🇧🇩🔥Bangladesh burning – Southasia Weekly #97

This week saw the acting head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party Tarique Rahman announce his return to the country. But Rahman will return to a country in crisis after the killing of an independent candidate led to fresh political turmoil. A wave of anti-India hatred has already begun spreading. Last night, the Daily Star and Prothom Alo were set alight by angry protesters, with many journalists trapped inside for a tense night before being rescued. Just this October, we heard Daily Star correspondent Zyma Islam discuss how genuine frustrations around corruption and state violence were also fuelling hate. Her words are prescient in light of last night’s events. 

At Himal, we’ve been watching events in Bangladesh as the country struggles to navigate the aftermath of mass protests and calls for change. We keep our eye on the news so you don’t have to, and in order to make sure we continue this work into 2026, we really need your support. We’re looking for 100 new Patrons to support our work, so until 31 December, we’re offering 25% off our USD 99 membership plan, which includes our iconic Right Side Up map. So if you haven’t signed up to our Patrons programme yet, make sure to sign up and support our work.

To contribute more, visit himalmag.com/support-himal.

This week in Himal

Sumithra Prasanna writes about a sexual assault and kidnapping case that has prompted a reckoning for Malayalam cinema and exposed a long-standing culture of sexism and sexual harassment in Kerala society, despite its progressive veneer.