Why “Southasia” as one word? Because we look at the region differently.

Himal Southasian is Southasia’s first and only regional magazine of politics and culture. Independent, non-nationalist, pan-Subcontinental – for over 35 years now, Himal has challenged orthodoxies and covered the region with imagination, rigour and irreverence, often defying national censorship regimes and taboos to tell stories that no one else can or will. In a place where nationalism, bigotry and barbed-wire borders mean many neighbours can barely talk to one another, Himal helps Southasians find common cause and voice, with essential stories about their own homes and everything and everyone around them. 

We tell Afghans about Indians, Sri Lankans about Bhutanese, Nepalis about Malayalis, Bengalis about Baloch, Mizos about Mumbaikars, Tamils about Tibetans, and so on – and we tell the rest of the world about this often overlooked and misunderstood region, home to more than a quarter of humanity. Without wishing violence on any nation state, Himal injects “South Asia” with a fresh sensibility – a Southasian one, which recalls some of the historical unity of our region and imagines a democratic, equitable, sustainable and interlinked future. 

That’s also why we have Himal’s iconic Right-Side Up Map (it’s not upside-down!), with a startling new perspective on Southasia to dislodge ingrained views.

Started from Kathmandu in 1987 as a cross-border magazine of the Himalaya, Himal expanded its horizons in 1996 to cover all of Southasia – from Afghanistan in the west to Myanmar in the east, from Tibet in the north to the Maldives in the south. After 15 years as a print monthly and then a few years as a quarterly, Himal was forced to suspend publication in 2016 after prolonged harassment by the Nepal government. It has since found a new base in Colombo as an online magazine, with a remote editorial team working from across the Subcontinent. Our stories, podcasts, online events and extensive archives bring some of the region’s best journalists and thinkers to audiences in Southasia and the Southasian diaspora, as well as to scholars of the region all over the world.