Himal Southasian
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Southasia’s magazine of politics and culture. Get our newsletters in your inbox: bit.ly/HimalNewsletters
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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
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"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
Today is International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (#PalestineDay). To mark the occasion, read a March 2025 piece by Harsh Mander exploring the ties between #India and #Israel's campaign in Gaza
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/india-modi-gaza-israel-palestine-genocide
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/india-modi-gaza-israel-palestine-genocide
The Gaza apocalypse and India’s guilt
ON 4 FEBRUARY, just two weeks after he took over the office of the president of the United States for the second time, Donald Trump shocked the world with his p
www.himalmag.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Today is International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (#PalestineDay). To mark the occasion, read a March 2025 piece by Harsh Mander exploring the ties between #India and #Israel's campaign in Gaza
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/india-modi-gaza-israel-palestine-genocide
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/india-modi-gaza-israel-palestine-genocide
Amidst devastation in Sri Lanka (#lka) from #CycloneDitwah, revisit a September 2024 piece by Amita Arudpragasam about the dangers of increasing flooding in the Northern Province
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/climate-change-emergency-war-manar-fishers-farmers-tamil-nationalism-sri-lanka
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/climate-change-emergency-war-manar-fishers-farmers-tamil-nationalism-sri-lanka
Climate change brings a new emergency to the Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka
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
www.himalmag.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Amidst devastation in Sri Lanka (#lka) from #CycloneDitwah, revisit a September 2024 piece by Amita Arudpragasam about the dangers of increasing flooding in the Northern Province
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/climate-change-emergency-war-manar-fishers-farmers-tamil-nationalism-sri-lanka
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/climate-change-emergency-war-manar-fishers-farmers-tamil-nationalism-sri-lanka
New job alert: Are you passionate about community-building for a Southasian magazine? We're looking for an Engagement and Audience Manager - join us!
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November 26, 2025 at 6:30 AM
New job alert: Are you passionate about community-building for a Southasian magazine? We're looking for an Engagement and Audience Manager - join us!
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The 1975 landmark film #Sholay will be re-released in India's cinemas this December. Read Anna MM Vetticad's essay on how the film unwittingly underlines the degradation of India’s landscape and the representation of gender, caste and Muslims in Bollywood.
Fifty years on, Sholay’s triumphs and flaws echo through Hindi cinema and Indian society
“The moment you utter the ‘Sh’ of Sholay, every single scene from the film rolls out before your eyes,” Dharmendra, one of the stars of the cult Hindi classic,
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November 26, 2025 at 6:08 AM
The 1975 landmark film #Sholay will be re-released in India's cinemas this December. Read Anna MM Vetticad's essay on how the film unwittingly underlines the degradation of India’s landscape and the representation of gender, caste and Muslims in Bollywood.
The practice of associating speech with social position has deep historical roots in Southasia, and caste identity embeds itself even in basic vocabulary.
@avtansa.bsky.social writes: buff.ly/ohdhCGz
@avtansa.bsky.social writes: buff.ly/ohdhCGz
November 25, 2025 at 12:30 PM
The practice of associating speech with social position has deep historical roots in Southasia, and caste identity embeds itself even in basic vocabulary.
@avtansa.bsky.social writes: buff.ly/ohdhCGz
@avtansa.bsky.social writes: buff.ly/ohdhCGz
🎙️ On State of Southasia, Anjali Bhardwaj says India's Election Commission is no longer seen as unbiased and that has has been lacking transparency and accountability to voters and the Indian public.
Anjali Bhardwaj on misgivings over India’s Election Commission: State of Southasia #36
The Election Commission of India was, for many years, one of the country’s most trusted public institutions lauded around the world for carrying out, every five years, the seemingly impossible task…
youtu.be
November 25, 2025 at 3:30 AM
🎙️ On State of Southasia, Anjali Bhardwaj says India's Election Commission is no longer seen as unbiased and that has has been lacking transparency and accountability to voters and the Indian public.
"‘Abundance’ by Anjali Arondekar is a book that will transform how and why histories of sexuality are written in engagement with archives that are 'incommensurable and quotidian, imaginative and ordinary'."
A review essay by Rahul Rao :
A review essay by Rahul Rao :
Navigating new scales of queer Southasia
IT WASN’T THAT long ago that queer Southasian studies – perhaps especially work centred on India – seemed to be intensely preoccupied with the frame of the nati
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November 24, 2025 at 12:15 AM
"‘Abundance’ by Anjali Arondekar is a book that will transform how and why histories of sexuality are written in engagement with archives that are 'incommensurable and quotidian, imaginative and ordinary'."
A review essay by Rahul Rao :
A review essay by Rahul Rao :
“So many recent books that I’ve read and loved from Pakistan are trying to grapple with the changing role of women in society.”
On the latest Southasia Review of Books podcast, the writer Dur e Aziz Amna talks about her new novel, ‘A Splintering’:
On the latest Southasia Review of Books podcast, the writer Dur e Aziz Amna talks about her new novel, ‘A Splintering’:
Dur e Aziz Amna on writing women’s lives in Pakistan: Southasia Review of Books podcast #37
A conversation with the writer Dur e Aziz Amna about her second novel, ‘A Splintering’, and its exploration of class struggle, female rage, and the challenges of navigating social expectations across…
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November 23, 2025 at 4:15 PM
“So many recent books that I’ve read and loved from Pakistan are trying to grapple with the changing role of women in society.”
On the latest Southasia Review of Books podcast, the writer Dur e Aziz Amna talks about her new novel, ‘A Splintering’:
On the latest Southasia Review of Books podcast, the writer Dur e Aziz Amna talks about her new novel, ‘A Splintering’:
🎙️“Anti-Muslim hatred is at the core of the #RSS… Violence is also central, not only as a physical act, but actually as a state of mind,” says Thomas Blom Hansen on Saffron Siege.
Harsh Mander
Harsh Mander
Thomas Blom Hansen, Qurban Ali & Harsh Mander on the RSS’s role in communal violence
In this episode of Saffron Siege, the anthropologist Thomas Blom Hansen and journalist Qurban Ali join Harsh Mander to examine how the RSS has triggered, enabled and executed riots, targeted communal…
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November 23, 2025 at 12:15 PM
🎙️“Anti-Muslim hatred is at the core of the #RSS… Violence is also central, not only as a physical act, but actually as a state of mind,” says Thomas Blom Hansen on Saffron Siege.
Harsh Mander
Harsh Mander
By expanding the military’s constitutional authority, Pakistan's 27th Amendment leaves less room for judicial scrutiny, ensuring that the courts that once dared to question the generals are structurally bound to defer to them, writes Salman Rafi Sheikh
In Pakistan, a mightier military and a judiciary undone
Pakistan has a new political order. On 13 November, Pakistan’s Parliament signed the 27th constitutional amendment into law, creating the country’s first consti
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November 23, 2025 at 8:15 AM
By expanding the military’s constitutional authority, Pakistan's 27th Amendment leaves less room for judicial scrutiny, ensuring that the courts that once dared to question the generals are structurally bound to defer to them, writes Salman Rafi Sheikh
November 23, 2025 at 6:30 AM
'The citizens of Sindh do not have the luxury of idealising their feudal past, nor contemporary feudal realities where academics and students go missing or are hunted down.'
Barrah Kunaan tells the story of Sindh province through the film Indus Echoes.
Barrah Kunaan tells the story of Sindh province through the film Indus Echoes.
After 28 years, ‘Indus Echoes’ spotlights Sindhi cinema in Pakistan
After 28 years, ‘Indus Echoes’ spotlights Sindhi cinema in Pakistan
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November 23, 2025 at 2:40 AM
'The citizens of Sindh do not have the luxury of idealising their feudal past, nor contemporary feudal realities where academics and students go missing or are hunted down.'
Barrah Kunaan tells the story of Sindh province through the film Indus Echoes.
Barrah Kunaan tells the story of Sindh province through the film Indus Echoes.
"Far from being reducible to skin colour, racial identification for many activists in the foundational moment of queer Southasian organising in Britain followed from a common experience of empire and migration in postwar Britain."
Rahul Rao writes:
Rahul Rao writes:
Navigating new scales of queer Southasia
IT WASN’T THAT long ago that queer Southasian studies – perhaps especially work centred on India – seemed to be intensely preoccupied with the frame of the nati
buff.ly
November 22, 2025 at 5:15 PM
"Far from being reducible to skin colour, racial identification for many activists in the foundational moment of queer Southasian organising in Britain followed from a common experience of empire and migration in postwar Britain."
Rahul Rao writes:
Rahul Rao writes:
#Pakistan's 27th Amendment is the most significant restructuring of the government, signals the complete capitulation of the civilian political establishment, and made the army an effectively unassailable political player, writes Salman Rafi Sheikh
In Pakistan, a mightier military and a judiciary undone
Pakistan has a new political order. On 13 November, Pakistan’s Parliament signed the 27th constitutional amendment into law, creating the country’s first consti
buff.ly
November 22, 2025 at 2:15 PM
#Pakistan's 27th Amendment is the most significant restructuring of the government, signals the complete capitulation of the civilian political establishment, and made the army an effectively unassailable political player, writes Salman Rafi Sheikh
Support independent journalism and help produce crucial analysis of Southasia.
Click on the link to become a paying Patron. buff.ly/Jy8B3ji
Click on the link to become a paying Patron. buff.ly/Jy8B3ji
November 22, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Support independent journalism and help produce crucial analysis of Southasia.
Click on the link to become a paying Patron. buff.ly/Jy8B3ji
Click on the link to become a paying Patron. buff.ly/Jy8B3ji
M Rajshekhar on his Global Shining Light award-nominated #Vantara investigation: "If we were to measure stories in terms of just pure strangeness, this report is stranger than the rest of any of my reports put together."
Story: buff.ly/0c5IqkX
#Investigations #environment
Story: buff.ly/0c5IqkX
#Investigations #environment
November 22, 2025 at 11:16 AM
M Rajshekhar on his Global Shining Light award-nominated #Vantara investigation: "If we were to measure stories in terms of just pure strangeness, this report is stranger than the rest of any of my reports put together."
Story: buff.ly/0c5IqkX
#Investigations #environment
Story: buff.ly/0c5IqkX
#Investigations #environment
‘Indus Echoes points no fingers at any of the usual culprits who should be blamed for the state of Sindh today.’
Barrah Kunaan reviews Indus Echoes, the first Sindhi film released in Pakistan in 28 years:
Barrah Kunaan reviews Indus Echoes, the first Sindhi film released in Pakistan in 28 years:
After 28 years, ‘Indus Echoes’ spotlights Sindhi cinema in Pakistan
After 28 years, ‘Indus Echoes’ spotlights Sindhi cinema in Pakistan
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November 22, 2025 at 9:15 AM
‘Indus Echoes points no fingers at any of the usual culprits who should be blamed for the state of Sindh today.’
Barrah Kunaan reviews Indus Echoes, the first Sindhi film released in Pakistan in 28 years:
Barrah Kunaan reviews Indus Echoes, the first Sindhi film released in Pakistan in 28 years:
Delhi, Multan or Herat?
Guess where in Southasia this photo was taken each week in Southasia Weekly: bit.ly/HimalNewsletters
Guess where in Southasia this photo was taken each week in Southasia Weekly: bit.ly/HimalNewsletters
November 22, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Delhi, Multan or Herat?
Guess where in Southasia this photo was taken each week in Southasia Weekly: bit.ly/HimalNewsletters
Guess where in Southasia this photo was taken each week in Southasia Weekly: bit.ly/HimalNewsletters
We've got our finger on the pulse of #Southasia. Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest from Himal and across the region.
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November 22, 2025 at 2:15 AM
We've got our finger on the pulse of #Southasia. Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest from Himal and across the region.
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‘If today the ordinary citizen of Sindh cannot feed themselves it is because of a decay that stretches back centuries.’
Rahul Aijaz’s film Indus Echoes tells the story of stagnation in Sindh:
Rahul Aijaz’s film Indus Echoes tells the story of stagnation in Sindh:
After 28 years, ‘Indus Echoes’ spotlights Sindhi cinema in Pakistan
After 28 years, ‘Indus Echoes’ spotlights Sindhi cinema in Pakistan
buff.ly
November 21, 2025 at 5:15 PM
‘If today the ordinary citizen of Sindh cannot feed themselves it is because of a decay that stretches back centuries.’
Rahul Aijaz’s film Indus Echoes tells the story of stagnation in Sindh:
Rahul Aijaz’s film Indus Echoes tells the story of stagnation in Sindh:
On 17 November, Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by the domestic International Crimes Tribunal she established to investigate crimes committed during the 1971 Liberation War.
Stay informed with Southasia Weekly. Sign up: bit.ly/HimalNewslet...
Stay informed with Southasia Weekly. Sign up: bit.ly/HimalNewslet...
November 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
On 17 November, Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death in absentia by the domestic International Crimes Tribunal she established to investigate crimes committed during the 1971 Liberation War.
Stay informed with Southasia Weekly. Sign up: bit.ly/HimalNewslet...
Stay informed with Southasia Weekly. Sign up: bit.ly/HimalNewslet...
🇵🇰 Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and chief of army staff Asim Munir at an event in May 2025. Pakistan’s 27th constitutional amendment creates the country’s first constitutionally fortified sovereign military, writes Salman Rafi Sheikh buff.ly/YFInofj
In Pakistan, a mightier military and a judiciary undone
Pakistan has a new political order. On 13 November, Pakistan’s Parliament signed the 27th constitutional amendment into law, creating the country’s first consti
buff.ly
November 21, 2025 at 1:25 PM
🇵🇰 Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and chief of army staff Asim Munir at an event in May 2025. Pakistan’s 27th constitutional amendment creates the country’s first constitutionally fortified sovereign military, writes Salman Rafi Sheikh buff.ly/YFInofj
“I was channelling the rage that I know exists into a character who will allow it to dictate her actions and fuel her ambition in a way that I think most of us, thankfully or otherwise, don’t let ourselves do.”
A conversation with Dur e Aziz Amna: buff.ly/9AydIn4
A conversation with Dur e Aziz Amna: buff.ly/9AydIn4
Dur e Aziz Amna on writing women’s lives in Pakistan: Southasia Review of Books podcast #37
A conversation with the writer Dur e Aziz Amna about her second novel, ‘A Splintering’, and its exploration of class struggle, female rage, and the challenges of navigating social expectations across…
buff.ly
November 21, 2025 at 1:15 PM
“I was channelling the rage that I know exists into a character who will allow it to dictate her actions and fuel her ambition in a way that I think most of us, thankfully or otherwise, don’t let ourselves do.”
A conversation with Dur e Aziz Amna: buff.ly/9AydIn4
A conversation with Dur e Aziz Amna: buff.ly/9AydIn4
We've got our finger on the pulse of #Southasia. Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest from Himal and across the region.
buff.ly/UacCbcL
buff.ly/UacCbcL
November 21, 2025 at 11:15 AM
We've got our finger on the pulse of #Southasia. Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest from Himal and across the region.
buff.ly/UacCbcL
buff.ly/UacCbcL
"To follow Bihari traditions while living in Pakistan, especially during a time of open hostility with India, is to sit inside contradiction and make a place of comfort there."
Three Pakistani weddings in times of war
If you’ve ever had the misfortune of being woken up at half past three in the morning by missiles striking your city, you’ll know that, in a state of grogginess
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November 21, 2025 at 9:15 AM
"To follow Bihari traditions while living in Pakistan, especially during a time of open hostility with India, is to sit inside contradiction and make a place of comfort there."