Abhishek Avtans
Abhishek Avtans teaches Indic languages and linguistics at Leiden University (the Netherlands). He tweets at @avtansa.
Languages of the islanders in Southasia: Part 1
Linguistic diversity and study of endangered languages in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in Southasia can help our understanding of human history, cognition and the natural world
Apr 14, 2023
Shaking the melting pot
The role of contact languages in multilingual milieux.
Aug 24, 2021
It takes a village to save a language
Pidgins, creoles and mixed languages of Southasia.
Jul 13, 2021
Under the sun
Summer words and phrases in Southasian languages.
May 18, 2021
Translating a pandemic
The impact of COVID-19 terminology on Southasian languages.
Apr 07, 2021
Latest Articles
In Mizoram, a refugee crisis highlights Mizo tribal affinities and hostility
Shared Zo identity has Mizos extending hospitality to Chin and Kuki-Chin refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh. More remarkable is that Chakmas, mistreated by the Mizo majority in Mizoram, have welcomed Kuki-Chin refugees too
The political fallout of violence in Manipur, Bangladesh’s economic crisis, the crackdown on PTI supporters and more
May - Updates and analysis from around the region
In ‘Agra’, a grim portrait of the repressed Indian man
Director Kanu Behl’s Hindi feature film examines the sexual obsession and frustration of men, mental health and the transactional nature of human relationships in a patriarchal society where space is in short supply
When neoliberalism came to the Indian farm
With a focus on agricultural policy since the 1990s, 'Distress in the Fields' demonstrates how neoliberal interventions sowed the seeds of the crisis faced by farmers today
