Chhetria Patrakar
Chhetria Patrakar is Himal's roving media critic.
What makes a journalist?
In Sri Lanka, there are many factors shaping mainstream media coverage of citizen-led protests.
May 13, 2022
Reporting Palestine
The Southasian press is growing increasingly attuned to the history of the Palestinian struggle.
May 28, 2021
Too keen to withhold?
Why we know so little about the temporary blocking of the Twitter accounts covering farmers’ protests.
Feb 03, 2021
The myth of mainstream
On the dangerous trajectory of state institutions and popular media in India.
Aug 22, 2020
How free is the media in Southasia?
Governments are finding new ways to silence the press thanks to COVID-19.
May 05, 2020
‘A picture of malicious intention’
On the Chinese embassy’s undiplomatic letter to a Nepali newspaper.
Feb 19, 2020
The PEMRA penumbra
Pakistan’s state-run media regulator tries to shut down TV-news anchors.
Nov 01, 2019
Ad-freeze zone
The Modi government has reportedly been cutting ads to major newspapers.
Jul 09, 2019
Who owns India’s media?
We need more studies on media ownership in Southasia.
Jun 06, 2019
Bhutan’s media maladies
The closure of a weekly paper in Bhutan signals a troubling decline in media diversity and journalistic space.
Apr 04, 2019
Latest Articles
Strains between Malé and the atolls in the Maldives
Forced migration, “development” pressures, political neglect and the climate crisis have assailed the Maldives’ less-populous atolls, eroding the country’s identity and driving thousands to the capital
Manipur’s conflict has harsh lessons for all of India’s Northeast
Rampant ethnic chauvinism of the kind that has shattered Manipur’s civil society is ingrained in communities across the Northeast
How Southasia and Oman intertwined
In ‘Sovereigns of the Sea’, the histories of Omani sultans in the age of empire speak to the interconnectedness of Southasia, West Asia and East Africa
G20 summit in Delhi, new allegations on the Easter Sunday bombings, the return of Nawaz Sharif and more
September 2023 - Updates and analysis from around the region
