Letter from the Editor – December 2024

Hello reader,.Last year was a time of many firsts and experiments for Himal (our new podcasts, to name just one of the new things we did). One of those, if you remember some of my newsletters to you from 2024, was a “virtual cover” and a virtual magazine issue of sorts. I shared one on Bangladesh, for instance, that we called ‘Bangladesh Burning’, with Himal’s coverage of the downfall of Sheikh Hasina..Those were a hit – I heard back from many readers who loved the idea, with its blend of Himal’s current online journalism and the magazine’s inspiring print legacy from decades past. I’d promised we’d bring the virtual covers back, and now I’m making good on that promise..We’re not back in print, too expensive. But if you really want one would be glad to hear from you – plan ahead and make it happen if we have enough demand to meet the costs (paper, printing, shipping).December is here, and the end of 2025 is just around the corner. And I’m trying to make sense of how quickly the year has gone. .It’s been a tremendous year – and a tremendously busy one – for me and my team. At the start of this year, I and the rest of Himal’s editorial team sat down to make plans for 2025, responding to what readers and supporters like you had told us you wanted from the magazine going forward. On the to-do list: a new website, a new Patron programme for committed readers to become paying supporters, more and more ambitious stories, a complete overhaul of our newsletters, launching new podcasts and putting out one podcast episode per week. It seemed impossible at the time, but I’m glad to say that we’ve done everything we set out to do..But even as we’re doing more than ever before on the editorial front, our financial situation remains difficult. Himal has relied primarily on philanthropic funding through its history, and we’ve been very fortunate to have funders who’ve believed in our mission of giving Southasia the great journalism it deserves. But there was always little philanthropic funding for journalism, and even that pool has gotten smaller and smaller. Our hope with the Patron programme has been to raise much more revenue from our readers, and while we’ve made progress on that front our number of Patrons remains low..The hardest challenge for me remains to keep the lights on and keep all of Himal’s small but dedicated team together into another year. But we know we’re putting out unique and valuable work on Southasia, and we know that our readers put great value in what we do, even if many of them may not be able to become paying Patrons – especially in Southasia, either because of financial constraints or the lack of integrated cross-border payment infrastructure across the region. Keeping all of that in mind, and also Himal’s core philosophy of making sure everyone in Southasia can freely access our journalism and build cross-border connections around it, we’ll be taking steps in some new directions in 2025..We’re now at work on a geo-fenced paywall that will restrict access to Himal’s content for readers based outside Southasia. (Readers based in Southasia will continue to have paywall-free access, and will simply need to register on our website to see all our content.) For readers outside Southasia, we will ask you to become paying Patrons to have unfettered access to all our stories, and let you know that your monetary contribution will support our mission of producing great independent Southasian journalism and keeping it openly accessible in the region, where it is most urgent and essential..This is not an easy decision: Himal has so far prided itself on providing independent regional journalism to everyone, in Southasia and the wider world, and in an ideal world we would continue to give free access to everyone, no matter where they are. But hard financial realities are forcing hard choices, and I believe the best way forward is to rely more on the monetary support of readers in the rest of the world, where ability to pay is often higher, so that we can continue to offer free access to independent journalism in Southasia..That doesn’t mean we will give up on raising monetary support from readers within Southasia. For readers in the region, we will continue to ask you to become Patrons to support our work, just as we have all of this year, even if you will already have unfettered access to all our journalism. In return we will offer you exclusive perks, including our iconic Right-Side Up Map of Southasia, as well as our deep gratitude and the chance to be part of the mission of building a better, and better informed, Southasia. Of course all our Patrons outside Southasia will continue to receive all these perks as well – and we’ll be adding even more perks going forward to give more back to you in return for your support..I’ll be telling you more about all of this next year. All I’ll add for now is that we need you, as a Himal reader and someone who cares about Southasia, to support the work of independent media. Times are very tough, but together we can and will keep fighting forward. It would mean a great deal to me and the Himal team if you would become a Patron today, for as little as USD 5 per month, to already lend us your support as we head into 2025..Support Himal for only USD 5/month.Besides the monthly payment option above, which we’re offering exclusively to you as one of our newsletter readers, we also have a range of yearly payment options. You can see those, and the various perks on offer, by visiting our Patrons sign-up page here..Two years into the job as the Editor of Himal, I’ve come to understand clearly that our long-term future lies with you, our readers and listeners, and in convincing you to support our work financially. Frankly, it feels natural and right: Himal has always existed for you, to give you and the world a clear-eyed view of Southasia in all its complexity, to keep you connected to the Southasian community. In asking you to support more and more of our operations financially, we’re making that connection between you and Himal even more strong and meaningful..Thank you, as always, for being part of Himal’s journey so far. We’re counting on you in 2025 as we keep striving to survive and grow..All best,Roman.Southasia Mixtape.Sharing music with you in these newsletters, and hearing all the music recommendations you’ve sent back to me, has been a real highlight of 2024 for me. I’ll definitely keep sharing into 2025, and I hope you will too. Send me your favourite tunes here!.This month I’m sharing a recent track from Dabzee, a Malayali rapper I was introduced to earlier this year by newsletter reader Vivek N. D. (Thanks again Vivek!).Vivek tells me that Mohammed Fasil, aka Dabzee, raps in Mappila Malayalam, the language of the Malabar Muslims (and others) used predominantly in coastal Kerala, with “lyrics that are socially relevant, beats and tunes that match the best in the game,” and collaborations “with other upcoming artistes across southern India and beyond.”