Join us!   We're also twittering. Come listen. |   HIMAL Special Offer   Get a 2-year subscription of Himal Southasian and receive a FREE t-shirt!!! |   NEW AT HIMAL   We Blog! |   Web Exclusive   MINOR OFFENCE: Dilnaz Boga writes about the children who have fallen victim to the escalating cycle of violence in Jammu & Kashmir since January. |   VACANCY   Himal Southasian is looking for a Business Manager and a Creative / Art Director. |   Announcement   Travelling Film South Asia '10 opens 16 - 18 July 2010! |  

Table Of Contents

December 2009

Special Report

Fresh paradigms for peace: Evolving a new framework for negotiations in North Southasia

Excerpts from the eighth Panos-Himal Roundtable, 6-7 October 2009, in Salzburg.


Photo Feature

Bihari highway

      By: Alex Masi

Cover

The specious 'corporate veil'

Interview with H Rajan Sharma, international lawyer practicing in New York, currently lead counsel in a class-action litigation against Union Carbide.

December 1984

      By: Sathyu Sarangi

Many of the battles begun 25 years ago, in the aftermath of catastrophe, continue today.

Animal in Bhopal

      By: Indra Sinha

Regional winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Writer's Prize, Indra Sinha, in this exclusive for Himal resurrects Animal.


Commentary

Beyond violence (India)

Choosing between a corporate-driven elite government and a ‘revolutionary’ force given over to the use of armed might.

The big 'C' (Afghanistan)

The season’s new fashion is in, and this fall, in Afghanistan, it is corruption.

'And every tree that has fruit'

A fig-mangled carcass of a Christ tree.

The president and the general (Sri Lanka)

Can peace and democracy trump authoritarianism, militarism and nationalism one more time and deliver peace?




Report

Bulletin from the battlefield

      By: Paromita Vohra
Self-proclaimed protectors of Hinduism in parts of South India have kicked up a row over inter-religious marriages.

Deoband's battle for survival and relevance

      By: Luv Puri
Given new security restrictions and internal obduracy, one of the region’s most important schools of Islam stands at a crossroads.

Path to Salvation?

      By: Iqbal Khattak
Even as the Pakistan Army goes on an all-out offensive against home-grown militants, the insurgents themselves have stepped up their attacks on the Pakistani public.

Between invisible friends

      By: Delwar Hussain
Bangladeshis thrive in and work against the ‘grey area’ of subtle acceptance of un-discussed alternative sexualities.

The new relationship(s)

      By: Carey L Biron and Thierry Dodin
The increasing intimacy between Kathmandu and Beijing highlights Nepal’s hope to ease its longstanding dependency on India.

Sighting

Polo on the Coromandel

      By: Namit Arora
Seven centuries have passed since Marco Polo opened Western eyes to the Subcontinent, yet his account continues to resonate.

Analysis

From criminal savage to habitual offender

      By: Ipshita Sengupta
The work of attaining justice for India’s denotified tribes goes on.

Is it over?

      By: Aunohita Mojumdar
Afghanistan’s elections went on and on, but offered more questions than answers.""


Essay

Two Very Different Processes

      By: Darini Rajasingham Senanayake
Lessons from Sri Lanka and Aceh, Indonesia, five years after the tsunami.

Time and a place

Finding Srinagar's geography of peace

      By: Riyaz Wani
The summer capital is undergoing a massive physical makeover. But its spirit remains troubled.

Interview

'Violating the Constitution cannot be excused'

Interview with Abdullah Abdullah, former Afghan Foreign Minister.


Reflections

Majuli Going Under

      By: Rimli Borooah
A culturally unique island is crumbling against the force of the mighty Brahmaputra.

Southasian Briefs

Round-up of regional news



Southasiasphere

The Allure of Walls

      By: C K Lal

Manmade walls are not meant to be climbed; they can be breached, broken but not mounted while standing intact.


On the way up

Dhan Ta Ran!

      By: Kanak Mani Dixit



Web Exclusive

Jouno kormir shantan by Debolina Dutta and Oishik Sircar

Since 2005, children of sex workers have been highlighting their misrepresentation in films like Born into Brothels.

(Related stories in our August edition)

More
Indigenising extremism – Iqbal Khattak writes about how the rise of the so-called ‘Punjabi Taliban’ is another step in the escalating spiral of extremist violence in Pakistan.
Minor offence – Dilnaz Boga on the children who have been gunned down since January in the escalating cycle of violence in Jammu & Kashmir.
More

Online Poll

Bandhs: 'Coercion' or 'Democratic protest'?
Coercion & blackmail
My democratic right.
I sit on the fence.
Holiday! :-)
 
GET OUR FREE NEWSLETTER Register to receive news and alerts every month.