic assets and toxic AIG, the Democrats wrangle over the new budget, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton goes to Mexico to talk about trade, and Americans and Indians see a new, cheaper car in their futures. For their predictions, The Takeaway is joined by Marcus Mabry, the international business editor for the New York Times and Jay Newton-Small, Washington correspondent for Time.

The Indian economy continues to be a bright spot on the globe and some forecasters expect it to grow by seven percent by the end of 2009. The U.S. effects outsourced administrative work from India and call centers in India, but at the same time, some Indian firms acquired European companies in the last decade. Europe's economic decline is a ripple effect heading east.

Vikas Bajaj is a reporter for the New York Times and joins The Takeaway to talk about the effects of the global economic downturn on India before he heads out to Mumbai.

A dinner bowl, a pair of sandals and eyeglasses belonging to Indian nationalist leader Mohandas Gandhi fetched a price of $1.8 million in a New York auction. The auction was marred by controversy with the Indian government demanding the halt of the sale. The Takeaway talks to the New York Times' Jennifer 8. Lee who covered the story.

Add your comment on the segment below, or call 1-877-8-MY-TAKE, as this listener from Montclair, N.J. did.

Pakistan says it has in custody a ringleader and five suspects in November's terrorist attack in Mumbai. But while India says it welcomes Pakistan's latest response, it says Pakistan needs to take more steps to crack down on terror groups existing in that country. For more on the response from India we turn to Sanjoy Majumder, BBC correspondent in Delhi.

India's Junior Foreign Minister Anand Sharma says Pakistan must enforce international law.

For the first time in public, Pakistan acknowledged that parts of the murderous attacks on Mumbai, India were planned on its soil and that they are holding several suspects. Why the sudden desire to come clean? To find answers, we turn to Alan Cowell, who is following the story for the NYTimes.com.

For more, read Alan Cowell's article, Pakistan Announces Arrests for Mumbai Attacks on NYTimes.com

The film Slumdog Millionaire, which has just been nominated for ten Oscars, including Best Film and Best Director, opens today in cinemas across India. Set in the city of Mumbai, it follows the fortunes of a young man from the slums who has a chance to hit the jackpot on the Indian version of the television quiz show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire. So how will the film fare compared to the mega-Bollywood hits that have come out of the same city? We're joined now by Malini Agarwal a presenter for Radio 1 who is in Mumbai right now.


Recently we spoke to Vikas Swarup, the author of the book on which the film is based.

Don't forget to buy the incredible soundtrack to the film. Watch and listen below.

Last night you may have watched the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards. The big winner of the night was the unlikely blockbuster film, "Slumdog Millionaire", which won Best Director and Best Motion Picture (Drama), not to mention Best Score and Best Screenplay. And we have to remind you that we totally called it! Joining us now to discuss the accolades is Vikas Swarup. While his day job is pretty impressive as India's Deputy High Commissioner to South Africa, his current claim to fame is writing the novel Q & A, which is the basis for the film.

A spoiler-free clip from the film.

The sole surviving gunman of the brutal attacks in Mumbai, India last month is now awaiting trial. Yesterday, India's prime minister turned over some of the state's investigation into those attacks to Pakistan in the hopes of making bilateral commitments to get to the bottom of the attacks. Included in the dossier is a description of the attacks as so sophisticated that they must have had help from official Pakistani agencies. Nazes Afroz, the BBC's South Asia editor, joins The Takeaway to discuss the ongoing situation.

"People are starting to lose their sight, they're starting to lose limbs, they're getting heart disease -- all symptoms of diabetes. They're not aware what they're getting."
--Adam Mynott, speaking about the rapid spread of Type 2 diabetes in India

It's official: Indians are members of the Outer Space Club. A rocket carrying an unmanned satellite lifted off from the Sriharikota space centre in southern India. The satellite Chandrayaan-1, which means "lunar craft" in Sanskrit, is scheduled to orbit the moon for two years. The mission is to study the moon's mineral composition.