Letter from the Editor - June 2025
With Himal’s anniversary campaign in May, we hit a new record for the number of new paying supporters joining us in a single month. Looking back on that great show of support, I’ve been thinking a lot about you, the Himal reader, and how much power you have in shaping the future of Himal and of Southasian journalism.
Here’s one example: Himal’s in-depth investigative story on Vantara, the controversial private wildlife project in Gujarat backed by the multi-billion-dollar Reliance conglomerate, has been selected as a finalist for the Global Investigative Journalism Network’s ‘Global Shining Light’ award. That means our editorial team of just six people, working with the reporter M Rajshekhar, produced one of the very best journalistic investigations published anywhere in the Global South across 2023 and 2024. And that’s not the only recognition our story has garnered: it was also shortlisted for the 2025 True Story Awards, and has been cited in a long and growing list of news articles and advocacy reports around the world.
We also know we made an impact because Vantara felt the need to file a legal case to try and intimidate us into taking the story down. But while many other publications have caved under lesser pressure, we went to court to fight – and won!
So let’s do the math here. We published an investigative story that cost several thousands of dollars to produce, and its impact has been large enough to challenge a multi-billion-dollar corporation. It’s a reasonable guess that the outlay on Vantara’s PR efforts alone – featuring Reliance-controlled media houses, YouTube influencers and the prime minister of India himself – must by now run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and possibly more.
And that’s where you come in. Himal’s outsize impact isn’t down to massive budgets, it’s down to the fact that we’re massively independent. We don’t have corporate ownership or advertising from Reliance or anyone else, so we can do stories that matter regardless of who they might involve. And to stay independent and strong – we need you!
By becoming a Himal Patron, you as a Himal reader contribute directly to our high-impact independent journalism. By supporting us for just USD 5 a month, you can fuel our work. We’re already making an impact with the tiny team we currently have. Imagine what we can do as hundreds and then thousands more readers support us and helped us grow!
We need you to be one of those readers. Our anniversary campaign last month wasn’t the only chance to put your money behind some of the best journalism in Southasia. Click the button above to become a Patron today (there are also yearly-payment options here), and we’ll keep chasing more and more high-impact stories. That’s the power you have for Himal and the future of Southasian journalism!
All best
Roman