Comments from the readers December 2011
Look ahead
With regard to Maoist leader Mohan Baidya’s interview (Oct-Nov), in my opinion the Maoists of Nepal should move ahead by completing the peace and constitution-writing process for now. But that does not mean that they should stick to the status quo in the name of completing the peace process, as Baidya has rightly pointed out. The Maoists must ensure forward-looking state restructuring; otherwise, they will not be able to justify the blood of 13,000 people.
Ravi Kumar
Kathmandu
While violence could be the last resort for a free society from oppression and injustice, as Baidya argues, Nepal had democratic space – no matter how restricted it was – for social change in the aftermath of the of the Panchayat regime in 1990. For this reason, the Maoists cannot use this rationale to justify the insurgency’s bloodshed and the subsequent chaos in Nepal. And with the political strength they have in the current political configuration, the Maoists have the ability to do many things to change society for the better and ensure their rule for the next few decades to do further; instead, they seem to be unaware of this opportunity, and are instead waiting and biding their time to launch a revolt to seize state power. It is high time the Maoists change their ways for a peaceful and prosperous Nepal.
Sabina Shakya
Kathmandu
The plight of others
Mehjabeen Abidi-Habib et al have written a well-researched article (Revisiting Attabad, Oct-Nov). I would just like to point out that while the writers do discuss the miseries of 450 displaced families that have come about as a result of the formation of Attabad Lake, they have left out the plight of others who may have also been crippled as a result of this. As usual, the government is busy dealing with other scandals to look at such a ‘nitty-gritty’ issue.
Aafiyat Nazar
Gilgit-Baltistan
At the gates
Weena Pun’s article (Departure lounge, Oct-Nov) paints a very familiar picture. It is amazingly sad to see migrant workers lined up in front of the main airport gate, mineral-water bottles in hand, having little understanding of the hardships they may soon face. It is even sadder to see the ones who have overlooked the extreme labour conditions in West Asia and are going back again.
Richa
Nepal
Make demands!
Edward Gonzalez (Slowly and deliberately, March) rightly points out that by promoting an inclusive and transparent decision-making process to plan flood relief in Pakistan, democratic principles will be mainstreamed. Once citizens become more familiar with making demands and being part of the decision-making process, it will facilitate their involvement in other areas of policy-making. If there is any critique of this argument, it may be that people do not care enough to be involved in politics!
Baldoria
Lahore
More plain tales
Richard Simon’s fiction piece (A plain tale from the hills, September) reminded me of British actress and 1960s icon Julie Christie, who was born in British India. At the centre of Julie’s private drama is a key figure she is never known to have spoken of, never met and, according to acquaintances, has gone to every effort to block out of her mind: her secret half-sister. The girl, called June, was the result of a relationship between Julie’s father Frank St John Christie, the manager of a tea plantation in India, and one of his Indian tea-pickers. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
Sbarrkum
Sri Lanka
Heading north
Charles Haviland’s is a true account of what is happening along the A9 highway that goes to Jaffna (The road north, Oct-Nov). We hope he will be able to travel to the villages later and show the world how the war-affected families, many headed by single women, manage to survive.
Saro
Adelaide, South Africa
No-one won Sri Lanka’s war except those who sold arms and enjoyed the spoils of the conflict. It will take a long time, but things do now have a chance to settle and achieve a new prosperity.
Angel Silva
Veracruz, Mexico
Evil tourism!
I share Padraig Colman’s scepticism of travel (Just stay home, Oct-Nov). Tourism makes commodities out of human beings and their land, putting them on the market like cattle. It destroys both humans and the environment – one more way by which the rich exploit the poor. Commodification of nature and humanity is evil!
B Sivamani
Thiruvananthapuram
Tracing mythology
Arshia Sattar has done an excellent job of tracing the influence of mythology on India’s literature (The flaw in the crystal, September). I am also glad that the writer has praised Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses – something that ‘progressives’ generally do not do, out of fear or something else.
Prabin Kumar
Mumbai
Glimpses of Kathmandu 29 January 2013
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Capturing the essence of Kathmandu in its everyday moments.
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Poster power 13 September 2012
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Children of Southasia 5 March 2012
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Cause for hope and for sober reflection in UNICEF's latest report.
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Right to Information: Seeping to the capillaries 29 February 2012
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Aruna Roy interviewed by Kanak Mani Dixit
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Call for Proposals: Culture and Conflict Grants 1 December 2011
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Cinema as politics, politics as cinema 14 February 2014
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By N Manohar Reddy |
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A new book on Telugu film shows that the cultural industry was tied up with caste and regional politics.
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The art of statelessness 10 February 2014
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By Rudra Rakshit and Lora Tomas |
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Fragments of the lives of the Rohingya refugees in Jammu
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Reconstructing the North and democratising Sri Lanka 7 February 2014
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By Ahilan Kadirgamar |
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A recent talk on the need for democratic mobilisation of resources and a politics of self-reflexivity in rebuilding Sri Lanka’s...
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A room of his own 4 February 2014
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By Lora Tomas |
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In conversation with Goa-based poet Manohar Shetty
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Musharraf’s last stand 30 January 2014
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By Sher Ali Khan |
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A look at the difficulties and implications of trying a military ruler in Pakistan as Musharraf prepares to leave the country....
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There are many ways to destroy a city 23 January 2014
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By Taran N Khan |
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Reflections on the recent attack targetting a Kabul institution, the Taverna du Liban restaurant.
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Inside and Out 17 January 2014
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By Annie McCarthy |
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New queer writing from Southasia suggests shifts in attitudes since 2009.
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Archives of Southasia 14 January 2014
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By The Editors |
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In celebrating the reissue of Himal’s first print quarterly, we offer a series of articles on the state of archiving in...
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The life and letters of Elizabeth Draper 13 January 2014
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By N P Chekkutty |
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The world celebrated the tercentenary of writer Laurence Sterne (1713- 1768) in 2013. A tribute to the woman who inflamed...
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Courting prospects 9 January 2014
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By Sreedeep |
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Despite state overtures, localised identities provide a powerful argument against Baltistan’s coarsely wrought borders....
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Autonomy under siege 7 January 2014
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By Freny Manecksha |
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Three women in the militarised spaces of Kashmir describe traumatic accounts of sexual violence and their struggles to gain...
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Seeding the future 31 December 2013
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By Smriti Mallapaty |
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The use of modern seeds stands to erode the genetic diversity of local seed varieties in Nepal
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Himal Southasian is relaunched in print! |
Image: Penguin India
Penguin India withdraws The Hindus
On 11 February 2014, Penguin India decided to recall and destroy all remaining copies of Wendy Doniger’s book The Hindus: An Alternative History. The decision was part of an agreement between them and Shiksha Bachao Andolan, a Hindu campaign group that filed a case against the publishers in 2010, arguing that the book was insulting to Hindus and contained “heresies”.
From our archive:
Diwas Kc reviews The Hindus: An Alternative History. (March 2010)
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