Sunela Jayewardene’s search for Ravan’s presence in Sri Lanka offers a counter to Sinhala Buddhist appropriation of the mythic king, but comes with its own pitfalls
Biren Singh’s BJP-led Manipur state government has used arrests, intimidation and narrative manipulation as tools to dominate the public and exacerbate decades-old tensions between Meiteis and Kuki-Zomi-Hmars.
India risks permanent damage to its relationship with Bangladesh with a narrative of uncontrolled communal violence after Sheikh Hasina’s fall, ignoring Hasina’s weaponisation of the Hindu minority and how post-revolution violence has been driven more by political reasons
In ‘Sahaj Path’ – Rabindranath Tagore’s much-loved work for young readers of Bengali – his views on class, caste and gender are inextricably intertwined with his aesthetics and pedagogy
The decades-long conflict between India and Pakistan has forced children into conditions of chronic stress, anxiety and malnutrition, with high levels of PTSD reported in Indian-administered Kashmir
Attack on Shia convoy, part of ongoing sectarian bloodshed in Kurram district, shows how Pakistan’s government, Sunni majority and Islamist militant groups have left Shias dehumanised and fighting for their lives
The Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia matters far beyond cricket alone and can update Australian views of Southasia and the Southasian diaspora – if the country cares to pay attention
Social media has usurped the traditional media’s influence in Sri Lankan politics, particularly after the Aragalaya – and even any improvement in media freedom under the new NPP government cannot solve the industry’s entrenched problems
Ganju Lama, an ethnic Bhutia, wangled his way into the Gurkha regiments and won a Victoria Cross in the Second World War – and proved that a true Gurkha need not come from a “martial” race, or be defined only by battles and bravery
Syed Irfan Ashraf’s ‘The Dark Side of Journalism’ and Saad Mohseni and Jenna Krajeski’s ‘Radio Free Afghanistan’ show how local journalists became both victims and agents of geopolitical conflict and an exploitative global media – and looked to push back
An investigation into cardamom cultivation in Kerala exposes how India is failing abjectly to regulate pesticide overuse and contamination in its spice production and trade
