How the BJP aggravated longstanding ethnic tensions in Manipur - Southasia Weekly #46

This week at Himal

The ongoing violence in Manipur was aggravated by Biren Singh’s BJP-led state government, Sangmuan Hangsing writes. Using arrests, intimidation and repression against journalists to dominate the public narrative, Hangsing unpacks how Singh exacerbated decades-old tensions between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zomi-Hmars ethnic groups in order to consolidate power. 

This year at Himal

It’s been an eventful year. 2024 was an election year for Southasia, and our first issue of Southasia Weekly (published on 16 February) covered Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s surprise win in Pakistan’s parliamentary elections. We unpacked the electoral bond issue ahead of India’s mammoth election, Kashmir’s first assembly elections in a decade and Sri Lanka’s first presidential elections after mass protests calling for systemic change. On our website, we also ran a special series providing a wide angle view on how Southasia viewed Modi’s decade in power ahead of India’s election. But it wasn’t just about decoding election results.

This year, we followed student protests in Bangladesh that led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, traced the formation of Bangladesh’s interim government and growing tensions between India and Bangladesh. We closely followed revelations around the long arm of India’s intelligence agencies. In economic stories, we covered how Pakistan’s ruling elite class and military’s unwillingness to undertake structural reforms is plaguing the country’s economy, and India’s covert trade with Israel, Russia and Myanmar amidst brutal wars. We sought out underreported stories, from sectarian violence in northwestern Pakistan to the after-effects of flooding in Nepal and Myanmar and targeted killings in Balochistan, and followed Pakistan’s deportations of Afghan refugees, ongoing violence in Manipur and Myanmar’s forcible conscription of Rohingya refugees to fight anti-junta groups. Through all this, we have tried our best to bring you the latest in regional news. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading, and look forward to bringing you more in 2025! 

This week in Southasia

Bangladesh formally requests India to extradite Sheikh Hasina

Bangladesh has sent a diplomatic note asking India to extradite ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the country’s foreign affairs adviser said. Hasina fled to New Delhi in August after the student-led protests ended her 15-year rule. If she returns, Hasina will face trial for charges of crimes against humanity, among other charges. India’s Foreign Ministry has acknowledged receipt of the request, but didn’t provide additional details. Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal, a domestic judicial mechanism, has also issued arrest warrants for 45 other Awami League aides and top leaders apart from Hasina. 

Bangladesh’s request poses a fresh diplomatic challenge for India to navigate, particularly given that the two countries signed an extradition treaty in 2013, although the treaty contains exemptions that India may try to rely on. Analysts have said that India is unlikely to accede to the request for extradition, given Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s close ties with Hasina as part of a foreign policy strategy that prioritised stability while turning a blind eye to autocratic rule. India backed Hasina in the non-democratic elections that returned her to office, drawing criticism from chief adviser Muhammad Yunus. Following the fall of Hasina’s administration, India-Bangladesh relations have soured, particularly after Bangladesh’s consulate office in India was stormed by protesters over the arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das and tensions around violence against Hindus, which Bangladesh has said are overblown and part of a warped narrative from India. 

Elsewhere in Southasia 📡

• Taliban claims Pakistan’s military conducted airstrikes in the eastern Paktika province of Afghanistan, killing over 40 people, adding that it would retaliate 

• Myanmar’s Arakan Army in Rakhine state claims control over a major military headquarters in Ann town, in the west of the country as anti-junta armed groups continued to battle the ruling junta

• Pakistan jails 25 supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan with military court convictions, sparking backlash from rights groups and foreign governments to ensure judicial fairness and democratic principles 

• Myanmar’s junta receives eight new planes from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, a close partner of Airbus, sparking condemnation by activists. The aircraft models are regularly used in its airstrikes on the civilian population. 

• Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers approve signing a Memorandum of Understanding with India to implement 33 development projects in the country’s Eastern province, focusing on the education, health, agriculture and tourism sectors 

• Sri Lanka withdraws military security for former presidents, with security now being solely handled by police officers, a move to reduce government expenditure 

• The Maldives state-owned Housing Development Corporation managing director Ibrahim Fazul Rasheedis has resigned amid corruption allegations over the allocation of land plots to those who are not listed as recipients on the housing scheme 

• Bhutan’s Anti-Corruption Commission forwards 27 cases for prosecution, dealing with embezzlement, bribery and financial misconduct from public servants and private citizens 

• Nepal confirms second case of monkeypox from a migrant worker returning from Saudi Arabia, stepping up surveillance measures to prevent possible outbreak 

• Malayalam literary giant MT Vasudevan Nair passes away, tributes pour in about his life and work 

Only in Southasia!

The festive season is well underway, but Sri Lankans have still had to tighten their belts amidst the economic crisis. Perhaps this is why NPP MP Nilanthi Kottahachchi found herself in an uncomfortable standoff during a perahera (parade), with a performer wearing a Lenchina mask, a character in Sinhalese folklore. The woman came up to her and asked whether the government would make or break the country, what the price of rice was, and pointedly, whether the ruling government still planned to recover stolen assets from the Rajapaksa government that had allegedly been stashed in Uganda (a claim that the NPP walked back just last month). A smiling Kottahachchi was forced to say that the government would definitely recover the money. The exchange reveals that Sri Lankans are not shying away from questioning the new government, who has been elected into power with a promise to enact systemic change. 

From the archive

Manmohan's vision (August 2008)

This week, former Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh passed away aged 92. As Southasians recall his legacy, our interview with him from 2008 is worth revisiting. Singh reflects on barriers to regional integration and fraught relations with Pakistan and Bangladesh - discussions which continue to remain relevant in the contemporary context.