“There will be a long road ahead in Myanmar, but what encourages me most is that society has decided: without their consent, nobody can govern them. When society understands its role, it can protect itself.” Ma Thida on Myanmar's Spring Revolution:

🎙️ “I wanted to become a full-time #RSS poracharak and that’s when the talk about caste started,” says Bhanwar Meghwanshi to Harsh Mander on Saffron Siege. #Dalit #caste #Hindutva

The world’s largest refugee settlement hides a bitter truth: For Bangladesh’s Rohingya, survival means surrendering freedom. Shafiur Rahman writes buff.ly/TZZhEvn (March, 2025) #RohingyaCrisis #AidIndustry

#SaudiArabia has had a decades-long tilt towards #Pakistan, rooted in religious affinity, but Riyadh today has deep structural reasons to keep New Delhi onside, writes Salman Rafi Sheikh

“The war in Myanmar doesn’t end at the border. From Manipur to Mae Sot, refugees from the junta face harassment, detention & deportation. Revisit Makepeace Sitlhou's commentary on why both India and Thailand are failing them.

Support independent journalism and help produce crucial analysis of Southasia. Click on the link to become a paying Patron. buff.ly/dR6n1KA

🎙️ “I wanted to become a full-time #RSS poracharak and that’s when the talk about caste started,” says Bhanwar Meghwanshi to Harsh Mander on Saffron Siege. #Dalit #caste #Hindutva

“Alpa Shah’s ‘The Incarcerations’ asks a pressing question: What does the fate of the BK-16 tell us about the country’s uneasy relationship with dissent and the fate of Indian democracy itself?” Uttaran Das Gupta writes:

"Looking back at Chemmani in 1999 is essential not just as cautionary history, but also as a lens through which to view the choices – and the inaction – of the present." Ingrid Massagé on Sri Lanka’s old failures of justice:

Geopolitics in #Southasia is changing, with SAARC dead, a #China-backed bloc taking shape and #SaudiArabia in a defence pact with #Pakistan that might tilt the regional balance against #India. Read writes Salman Rafi Sheikh 's analysis

🎙️On Saffron Siege: “In the Hindi belt, especially rural areas, joining the RSS is not a matter of choosing for young boys, they end up in a shakha by default,” social activist Bhanwar Meghwanshi tells Harsh Mander

🎙️ New episode of Saffron Siege: Social activist Bhanwar Meghwanshi tells Harsh Mander that the RSS and the BJP have pursued a deliberate strategy to divide #Dalit communities for political power. buff.ly/nJOTowx

📣 🎙️ On Saffron Siege: Social activist Bhanwar Meghwanshi speaks to Harsh Mander about his journey from RSS worker to critic of the Sangh, and how the RSS and BJP are using Dalits for political power. Episode out on Wednesday, 12 November. #mustwatch

#China and #SaudiArabia are attempting to rework Southasia’s geopolitics, but the problems of terrorism, economic fragility, the #India–#Pakistan rivalry may prove too much, writes Salman Rafi Sheikh

“Women are the largest minority in India,” said the Supreme Court — pointing to their shrinking presence in Parliament. Across Southasia, women have led nations — but have they really led differently? 🧵 #India #Southasia #WomenInPolitics

Marking one year of Sri Lanka’s National People’s Power government: from the war on terror to the war on drugs, militarisation continues to shape state policy. Ambika Satkunanathan explores how this deepens human rights restrictions. #SriLanka #HumanRights

Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman meeting China’s vice president Han Zheng in October 2025. #China and #SaudiArabia are navigating perilous fault lines in Southasia that could just as easily unravel their ambitions, writes Salman Rafi Sheikh

This month marks the birth centenary of the renowned #Bengali filmmaker #RitwikGhatak. To celebrate his contributions to #Southasian cinema, revisit Partha Chatterjee’s essay from November 2003: buff.ly/oBa2Joh

📚🎙️As #Myanmar’s Spring Revolution approaches its fifth year, the writer and activist Ma Thida (@mathida.bsky.social) joins us on the Southasia Review of Books podcast to discuss her new book, 'A-Maze', and the country’s long and unfinished journey toward democracy:

Alpa Shah’s ‘The Incarcerations’ examines the #BhimaKoregaon case – as a symbol of how dissent and democracy are under assault in Modi’s #India. A review essay by Uttaran Das Gupta: buff.ly/WsPdjBn

A boat of #Rohingya refugees has capsized near Malaysia, leaving at least 11 dead. For more on the difficulties faced by Rohingya fleeing to #Bangladesh amidst persecution in #Myanmar, revisit our #StateofSouthasia podcast episode from March featuring journalist Shafiur Rahman

Honoring World #Urdu Day (9 November) through a selection of readings tracing the language’s radical and intimate histories. #worldurduday #southasianliterature #feministwriting buff.ly/dc14Gok

"The Chemmani exhumations present yet another opportunity for Sri Lanka to confront and break through the entrenched cycle of impunity that has prevailed in the country for decades." Ingrid Massagé writes:

📣🔥 Saffron Siege 🔥📣 A new podcast series from @Himalistan and @karwanemohabbat, marking the centenary of the RSS. buff.ly/CPXBFiG

📚🎙️“Even now, in 2025, when the military junta says we’re going to have an election, nobody believes them. They have betrayed the people again and again — not just in 1990, but in the 2020 election as well.” @mathida.bsky.social on #Myanmar's Spring Revolution:

Tellingly, many Indian media outlets described #ZohranMamdani as the first Southasian to be elected mayor of New York, avoiding mention of his identity as an Indian-American. Subscribe to Southasia Weekly: buff.ly/ndxoQK5

Where in #Southasia was this photo taken? Take a guess in Snap Southasia, the photography segment of Southasia Weekly: bit.ly/HimalNewslet...

We've got our finger on the pulse of #Southasia. Sign up to our newsletters to get the latest from Himal and across the region. buff.ly/UacCbcL

“Alpa Shah’s ‘The Incarcerations’ asks a pressing question: What does the fate of the BK-16 tell us about the country’s uneasy relationship with dissent and the fate of Indian democracy itself?” Uttaran Das Gupta writes:

#ZohranMamdani has won the NYC mayoral race. In his victory speech, he quoted Indian prime minister #JawaharlalNehru from his 1947 “Tryst with Destiny” speech. Read more about Nehru’s legacy with a book review by Tisaranee Gunasekara from our archive:

🎙️ How has #TamilNadu resisted the #RSS? On Saffron Siege, T M Krishna tells Harsh Mander that the RSS has struggled to break through the state’s Tamil identity-based faith traditions. #karwanemohabbat

“Alpa Shah’s account shows how the making of the idea of “Urban Naxals” – the Hindu Right’s favourite term for the BK-16 and any other opponents – has become a symbol of the silencing of critics in Modi’s #India.” A review essay by Uttaran Das Gupta:

Rajasthan, India, Kathmandu, Nepal or Dhaka, Bangladesh? Guess where this photo was taken in Southasia Weekly: bit.ly/HimalNewslet...

For your Saturday Evening Read: In the 2023 Himal Fiction Fest, writer Saher Hasnain infuses self-deprecating humor into a tale of family ties and thoughts of escape amidst humdrum domestic duties. Read the full short story from the archive here: buff.ly/24SMiah

#Mamdani’s rise has been met with a relatively muted and even critical reaction in #India due to his Gujarati Muslim heritage and his staunch criticism of India’s prime minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. Sign up to Southasia Weekly here: bit.ly/HimalNewslet...

“At its core, Alpa Shah’s ‘The Incarcerations’ is not just about the 16 accused activists but also about the state machinery that put them behind bars, part of a system where law and politics merge to stifle dissent.” A review essay by Uttaran Das Gupta:

🎙️On the latest episode of Saffron Siege, T M Krishna says that the #RSS has never been able to contend with the Shaiva and Vaishnava #Tamil traditions. “The RSS is always seen as a Vedic Hindu identity. So this tension exists.” #karwanemohabbat #Hindutva #RSS

Journalist Rana Ayyub and her father have been targeted with death threats from a profile matching gangster Laurence Bishnoi who demanded she write about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Revisit her 2024 interview about the dangers of doing journalism in #India

“The #BhimaKoregaon case has, indeed, become one of the most chilling indicators of democracy’s decline in #India since Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party #BJP came to national power.” A review essay by Uttaran Das Gupta: buff.ly/WsPdjBn

In the wake of violence at political campaign events in #Bangladesh ahead of scheduled 2026 elections, revisit our #StateofSouthasia episode with Jyoti Rahman from last fall which discusses necessary reforms under the interim #Yunus government

Last day to watch 'Bhedako Oon Jasto... In Search for a Song' directed by Kiran Krishna Shrestha for the November edition of Screen Southasia. Subscribe to our *free* monthly documentary program in partnership with Film Southasia, and stay tuned for next month's film bit.ly/ScreenSoutha...

NEWSLETTER | Southasia Weekly On 5 November, Zohran Mamdani won the race for the post of New York mayor, in an election that saw record turnout, beating out establishment candidates. Sign up to Southasia Weekly here: bit.ly/HimalNewslet...

Alpa Shah’s ‘The Incarcerations’ examines the #BhimaKoregaon case – as a symbol of how dissent and democracy are under assault in Modi’s #India. A review essay by Uttaran Das Gupta: buff.ly/WsPdjBn

📚🎙️ @mathida.bsky.social, among #Myanmar’s leading activists and intellectuals, discusses her new book, 'A-Maze' and the country’s unfinished struggle for democracy on the Southasia Review of Books podcast. Tune in on Youtube:

🎙️ “An utter failure of the Dravidian movement [is that] we have one of the highest in honour killings in this country.” T M Krishna tells Harsh Mander on Saffron Siege #Hindutva #RSS #TamilNadu

🎥 🇳🇵 🎵 Only two more days to screen 'Bhedako Oon Jasto … In Search of a Song’ (2006), a soulful exploration of #Nepal's folk music directed by Kiran Krishna Shrestha (#filmsouthasia). Watch the film before it expires on Saturday, November 8. Subscribe here: bit.ly/ScreenSoutha...

"The Chemmani exhumations present yet another opportunity for Sri Lanka to confront and break through the entrenched cycle of impunity that has prevailed in the country for decades." Ingrid Massagé writes:

🎙️“#Tamil people already have a language to resist because of their history that most other people don’t have – whether it is our faith tradition, rationalist tradition or language identity,” T M Krishna tells Harsh Mander on the latest episode of Saffron Siege #Hindutva #RSS

The court case of ex-#lka president #Ranilwickremesinghe has been postponed until January. To learn more about the circumstances leading up to his arrest for mishandling state funds, read @MarlonA.bsky.social commentary from August.

Support independent journalism and help produce crucial analysis of Southasia. Click on the link to become a paying Patron. buff.ly/dR6n1KA