In this episode of State of Southasia, Nayantara Narayanan speaks to Ayesha Siddiqa, a political and military analyst from Pakistan and currently a senior fellow at the department of war studies at King’s College in London. Siddiqa is also the author of Military Inc, a revelatory book about the Pakistan military’s economic activities and their fallout. Ayesha Siddiqa discusses the support for Imran Khan in Pakistan’s recent election, the formation of a new government under Shebaz Sharif and...

Welcome to the Southasia Review of Books Podcast from Himal Southasian, where we speak to celebrated authors and emerging literary voices from across Southasia. In this episode, the novelist V V Ganeshananthan joins host Shwetha Srikanthan, assistant editor at Himal Southasian, to talk about the books that define her latest novel, Brotherless Night, and women’s writing on Sri Lanka’s long history of anti-Tamil violence. V V Ganeshananthan, also known as Sugi, is the author of the novels...

At Screen Southasia, we host monthly online screenings of compelling documentaries from the region, including Nepal, India, Kashmir, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Tibet, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka. We present a diverse range of films, both classic and new, that showcase the unique cultures, histories and perspectives of Southasia. Screen Southasia is a partnership between Himal Southasian and Film Southasia. In this Screen Southasia Q&A session, recorded on 5 February...

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 social media platforms. Many Indians felt the need to watch and share the documentary Ram ke naam made by Anand Parwardhan in 1990. The film captured the mobilisation of hundreds of Hindu activists who were made to believe that Ram was born at the exact spot where the 16th century Babri Masjid stood and, as a result, wanted a temple built...

Anil Varghese and Nawal Kishore Kumar discuss Bihar’s caste survey and its implications for affirmative action 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 not had a comprehensive count of its caste composition since 1931, and pushed through despite resistance from the central government under the Bharatiya Janata Party. Bihar’s survey found that over two-thirds of the state’s...

Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. We are in the process of upgrading and improving our podcast offerings, including experimenting with different formats. We will continue to bring you news and analysis. Please stay tuned for more in the coming weeks. In this episode, we talk about two key members pulling out of the opposition-led India...

Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. In this episode, we talk about escalating tensions between the Maldives and India, national elections in Bangladesh and Bhutan, justice for Bilkis Bano and the inauguration of Ram Mandir, PTI losing its cricket bat symbol, the continuation of Operation 1027 despite a China-brokered ceasefire, Nepal’s...

Israel’s brutal bombardment of Gaza has killed over 20,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 50,000 others since the 7 October attack by Hamas. While India strongly condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with Israel, India recently voted in favour of several draft resolutions in the United Nations that criticised Israel’s conduct in Gaza and supported aid for Palestinian civilians, after initially abstaining on a resolution that had called for an immediate humanitarian truce and...

January 2024 - Updates and analysis from around the region Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. In this episode, we talk about truckers protesting India’s proposed hit and run laws, Pakistan’s Election Commission rejecting Imran Khan’s nomination for upcoming elections, India’s Space Research Organisation launching a rocket to study...

December 2023 - Updates and analysis from around the region Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. In this episode, we talk about flooding in Tamil Nadu, the mass suspension of India’s opposition MPs and key bills passed in the Lok Sabha, Imran Khan using AI to participate in a virtual Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf rally, a large Bangladesh...

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly known as COP28, was held from 30 November to 12 December in Dubai. This year the main focus was global progress on the Paris Agreement, a crucial legally binding climate change deal signed by the parties in 2015. For Southasia, the conference was primarily about finding financial assistance for their communities, who face the worst impacts of climate change and have the highest adaptation costs. At the end of COP28,...

Bangladesh’s parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held on 7 January. In the run up to the elections, there have been escalating protests led by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party calling for Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, to resign and transfer power to a non-partisan caretaker government to ensure a free and fair election. Historically, Bangladesh’s elections have been marred by violence and crackdowns on political opposition. This election has already seen a...

December 2023 - Updates and analysis from around the region Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. In this episode, we talk about Uttar Pradesh’s halal ban, Myanmar’s armed groups exposing the weakness of the military junta, the US uncovering a foiled assassination plot targeting the founder of Sikhs for Justice, an ongoing sit-in at the...

Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. In this episode, we talk about armed groups challenging the military junta across Chin, Shan and Rakhine states, Sri Lanka’s budget for 2024, the collapse of a tunnel in Uttarkashi, Nepal’s TikTok ban, garment factory workers’ strikes in Bangladesh, earthquakes in Nepal, the chequered legacy of Indian...

Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. In this episode, we talk about Apple’s alerts warning of potential state-sponsored cyberattacks targeting Indian opposition leaders and journalists, an explosion in Kerala targeting a Jehovah’s Witness convention, Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan, advances by armed groups battling Myanmar’s military...

Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. In this episode, we talk about fresh scrutiny on the Adani group in the wake of recent reporting, Pakistan’s deportation order impacting Afghan refugees, the release of two rights activists in Bangladesh on bail, China replacing the name ‘Tibet’ with the Chinese romanised name ‘Xizang’ on official documents, India’s Supreme Court declining to legalise same-sex marriage, Southasian deaths...

In this episode, we talk about the Delhi Police raid on the office of the Indian news outlet Newsclick as well as numerous journalists’ homes; and debates around delimitation and the women’s reservation bill in India’s parliament. In “Around Southasia in 5 minutes”, we talk about the presidential election results in the Maldives, the reimposition of an internet ban in strife-torn Manipur, the BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s Islamophobic language in the Indian parliament, concerns over the Online...

Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. If you are not yet a member, you can still get episode links for free by signing up here. In this episode, we talk about the G20 summit in Delhi and allegations in a recent documentary by the UK’s Channel 4 News about government involvement in Sri Lanka’s 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. In “Around...

Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. If you are not yet a member, you can still get episode links for free by signing up here. In this episode, we talk about the blocking of The Kashmir Walla and the state of media freedom in Kashmir, and the pushback against China’s controversial new map plus Bhutan–China boundary talks.  In “Around...

Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out twice a month. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to the new episodes in your inbox. If you are not yet a member, you can still get it for free by signing up here. In this episode, we talk about upcoming elections in the Maldives and Pakistan, an economic boycott of Muslim traders in Haryana in the aftermath of communal violence, as well as communal violence targeting Christians in...

Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. If you are not yet a member, you can still get episode links for free by signing up here. In this episode, we talk about the recent suicide bomb attack on a political rally in the Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and crossborder terrorism between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the impact of...

Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out twice a month. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to the new episodes in your inbox. If you are not yet a member, you can still get it for free by signing up here. In this episode, we talk about the disturbing video footage of sexual assault coming out of Manipur, and the Dhaka by-polls and escalating violence and repression around protest rallies in Bangladesh. In “Around Southasia...

At Screen Southasia, we host monthly online screenings of compelling documentaries from the region, including Nepal, India, Kashmir, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Tibet, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka. We present a diverse range of films, both classic and new, that showcase the unique cultures, histories and perspectives of Southasia. Screen Southasia is a partnership between Himal Southasian and Film Southasia. In this Screen Southasia Q&A session, recorded on 3 July...

Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. If you are not yet a member, you can still get episode links for free by signing up here. In this episode, we talk about crackdowns on online publishers and activists in India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, as well as Pakistan's IMF deal and Sri Lanka's domestic debt-restructuring process. For “Around...

Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. If you are not yet a member, you can still get episode links for free by signing up here. This episode, we talk about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the US, and the sinking of a trawler off the coast of Greece with almost 300 Pakistani refugees onboard. For “Around Southasia...