Virtual Cover - April 2025

In the middle of Ramadan, Israel resumed its assault on the Palestinian people in Gaza. Amid the new onslaught, on 24 March, an Israeli airstrike killed the Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat. Hours later, his team shared a note that Shabat had written anticipating his death.

In the note, he describes the overwhelming difficulties of documenting the war on Gaza and its people. He ends with an appeal: “Do not stop speaking about Gaza. Do not let the world look away. Keep fighting, keep telling our stories – until Palestine is free.”

In the face of the ongoing devastation in Gaza, principled Southasian writers, scholars and citizens are grappling with what it means to witness, to document and to stand in solidarity. And they are asking where Southasians and our governments stand amid the carnage, asking who here also has blood on their hands.

Our virtual cover for April 2025 brings together perspectives that refuse to look away, beginning with a searing essay on India’s guilt by the renowned peace activist and writer Harsh Mander.  

Mander holds up a mirror to India’s strategic silence and complicity, and writes that among the Narendra Modi regime’s gravest moral and political transgressions is its support of Israel’s genocidal war and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. 
We also present four other essential pieces, both recent and old, from Himal’s extensive archive.

For more than 36 years now, Himal has remained committed to moral, progressive and independent journalism for Southasia. We need the support of readers like you to keep the magazine free of government and corporate influence so that we can continue our mission. 

Himal’s virtual covers earlier came to your inbox as part of my monthly Letter from the Editor. In light of their success, I’ll now be bringing you our virtual covers in a stand-alone newsletter at the start of every month. The virtual covers began an experiment in 2024 and have evolved with readers’ feedback and wishes. Reply to this email to tell me what you think.

All best

Roman