From himalmag.com
Sri Lanka enters a presidential election like no other before it
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A three-party contest with no certain frontrunner, the 2024 presidential vote is the first since the economic crisis and mass protests of 2022 sparked calls for deep systemic change in Sri Lankan politics
on Sun, 6PM
From himalmag.com
Climate change brings a new emergency to the Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka
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Tamil nationalism faces a new challenge as the climate emergency spreads in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province and other Tamil-dominated areas, where the ravages of war and systemic discrimination have left the population especially vulnerable
on Sep 12
From himalmag.com
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A conversation with the Colombo-based writer Vajra Chandrasekera on the current moment of Southasian speculative fiction
on Jul 16
From himalmag.com
The spectre of racialisation that haunts brown Britain
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The past struggles of brown and black immigrants have brought improvement in racial equality in the United Kingdom – but recent books make clear that British liberalism’s claims of substantive progress are overly optimistic
on Jul 8
From himalmag.com
'One day forever': a translated excerpt from Farsi novel 'Yak Roz Ta Abad'
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An excerpt of 'Yak Roz Ta Abad', translated from Farsi by Laila Ghezal Azimi
on Jun 26
From himalmag.com
Ladakh’s resentment of New Delhi has overridden old Buddhist–Muslim acrimony
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After the revocation of Article 370, Buddhist-majority Leh and Muslim-majority Kargil have united in protest against the BJP and the Modi government, demanding statehood for Ladakh and Sixth Schedule protections
on Jun 25
From himalmag.com
Dance and performance across boundaries of caste, gender and citizenship in India
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Three recent books demonstrate how dancers negotiate individuality and collective identity through their work, and how their gender and sexuality is controlled and reproduced by caste mechanisms in modern Indian society
on Jun 7
From himalmag.com
Modi’s uncoordinated approach on Tibet gives China the advantage
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While India has hosted and rehabilitated exiled Tibetans, it sees Tibet largely as a tool to counter China and its policies have been reactions to the Chinese narrative
on Jun 3
From himalmag.com
A requiem for the Jaffna Library
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In 1933, the same year the Nazis burnt large numbers of books that they considered 'anti-German', the idea of setting up a library in Jaffna was born. The Jaffn
on May 31
From himalmag.com
Tamil Nadu has led the fight against the BJP and the Modi model
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Building on an inclusive Dravidian politics, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has provided leadership to the opposition alliance countering the Bharatiya Janata Party, and Tamil Nadu has shown a better path for India’s development
on May 31
From himalmag.com
Incarceration under the shadow of the Taliban
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Since the Taliban's takeover of power in 2021, the Afghan government has undertaken a complete overhaul of the justice sector in Afghanistan, implementing what
on May 23
From himalmag.com
Modi has forcibly integrated Kashmir with India but erased Kashmiris
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In the Modi years, India’s Hindu Right has achieved the near-complete subjugation of Indian-administered Kashmir, with the revocation of Article 370, increased militarisation and suspension of elections
on May 9
From himalmag.com
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Chandni Singh, an environmental social scientist, talks about why the extreme heat facing the Subcontinent this summer is unlike the heat of the past, and how we are entering a new regime of risk
on May 6
From himalmag.com
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Lukewarm coverage of the climate crisis in the Indian media fails to communicate safety measures against extreme heat-related risks this election season
on May 6
From himalmag.com
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New Delhi has earned goodwill in Colombo, but the end of Indian pluralism can embolden Sinhala extremists while Katchatheevu and fishing conflicts risk inflaming nationalist passions
on May 1
From himalmag.com
Why did India fail to industrialise where East Asia succeeded?
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IN ECONOMICS, the term “development” conceals as much as it reveals. The hidden connotation is that of wealth, and wealth equals power. Japan took the lesson to
on Apr 24
From himalmag.com
Under Modi, the Northeast is more united with India, but more divided within
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India’s ruling BJP claims to have overcome the “tyranny of distance” that has plagued the Northeast but its politics have created greater division within the region, as the Manipur crisis shows
on Apr 18
From himalmag.com
State of Southasia #03: Aakar Patel on the unprecedented threats to India’s election
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Political commentator Aakar Patel compares the Modi government’s crackdown on the opposition to the managed elections in Pakistan and Bangladesh
on Apr 18
From himalmag.com
Southasian Conversation: The costs of Reliance's wildlife ambitions
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Southasian Conversation: The costs of Reliance's wildlife ambitions
on Apr 12
From himalmag.com
How Benyamin’s fiction upended the illusions of Gulf migrant lives in Malayalam literature
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The prolific Malayalam writer Benyamin’s short story “EMS and the Girl” begins with a narration by Jose, an immigrant from Kerala living in the United States. I
on Apr 12
From himalmag.com
Nepal’s unescapable trap of migration, farming and climate change
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“WE DON’T GET rain on time anymore,” said Purna Rana, a 51-year-old farmer in Sathikola village in mid-western Nepal. It was the middle of November 2023 and the
on Apr 4
From himalmag.com
The persistent risks of love across social norms in India
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Couples in inter-caste and inter-faith relationships continue to battle discriminatory societal attitudes and legislation – and the Uniform Civil Code could make things worse
on Apr 2
From himalmag.com
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Considering Pakistan's sociopolitical atmosphere – torn between Enlightenment values of liberalism and a vicious interpretation of Islam – and the restrictive d
on Mar 31
From himalmag.com
The costs of Reliance’s wildlife ambitions
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Reporting for this story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. 1: Welcome to Vantara FOR MANY, the first inkling came from the save-the-date card, speckled with
on Mar 20
From himalmag.com
The ethical and legal violations of the Oscar-nominated ‘To Kill a Tiger’
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The ethical and legal violations of the Oscar-nominated ‘To Kill a Tiger’: The Canadian documentary chronicles the fight for justice after a 13-year-old girl was gang-raped in Jharkhand, but its reckless approach violates India’s Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act
on Mar 9
From himalmag.com
How government bulldozers razed the hopes of the landless in Jammu and Kashmir
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On 11 January 2022, bulldozers belonging to the Jammu Development Authority demolished the home of Saif Ali and his daughter in Paloura village, which falls in
on Mar 6
From himalmag.com
RAHIMATPUR: Town along the Kamandalu
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Here are some basic facts. Of course, the facts about a town like Rahimatpur can only be basic. They are also historical. Very little of the present that is not
on Mar 1
From himalmag.com
India needs a caste census – and Southasia does too
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The first time anyone wrote about the need for caste groups to be represented in government in proportion to their populations was 150 years ago. The anti-caste
on Mar 1
From himalmag.com
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The late 19th century and the first few decades of the 20th century saw a flourishing of scientific activity in what was then British India. Driven partly by na
on Feb 29
From himalmag.com
The Ram Mandir is the tombstone for India as Southasia’s great secular exception
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IN THE SPRING of 2009, as the Sri Lankan Civil War was entering its gruesome denouement, I travelled through the southern and central parts of the country with
on Feb 20
From himalmag.com
State of Southasia #01: Anand Patwardhan on the Ram Mandir and the long life of ‘Ram ke naam’
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On 22 January 2024, as India’s prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Ram temple in Ayodhya, a 32-year old film was recirculated across India on socia
on Feb 14
From himalmag.com
The enduring personality cult of Narendra Modi
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Excerpted with permission from Gujarat Under Modi: Laboratory of Today’s India by Christophe Jaffrelot (Hurst Publishers, February 2024). The text has been edit
on Feb 13
From himalmag.com
The real secrets around Himalayan art surround those who collect it
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Other people’s secrets are especially interesting. Their content hardly matters. Rather, the draw is the feeling of power that comes from knowing something that
on Feb 12
From himalmag.com
Banished and excluded: the Girmit of Fiji
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(This article is a part of the web-exclusive series that complements our latest print quarterly 'Diaspora: Southasia Abroad'.) In 1975, Sakeasi Butadroka, an in
on Feb 6
From himalmag.com
Purse-seiners, trawlers, and the epic fight over fishing in Tamil Nadu
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This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. "There were young people with degrees taking to purse seines because of the pay," Karthi P said. "It was easy w
on Feb 6
From himalmag.com
INTERVIEW: Unpacking India’s caste census
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In October 2023, the chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, released the results of a caste survey of his state – a landmark development given that India has no
on Feb 5
From himalmag.com
A wave of bold new books on the Gorkhaland agitation
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I only remember snatches of the conversation. "Bora ma baandheko" – Tied inside a sack – our neighbour relayed what she had heard from somewhere else. I remembe
on Feb 4
From himalmag.com
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(This is an essay from our March 2015 print quarterly 'Labour and its discontents'. See more from the issue here.) It's hard to believe, but the Indian auto ric
on Feb 3
From himalmag.com
Colonial and casteist ideas still shape criminalisation and policing in India - Himal Southasian
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The disproportionate policing and incarceration of Dalits, Adivasis and other caste-oppressed communities must be understood as a result of colonial and Brahminical power
on Jan 27
From himalmag.com
India needs a caste census – and Southasia does too - Himal Southasian
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Demands for a caste census are shaking up politics and prompting a fresh reckoning with historical injustices in India. Everywhere that caste is endemic, overdue caste counts have the power to do the same.
on Jan 22
From himalmag.com
How Urdu travel writers brought the world back home - Himal Southasian
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Daniel Majchrowicz’s The World in Words traces the rise of Urdu travel writing, including by women, to unearth a new view on modernisation and globalisation in Southasia
on Dec 26
From himalmag.com
Interfaith solidarity in the face of anti Muslim violence in India
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The Hindu festival of Ram Navami was marred by anti Muslim violence. But acts of inter-faith solidarity continues to give hope to residents in West Bengal.
on Dec 24
From himalmag.com
INTERVIEW: COP28, the transition from fossil fuels and the Loss and Damage fund - Himal Southasian
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Simon Evans discusses COP28, historical carbon emissions, colonialism and climate change
on Dec 23
From himalmag.com
A living Bengali remembers Henry Kissinger, killer of “the dying Bengalis” - Himal Southasian
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Kissinger’s complicity in the slaughter of millions in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War is part of his poisonous legacy in Southasia – one he never answered or apologised for
on Dec 23
From himalmag.com
Malaiyaha Tamils’ long march to equality in Sri Lanka - Himal Southasian
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Retracing the journey that first brought them to the country 200 years ago, Malaiyaha Tamils reflect on their history and struggle as one of Sri Lanka’s most marginalised communities
on Dec 18
From himalmag.com
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Anupam Debashis Roy talks about how the upcoming election will likely see the Awami League dominate, despite large rallies led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party calling for a caretaker government to step in to ensure free and fair elections
on Dec 18
From himalmag.com
India’s slow-burn affair with Israel heats up - Himal Southasian
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Azad Essa’s 'Hostile Homelands' explores the ideological convergence of Hindutva and Zionism, and the consequences for Kashmir and Palestine – but there is much more driving India and Israel’s deepening ties
on Dec 5
From himalmag.com
How Manipur’s ethnic violence ripped a queer friendship apart - Himal Southasian
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The collapse of a deep Meitei–Kuki friendship shows how Manipur’s nascent queer movement is fraying, threatening its hard-won gains in the violence-torn Indian state
on Nov 13
From himalmag.com
Misguided mega-projects threaten to devastate the Andaman and Nicobar Islands - Himal Southasian
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The NITI Aayog, an Indian government think tank, is spearheading “development” projects that would strip indigenous people of their land and rights, and destroy precious forests and sea turtle breeding grounds
on Nov 11