The following is a compendium of 75 contributions by a spectrum of Southasian thinkers on who we are, how we should organise, and the possibilities ahead. As the SAARC organistaion enters its 23rd year, it is time to delve seriously into concepts surrounding regional identity.

This special issue has been supported by Panos South Asia.

Cover Stories

Does the past matter?

The ragged backdrop
By: Ghazi Salahuddin

Counting the people
By: Haris Gazdar

Alternative to the Westphalian rashtra
By: Navnita Chadha Behera

inchme and pinchme
By: allan sealy

Hate thy neighbour, hug thy enemy
By: I A Rehman

The wait for the statesman
By: Dinesh Mishra

Uniting the monsoon lands
By: B G Verghese

Kalidasa's cloud
By: Sadanand Menon

Victims to perpetrators
By: Suhas Chakma

The colour of fringe histories
By: Sanjay Barbora

A release from majoritarianism and multiculturalism
By: Vasuki Nesiah

Rise of the nuovo-rajas
By: Jayanta Bandyopadhyay

Can art be called Islamic?
By: A R Nagori

Who is a Southasian?

Brown bag
By: Paromita Vohra

Live the present
By: Pushpesh Pant

Asha or Lata?
By: Amitava Kumar

Geography that binds
By: Khalid Ansari and Sangeeta Lama

FAQs
By: Anmole Prasad

Being South-Southasian
By: A S Panneerselvan

Southasian Tibet
By: Tenzing Sonam

Identity vs identification
By: Pratap Bhanu Mehta

Six shared seasons
By: Kaiser Haq

Between South and Central Asia
By: Aunohita Mojumdar

Children of '65
By: Vijay Prashad

The profanity of sameness
By: Sankarshan Thakur

Integration from above

Lessons from the EU
By: Muttukrishna Sarvananthan

Economy and identity
By: Faisal Bari

Abandon ship
By: Bibek Debroy

The learning curve
By: Surendra Mohan

India-A and India-B
By: Sukumar Muralidharan

Towards a New World Symphony
By: Nihal Rodrigo

Lighting us up
By: Bikash Pandey

Cheap talk
By: Rohan Samarajiva

A postcolonial solidarity, finally
By: Jayadeva Uyangoda

No more talk fests
By: Sushil Khanna

The boy in Gaforgaon
By: Shahidul Alam

Integration from below

Democratic enlightenment and cultural production
By: Partha Chatterjee

Media gang-up
By: Sevanti Ninan

Barriers big and small
By: Graham Shaw

Beyond countryhood
By: Samrat Upadhyay

Redefining education
By: Sudharshan Seneviratne

Arrested development
By: Nalaka Gunawardene

my teacher talks of a sri lankan english
By: sumathy

Big Brother statism
By: Dolly Kikon

Healing Southasia
By: Sanjeev Jain

Sausages on curfew break
By: Naeem Mohaiemen

SAARC-ological gardens

The stranded cyclist
By: Jawed Naqvi

Not by vision alone
By: Shamshad Ahmad

No common wealth
By: Peter J Karthak

The charm and logic of connectivity
By: C Raja Mohan

The tautology of cultural collaboration
By: Abhi Subedi

Prosperity in aligned solidarity
By: Kul Chandra Gautam

Traditional SAARC, modern Southasia
By: Saman Kelegama

The reality of proximity (or not)
By: Zafar Sobhan

Venerating localism
By: Chandra Bhan Prasad

Against Southasia
By: Mukul Kesavan

Collective accountability
By: Jennifer Latheef

Between rhetoric and reality
By: Mahendra P Lama

Seven proposals
By: John Samuel

Two hands to clap
By: Mark Tully

Reaching southasia

Family resemblance
By: Antara Dev Sen

The road from Kabul to Kathmandu
By: Shahir A Zahine

Locating the social capital
By: Sanjib Baruah

A Southasian Charter of Human Rights
By: Neera Chandhoke

The people's eye
By: Aruna Roy

Hope amidst indifference
By: Chandni Joshi

What neighbourhood?
By: Vinod Mehta

Someone else's weapons
By: Zia Mian

The organic identity
By: Dilip Simeon

A new belonging
By: Amrita Shah

One voice
By: Rubana

Policy of happiness
By: Kinley Dorji

Drop by some time...
By: Farjad Nabi

A more harmonious clash
By: Siddiq Wahid

An existential matter
By: Kanak Mani Dixit

Manmohan's vision: Exclusive interview with the Prime Minister of India

Rest of the magazine

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

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?

Voices

Opinions from the region

Review

Reluctant heroine: 'Burning Bright' by Deepti Priya Mehrotra

By: Laxmi Murthy

Over-disciplined: 'Water, ecosystems and society' by Jayanta Bandyopadhyay

By: Sudhirendar Sharma

Catharsis as elite obsession: 'Listening to Grasshoppers' by Arundhati Roy

By: G Narasimha Raghavan

Man is mandir: 'My friend Sancho' by Amit Varma and 'Arzee the dwarf' by Chandrahas Choudhary

By: Sumana Roy

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.

Mail

Comment from readers

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

Mediafile

Tidbits of the region's media

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

Bookshelf

Reviews of the latest books from and on Southasia

Web Exclusive

Joseph Mathai gives us an insider's take on India's publishing industry and Tehelka's Readership Survey.

Also, on the blog, Rohini Hensman on Avatar and Adivasi; Our Jaipur Lit Fest coverage, including audio of Javed Akhtar and Gulzar