The historical effects of trans-Indian Ocean involvement in Southasia, while major for the overseas areas concerned, were minor in terms of life in the region itself.

The Indian Ocean has become increasingly central, contested and crowded. Not just Southasia but all of southern Asia must reclaim its stake on the water.

The Indian Ocean’s growing centrality to international geopolitics is only an extension of what has been taking place for centuries.

Burma´s junta is pushing for a quick settlement to its maritime boundary dispute with Bangladesh, much to the delight of Dhaka.

The setting aside of marine areas for protection, rather than adversely impacting livelihoods, actually strengthens their sustainability.

Vivekanandan speaks with Chandrika Sharma about the outstanding problems of transborder fishing on the Indo-Sri Lankan border and possibilities for resolving these.

S Thavaratnam speaks with Himal's contributing editor Ahilan Kadirgamar about the impact of the civil war on the fishing industry, the problem of South Indian trawlers encroaching on Sri Lankan waters, and the need for more advanced boats. Translated from the Tamil.

In dealing with uncontacted tribes we should remember that it is we who are the savages.

The Indian Ocean's growing centrality to international geopolitics is only an extension of what has been taking place for centuries.

Burma's junta is pushing for a quick settlement to its maritime boundary dispute with Bangladesh, much to the delight of Dhaka.

The setting aside of marine areas for protection, rather than adversely impacting livelihoods, actually strengthens their sustainability.

Relations between China and Pakistan need to go beyond the narrow confines of a defence collaboration that benefits mainly Beijing.

According  to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Pakistan’s flooding is akin to ‘a slow-motion tsunami [whose] destructive power will accumulate and grow with time’.

Irrigation expert (and former Sindh irrigation and power secretary) Idris Rajput spoke to Himal Southasian about the morphology of the recent flooding. The interview was conducted on 19 August, at a time when the flood waters had travelled only halfway through Sindh and had not yet reached Hyderabad district.

The red-carpet welcome accorded by India to General Than Shwe of Burma is based on short-sighted calculations and narrow realpolitik.

Was the recent cover of Time an attempt at human empathy or a cynical push towards war?

With the Census of India set to count caste for the first time since the colonial era, the focus shifts to the ramifications of doing so.

Mysteries still lie in the waters off the Sri Lankan coast, as they do in historical accounts of seafarers battling beasts.

Just six years before Ceylon’s independence, a still-disputed mutiny in the Cocos Islands exemplified the anti-colonial frustration among soldier and the Ceylonese in general.

As the Devadasi system dies out, so too does a rich musical repertoire.