The miraculous rise of an Indian tennis star – Southasia Weekly #47
This week, we follow the story of Sumit Nagal, the Indian tennis player who catapulted into the spotlight when he beat the higher-ranked Alexander Bublik at the 2024 Australian Open. Shreya Menon writes that Nagal’s story is all the more remarkable given India’s dysfunctional sports administration, lack of funding and Indian tennis’ refusal to learn lessons.
For Screen Southasia, our monthly online documentary screening, we will be screening ‘The Unreserved’ by Samarth Mahajan, which follows the lives and stories of working class passengers travelling in the unreserved compartment of the Indian railways, from 6 - 13 January. Sign up to receive the screening links here.
This week in Southasia
MDP implicated in plot to impeach Muizzu
On 30 December, news broke that the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party sought USD 6 million, or over INR 51 crores from India in order to impeach Maldivian president Mohamed Muizzu. The money was to be used to bribe 40 Maldivian MPs, including those from Muizzu’s party, and 10 senior army and police officers. According to the Washington Post, officials from India’s Research and Analysis Wing discussed the plot with opposition leaders in the Maldives, although the plot did not materialise and India did not pursue or attempt to finance Muizzu’s impeachment. Former president and head of MDP Mohamed Nasheed said he was not aware of any such plot.
Recent reports are only the latest to highlight how India’s intelligence agencies have sought to shape politics in Australia and Canada, while pursuing an aggressive campaign targeting Indian diaspora across Asia, Europe and North America, straining ties with several countries including the United States, though official responses have been muted due to India’s growing influence as a global player. Ties between India and Maldives were initially strained after Muizzu took power, particularly as he asked India to remove military presence from the Maldives, a key election promise. However, the two countries have been seeking to build relations, particularly given reports of economic troubles for the Maldives.
Elsewhere in Southasia
A peace deal has been brokered between Shiite and Sunni tribes amid sectarian violence which killed at least 130 people in northwestern Pakistan
Myanmar’s Arakan Army secures last military bases in the town of Gwa, a step towards their goal of taking the whole of Rakhine state, and says they are ready for talks with the junta
As India shows no signs of complying with Bangladesh’s formal request to extradite Sheikh Hasina, thousands rally in Dhaka to call for her prosecution, as Dhaka says it will continue to advance on issues of mutual interest with Delhi.
India and Pakistan conducts annual exchange of list of nuclear installations and facilities, under an agreement since 1992 that prohibits the two nations from attacking each other’s atomic facilities
Afghan Taliban forces targeted ‘several points’ in neighbouring Pakistan, Afghanistan’s defence ministry said, after warning they would retaliate for airstrikes carried out by Pakistan’s military in Afghanistan
India launches first successful space-docking mission on Indian made rocket, seen as pivotal for future endeavours including operation of a planned space station
Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli signs pledge to eliminate child marriage in the country, a practice that continues due to weak implementation and social normalisation despite being outlawed in 1963
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake launches ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ programme, with plans to bring economic reforms and benefits to rural populations
Bangla and English textbooks at primary, secondary educational level to remove content on former Bangladesh president Mujibur Rahman and include content about July protests
China approves construction of world’s largest hydropower dam, despite protests by Tibetans raising concerns about displacement, environmental impact
Only in Southasia!
Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Deputy Minister of Public Security was recently subject to an unfortunate security lapse when he first visited his new office at the ministry and was given a tour by an enthusiastic staff member… or so he thought. It turned out that the ‘staff member’ who escorted the Deputy Minister to various hidden corners of the ministry was an outsider, and had to be later ejected from the building. But not before he had visited the passport section of the Ministry and made off with a total of 17 passports, which he said he was collecting on the deputy minister’s orders. At a time when people are queuing for one passport due to a shortage, one social media user quipped, Lankan problems require Lankan solutions.
From the archive
Bindu Ammini, the first woman to enter Sabarimala temple (January 2023)
2 January marks five years since Bindu Ammini and Kanaka Durga first entered the Sabarimala temple, which had previously restricted access to women of menstruating age for years. In light of this, our video interview with Bindu Ammini is worth a rewatch. Ammini, a social activist and faculty member of the Government Law College in Kerala reflects on the harassment she faced afterwards, and the inaction of police and state government in response to her complaints.