The Assamese icon sang and spoke the language of the secular, and his death – like his art – united Assam’s Hindus and Muslims, tribals and non-tribals, rich and poor
This week in Himal
Sanjoy Hazarika writes about the unifying legacy of Assamese musical icon Zubeen Garg, bringing together Hindus and Muslims, and the rich and poor across India in
Two new books look at how Johnson & Johnson for decades put profits ahead of patients – including with contaminated baby power and faulty hip implants – and expose the failures of pharmaceutical regulation in India and the United States
Last month, as we prepared to fly into Kathmandu, our colleagues from Nepal warned us to prepare for rain, and we packed umbrellas and raincoats. As it happened, we only
Pro-Israel groups and Buddhist extremists are expanding Israeli influence in Sri Lanka, stoking anti-Muslim sentiment as the government maintains ambivalence around Palestine and the Gaza genocide
On the precipice of generalisations, ‘The Gujaratis’ exposes a shameful underside of Gujarati pride, Gujarat’s conflicted cultural landscape, and the community’s broader moral and political failings
At our edit meeting this Wednesday, we debated what should be highlighted as the main story in this newsletter. Should we talk about the broader implications of Sonam Wangchuk’s
A youth bulge, economic failures, corruption and the perversion of democratic processes are shared causes behind the protest movements that have toppled governments in Southasia
This week was a blur as Himal geared up to host a conversation analysing recent youth-led protests in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. From identifying and reaching out to
Relangi Selvarajah’s killing in 2005 is a reminder of the risks faced by critics of Tamil militancy and the LTTE during Sri Lanka’s civil war – and of the persisting impunity around crimes against journalists in the country
Two weeks ago, Nayantara and I were brainstorming ideas for season 2 of “Partitions of the Heart: Conversations with Harsh Mander” while we were in Kathmandu. We had already seen
