Nepal Elections 2026

Kashmiri Muslim girls wearing hijab hold a poster of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during a demonstration in Budgam district in India-administered Kashmir on 13 March protesting his killing in US airstrikes.
Politics
Kashmiri protests over Iran and Palestine are also protests over Kashmir
By
Anuradha Bhasin
Protests in India-administered Kashmir over Gaza and the Iran war express international solidarity, but also resistance to the Indian state amid its repression and growing ties to Israel
Himal Interviews: The decades-long erosion of the idea of India
Politics
Himal Interviews: The decades-long erosion of the idea of India
By
The Editors
The filmmaker Saeed Akhtar Mirza talks to Harsh Mander about a civilisational slide brought about by Hindutva ideas and politics
LGBTQ+ community members protest against the 2026 Transgender Amendment Bill in Mumbai, shortly after the bill is passed through India’s Lok Sabha. The bill was then steamrolled through the upper house on 26 March, dismantling constitutional principles of self-identification and pushing the trans community in India into further precarity.
Politics
India’s giant step backwards on transgender rights
By
Ankush Pal
India’s hastily passed Transgender Amendment Bill dismantles self-identification rights and walks back on constitutional promises
Southasia Weekly - 27 March 2026. We cover Southasia like no one else. Help support independent Southasian journalism. Support Himal.
Newsletters
Pakistan’s bid as peace mediator in US-Iran talks – Southasia Weekly #111
By
Raisa Wickrematunge
US presents its peace plan to Iran via Pakistan, India passes Transgender Amendment Bill and more
The BNP government under Tarique Rahman must realise that, in modern Bangladesh, the economy has become the ultimate arbiter of political survival.
Politics
The BNP’s real test lies in Bangladesh’s beleaguered economy
By
Faisal Mahmud
In Bangladesh now, the economy dictates politics and not vice versa – as Sheikh Hasina discovered to her peril
The demise of Buddhist philosophy in Southasia and its journey to the east
Culture
The demise of Buddhist philosophy in Southasia and its journey to the east
By
Shashank Kela
Buddhism’s transformation on its way from India to China, Japan and Korea may offer clues to what was lost when it disappeared from its homeland
More
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