While trying to secure their competing interests, India and China will both help bring investment into Afghanistan and legitimacy to the Taliban government
The abrupt and cruel cutting off of USAID without a timeline for its withdrawal is designed to create complete instability and chaos in recipient countries, including in Southasia, says the development economist
This week in Himal
This week, Burhan Majid writes that India’s left liberal elite have worked to obscure Kashmir’s assertion of political rights and autonomy through a focus
India wants to normalise ties with Afghanistan even with the Taliban in power, which threatens Pakistan’s security and fight against cross-border militancy
This week in Himal
This week, Chintan Girish Modi reviews three recent books that discuss India’s position on Israel and Palestine, revealing the country’s calculated calibration of geopolitical
This week in Himal
This week, Abhishek Avtans writes about the languages of tea-estate workers in Assam and Darjeeling, following the migration of diverse people to tea estates for
Putting the year in perspective, editor Roman Gautam and the hosts of Himal’s podcasts take a look back at the highlights, stories and episodes that shaped an extraordinary and challenging year
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
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
The Pakistani state has always tried to define itself as against ethnic identities, particularly the Pashtuns, and the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement is pushing back, says socio-political commentator Hurmat Ali Shah
A conversation on the collective diary of 21 Afghan women writers who offer courageous and intimate testimonies on the events of August 2021, life under Taliban rule and far from home in exile
Veteran journalist and Afghanistan analyst Kate Clark explains how Afghan people have been living under the Taliban’s ultra-conservative rule while grappling with global isolation and a crumbling economy
