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Himal Southasian

@himalmag.bsky.social

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Southasia’s magazine of politics and culture. Get our newsletters in your inbox: bit.ly/HimalNewsletters

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Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · Sep 9

"For many young #Nepalis, this was their first large-scale protest. They will never forget that the very first protest they led was met with a hail of bullets," writes Pranaya Rana

Nepal’s K P Oli government has murdered 19 people

This story first appeared in Kalam Weekly. It has been republished with updates and edits. Monday, 8 September, started out optimistic. A Gen Z protest against

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 20m

"Is it possible to be Asian and Other, or only Asian or Other? Is there a tension between the two terms, or are they one and the same? In our pursuit of self-definition through labels, must we only pick one label?"

A review essay by Meena Venkataramanan:

Vidyan Ravinthiran’s bold take on otherness and “Asian” diaspora identity

ON PAPER, Vidyan Ravinthiran and I are strikingly similar. We are both British Southasian writers, of Tamil descent, who immigrated to the United States. We bot

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 1h

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Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 2h

As floods in #Nepal and across #Southasia lead to landslides and evacuations, read Peter Gill (and Bhola Paswan’s August 2018 article about why the government’s flood-control strategy of embankments is not as full-proof as it may appear

Explainer: Why embankments won’t solve Nepal’s flood woes

On 18 August 2008, the Kosi River, a large tributary of the Ganga, burst through a man-made embankment on its eastern edge at Kusaha village in Nepal's southeas

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 3h

Sri Lankan authorities’ recent arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen recalls Tisaranee Gunaseka’s May 2024 article about the tepid relationship between #lka and #India regarding international water boundaries

India’s friendly standing and moral status in Sri Lanka are at the mercy of Hindutva and hypernationalism

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

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 3h

What happens when a generation grows up online — and takes its politics there too?
📱 Read how Nepal’s Gen Z used Instagram, TikTok and Discord to topple a government. Sushim Thapaliya writes

A social media timeline of Nepal’s Gen Z uprising

THE CHARRED REMAINS of police stations, super markets, minister’s homes, the federal parliament, the Supreme Court and much else stand as stark reminders of fiv

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 4h

🎙️📚 “At every moment in the book, one is inching towards the discovery that this idea of a return has a kind of inbuilt violence to it. It’s not just a fiction, but it’s a dangerous fiction.”

A conversation with Aatish Taseer on 'A Return to Self':

Aatish Taseer on exile and the idea of return: Southasia Review of Books podcast #34

Welcome to the Southasia Review of Books podcast, where we speak to celebrated authors and emerging literary voices from across Southasia. In this episode, Shwetha Srikanthan speaks to the writer…

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 5h

"That Zohran Mamdani is not celebrated by many Gujaratis – even as they embrace the Hindu supremacist Modi as one of their own – reveals where large sections of the community today draw their boundaries of belonging and exclusion."

Hemang Ashwinkumar:

Salil Tripathi’s portrait of Gujarati pride and contradictions

INARGUABLY, these are Dickensian best-of-times to read a tome on the Gujaratis. If the opposition’s loud protests in India’s parliament are to be believed, a fo

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 6h

While amendments to the NFC award are long overdue to keep up with the needs of the provinces, minister Ahsan Iqbal’s proposed new formula has sparked concern, Salman Rafi Sheikh

Pakistan’s struggle to reshape its fiscal federalism

A recent proposal by Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s federal minister for planning, development and special initiatives, has exacerbated deep-seated fears in the countr

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 8h

"In Sri Lankan Buddhist extremist organisations, the #Israel lobby has found an ideal instrument to push forward its interests and demands, starting with the depiction of solidarity with Palestine as appeasement and promotion of Islamist terrorism," comments Tisaranee Gunasekara

The growing dangers of Sri Lanka’s Israel nexus

MOHAMED SUHAIL, a 21-year-old student, was searching for lodgings in the Colombo suburb of Dehiwala on 23 October 2024 when a mobile police unit arrested him ne

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 9h

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Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 10h

🎙️"Probably one of the greatest victories of the #HinduRashtra is that the Indian opposition feels that it should not talk about attacks on Muslims and the Christians so as not alienate the Hindu voter," Rana Ayyub says to Harsh Mander on "Saffron Siege"

Aakar Patel, Rana Ayyub and Harsh Mander on the RSS and Hindu Rashtra today

In this episode, writer Aakar Patel and journalist Rana Ayyub examine with Harsh Mander whether India under Narendra Modi has transformed into a Hindu Rashtra or, and to what extent, India’s secular…

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 11h

Broadcaster #RelangiSelvarajah’s killing in 2005 highlighted the risks of voicing criticism of Tamil militancy at the height of the #SriLanka civil war, Ramkumar Ravichchandrasarma writes:

Twenty years later, Tamil broadcaster Relangi Selvarajah’s killers still remain unknown

Twenty years later, Tamil broadcaster Relangi Selvarajah’s killers still remain unknown

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 12h

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Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 13h

As investigation of cough syrup deaths in #India commence, revisit Vidya Krishnan and Arshu John's investigation of the CDSCO, which, according to a global health expert "acts like a spokesperson for the industry and not the people."

The massive failures of India’s drug regulatory system

This story is part of “Pills, Perils, Profits”, a Himal investigative series on Southasian pharmaceutical manufacturing and exports. Reporting for this sto

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 14h

The Buddhist extremist group Sinhala Ravaya sees its present cause as creating “susanyojanaya” – a positive nexus – between Sri Lanka and #Israel. It sees in Israel an ally in its struggle to disempower Sri Lanka’s minorities. A piece by Tisaranee Gunasekara

The growing dangers of Sri Lanka’s Israel nexus

MOHAMED SUHAIL, a 21-year-old student, was searching for lodgings in the Colombo suburb of Dehiwala on 23 October 2024 when a mobile police unit arrested him ne

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 15h

Support independent journalism and help produce crucial analysis of Southasia.
Click on the link to become a paying Patron.
buff.ly/dR6n1KA

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 16h

You can listen to audio versions of this conversation on:
🎧 Spotify: bit.ly/46YA6nK
🎧 Apple podcasts: buff.ly/a2J3pzU

Aakar Patel, Rana Ayyub and Harsh Mander on the RSS and Hindu Rashtra today

Himal Southasian Podcast Channel · Episode

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 16h

🎙️ "We are essentially a country where the Hindu citizen has the first right over resources and according to the rulers, he has the first right to equality," Rana Ayyub says to Harsh Mander #India #RSS
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Aakar Patel, Rana Ayyub and Harsh Mander on the RSS and Hindu Rashtra today

In this episode, writer Aakar Patel and journalist Rana Ayyub examine with Harsh Mander whether India under Narendra Modi has transformed into a Hindu Rashtra or, and to what extent, India’s secular…

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Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 17h

Three uprisings in three years across #Nepal, #Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (#lka). Where did they come from? Where are they going? And what happens next? The transcript from our discussion is now online, here:

Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka uprisings: Why and what next?

Southasia’s Youthquakes – on Gen Z protests in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 17h

"Salil Tripathi’s ‘The Gujaratis’ probes the contradictions the community lives with unquestioningly – ones that belie its fussy vegetarianism, its self-proclaimed non-violence, its chest-thumping about women’s safety, and so on."

Hemang Ashwinkumar: buff.ly/SQXNYzH

Salil Tripathi’s portrait of Gujarati pride and contradictions

INARGUABLY, these are Dickensian best-of-times to read a tome on the Gujaratis. If the opposition’s loud protests in India’s parliament are to be believed, a fo

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 18h

In #Nepal, 60 people lost their lives due to landslides and flooding, after unusually heavy rainfall that began on 3 October.

Read our top story in Southasia Weekly, out now: bit.ly/HimalNewslet...

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 18h

🎙️ #PakistanFloods: "One promise of climate change is true, that whatever averages that you have known in the past are not going to hold into the future," says Daanish Mustafa

Daanish Mustafa on Pakistan’s recurring flood disasters: State of Southasia #33

Since June, Pakistan has experienced yet another season of severe monsoon flooding, with particularly heavy impacts across the Punjab region. Flood waters and landslides have claimed many hundreds of…

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 19h

The frustations of youth of #Nepal, #Bangladesh and #SriLanka have been caused by economic struggles and the economics of “development” itself, with governments focused on big-ticket infrastructure rather than robust mass employment.

The overlapping factors behind Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka’s uprisings

ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO, three Southasian nations underwent political transitions. In 2008, Nepal became a federal republic, ending 250 years of monarchy. Bangladesh

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 20h

When Kapil Dev led the men’s team to an unexpected victory at the 1983 World Cup in England, it forever altered the way Indians watched cricket. A World Cup win could do the same for women's cricket in India. Tanushree Bhasin writes

The 2025 Women’s World Cup could be India’s biggest cricketing moment in over 50 years

Indian women’s cricket’s long struggle for equality and World Cup glory

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · 21h

“Although Sushil Karki cultivated a reputation as a no-nonsense chief justice who stood against corruption, there is one incident that has stained her legacy. “ As Nepal’s interim PM takes office, read the full chronicle of the week that transformed Nepal.

Nepal’s staggering journey from Gen Z protests to new government

Nepal’s staggering journey from Gen Z protests to new government