🎙️State of Southasia: A muddled Ramayana, a colossal Nepali scandal and more

Did you know that there have been plans to build an 81-foot statue of Lord Ram in Bangladesh?

This is one of the many things I found out when I sat down earlier this week to speak to a group of fantastic Southasian journalists. For the first episode of the new State of Southasia podcast, Roman and I invited the film critic Anna MM Vetticad to talk about the Ramayana, the journalist and editor Pranaya Rana about the Inam Sapkota case, and the Daily Star reporter Zyma Islam about labour unrest in Bangladesh. We ended up talking about what’s in the news and so much more. 

With Anna, we compared the production and the politics of the new film with the 1987 television series that, despite its gaudiness and bad visual effects, came to define much of Southasia’s understanding of the Hindu epic and contributed to the surge of Hindu nationalism in India. 

Pranaya told us about how Nepal was stunned with the extent of the scandal involving Inam Sapkota, the 31-year-old fixer with connections with the highest levels of Nepal’s government, judiciary and security forces. He called the case a tragicomedy: “We don’t just have a young, millennial government, our fixers are now just as young.” 

Zyma pointed out how the current garment worker protests in Bangladesh has global roots –  the US’s war in Iran and Trump’s tariffs that have hit Bangladesh’s economy and energy supply.  

You can watch this incisive, fun and free-wheeling conversation on our YouTube channel. You can also listen to it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

This is what State of Southasia is all about – it is the only place where the best journalists in the region draw connections across borders on the most significant events shaping our lives. It’s where you will get real insight beyond the headlines. So share this episode with your family, friends and anyone you know will enjoy it. 

Keep watching and listening, 

Nayantara Narayanan Associate Editor Himal Southasian

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