The list of those killed – which includes citizens of Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan – shows casualty figures far higher in some cases than those so far released or acknowledged by governments of the region. Report by Saroj Pathirana
https://ow.ly/RZYz50Yqzue
A landslide victory in #Nepal’s 2026 election sees the RSP sweep out the old establishment, leaving Balendra Shan and Rabi Lammicchane as the big new faces of Nepali politics, commentary by Pranaya Rana
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/balen-shah-rabi-lammicchane-rsp-nepal
🌏 SOUTHASIA WEEKLY: The hostilities following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran and the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have sent shockwaves throughout Southasia. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Subscribe to our newsletter: bit.ly/HimalNewsletters
"Southasia has become a graveyard for journalism". As attacks on media rights occur across Southasia, Himal investigates the ongoing crisis of media freedom. As public trust in the watchdogs of democracy erodes, we explain why it matters beyond the newsroom: https://youtu.be/vEFXJ0ryq2M
In light of recent amnesties granted to political prisoners in #Myanmar, revisit a January 2024 piece from Andrew M Jefferson about the junta's suppression of citizens via imprisonment
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/myanmar-prison-junta-coup-political-prisoner-insein
In light of the Sri Lankan Navy's recent rescue operation of an Iranian vessel in the Indian Ocean amidst the war in West Asia, revisit an October 2025 article about the expansion of #Israel's influence on the island (#lka) by Tisaranee Gunasekara
https://ow.ly/iS9K50YpZ3i
Read our latest report about the real toll of Southasians fighting in the Russo-Ukrainian war, and become a patron today:
https://www.himalmag.com/support-himal
New data from Ukraine shows Sri Lankans top Southasian death toll, accounting for 275 of 455 killed, while Southasian fighters and their families report human trafficking and coercion in recruitment, Saroj Pathirana writes (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project)
https://ow.ly/tp1L50YpvrI
Screen Southasia filmmaker spotlight: Sourav Sarangi is a filmmaker from South Bengal. He's a lifetime fellow in the Global Media Maker’s cohort and a NIPKOW fellow in Germany. Watch his 2012 film ‘Char… No-Man’s Island’ by 8 March with our *free* monthly service: bit.ly/ScreenSouthasia
In light of the US offering its full support to #Pakistan in its conflict with #Afghanistan amidst the developing war with #Iran in West Asia, revisit a June 2025 piece from Salman Rafi Sheikh assessing the countries' geopolitical ties
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/pakistan-iran-israel-us-trump
"Outside observers may be surprised by an electoral alliance between a party demanding the return of a Hindu monarchy and a supposedly atheist, republican Communist party. Nepalis, however, will barely bat an eyelid," writes Amish Mulmi
https://ow.ly/ll5350YpsQ2
"In #Nepal's 2026 election, campaigning has largely moved online, but so has abuse and harassment directed at women candidates". Commentary by Pranaya Rana and Niruta Khatri
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/nepal-women-politics-online-abuse
Read our 2026 Nepal election coverage and become a patron of Himal today: https://www.himalmag.com/support-himal
🇳🇵🗳️ Introducing Himal's March 2026 virtual cover: Nepal's post-uprising election.
Explore Himal's #Nepal coverage ahead of the elections, scheduled for 5 March:
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/nepal-election-politics-voters-parliament
As K P Sharma Oli battles the newcomer Balen Shah in the 2026 #Nepal election, the CPN-UML’s turn to cronyism and conservative nationalism under his watch is thrown into stark relief. Commentary by Amish Mulmi
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/nepal-communist-oli-balen-shah
In #Nepal's first election after the Gen Z protests, voters will choose between distinct political personalities – Balen Shah, Gagan Thapa and K P Sharma Oli – and different directions for the country’s democracy. Commentary by Sanjeev
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/nepal-balen-shah-rsp-gagan-oli
In Nepal’s 2026 general election, only a tenth of candidates for direct election are women, and online abuse combined with patriarchy skews the political field against them. Commentary by Pranaya Rana and Niruta Khatri available now
https://www.himalmag.com/politics/nepal-women-politics-online-abuse
Become a patron to support Himal: https://www.himalmag.com/support-himal
In a remarkable feat of access, documentarian Sourav Sarangi shares the story of a 14-year-old boy who moves rice across the border between India and Bangladesh to make a living on his precarious island. ‘Char… No-Man’s Island’ is streaming 1-8 March with Screen Southasia: https://ow.ly/lieL50YnSnf
From Modi’s address in Israel to renewed scrutiny of violence in Gaza, and from polarising rhetoric in Assam to generational churn in Nepal, this week’s edition of Southasia Weekly situates events within longer regional histories. Subscribe here : https://ow.ly/ZLpp50YnEmj
The narrative of Nepal’s 2026 election has centred on three political personalities – Balendra Shah, Gagan Thapa and K P Sharma Oli – but that framing oversimplifies the stakes. The bigger question is institutional: can Nepal reconcile urgency with restraint? https://ow.ly/NJai50YnE0o
If you would like more book recommendations, please consider subscribing to Southasia Review of Books : https://ow.ly/lhK950YfFSe
Write to shwethas@himalmag.com for any new books, authors or events you would like to see featured.
What do the upcoming Nepal elections mean for a country still navigating the turbulence of its recent past? Himal's latest podcast tries to unpack this question.
🎧 Listen :
Youtube - https://ow.ly/GW1x50Ynn8N
Spotify - https://ow.ly/joXN50Ynn8O
Apple Podcasts - https://ow.ly/afgR50Ynn8T
In October 2024, we spoke to Zara Chowdhary about her memoir 'The Lucky Ones'. We revisit the conversation on the 24th anniversary of the pogrom: https://www.himalmag.com/podcast/zara-chowdhary-memoir-the-lucky-ones-muslim-family-2002-gujarat-pogrom
Nepal goes to the polls next week. But what do the elections actually mean for the country's fractured political landscape? Nayantara Narayanan, Associate Editor of Himal Southasian, and Roman Gautam, Editor of Himal Southasian, sit down with law student Anjali Sah and journalist Pranaya Rana.
On 9 February, the Assam wing of the BJP posted on X a video edited to suggest Sarma shooting at two visibly Muslim men. Sarma’s rhetoric in recent months has been in keeping with its incendiary messaging. Angshuman Choudhury, Manoranjan Pegu write : https://ow.ly/j6iT50YmryQ
A decade after Neha Dixit wrote about the 'love jihad' rhetoric policing inter-faith relationships, the Allahabad HC in India has ruled that Uttar Pradesh's anti-conversion law does not prohibit interfaith live-in relationships. Read 'An Unjust War': https://www.himalmag.com/comment/an-unjust-war
With Nepal's elections days away, we return to a conversation where poet Ujjwalla Maharjan, law student Anjali Sah and climate activist Tashi Lhazom talk about how a new Nepal must pay attention to marginalised groups.
Read here : https://ow.ly/ltTs50Ymk60
Listen : https://ow.ly/mbzA50Ymk61
Coming soon to Screen Southasia, the story of a young boy who ferries sacks of rice across the Ganga River while his home is transformed by erosion. Watch Sourav Sarangi’s ‘Char… No-Man’s Island’ (2012) from 1-8 March with our free documentary streaming program. Sign up :
https://ow.ly/MTH350YmfUT
Rigourous reporting requires a foundation of independence. Support Himal’s mission to provide nuanced coverage of India and the rest of Southasia.
Become a Himal patron today :
https://ow.ly/4FAp50YlRsn
