V T Rajshekar’s idiosyncratic dreams of revolution were the engire of 'Dalit Voice'. In scores of articles and monographs, he elaborated a contrarian vision of India’s history with caste identity and ideology at its centre. Read the full piece on Himal's website.

Presenting the first visual cover of 2026! V T Rajshekhar deployed Dalit Voice in an assault on the caste system, amplifying Ambedkar and exposing both the Brahminical enemies of Indian democracy and its Brahminical guardians : https://www.himalmag.com/politics/dalit-voice-vtr-rajshekar-india-caste

🎥 Only a few more days to watch ‘Before You Were My Mother’ by Nepali filmmaker Prasuna Dongol, who uses home video archives and contemporary testimonies to better understand the journey of her mother from #Manipur to #Nepal. Subscribe to watch before Jan. 8: bit.ly/ScreenSouthasia

Elsewhere in Southasia. News roundup for the week of 29 December. Sign up for Southasia Weekly here : https://www.himalmag.com/newsletters

After #Pakistan's government summoned the UK high commissioner over comments made at a pro-Imran Khan rally in England, revisit a 2023 piece about the country's descent into autocracy by Salman Rafi Sheikh https://www.himalmag.com/politics/imran-khan-pakistan-descends-into-autocracy

📚🎙️ “Living in the Western world as a woman of colour, I often felt invisible in spaces – I had to assert myself to be given the same voice and recognition as white women.” A conversation with Nirvana Bhandary on 'Unsanskari: A Feminist Life': https://youtu.be/4TeurmZBBcA

“Even as #Myanmar's junta ploughs ahead with the election, international condemnation is growing,” writes Ma Thida about the ongoing elections https://www.himalmag.com/politics/myanmar-2025-election-junta-military

Jeevan Ravindran, Sri Lankan human rights journalist and researcher on why she contributes to Himal. If you value the work that we do, consider becoming a patron : https://payhere.lk/pay/o84a18f40

In light of reports of low turnout and voter intimidation during the ongoing #Myanmar elections, revisit a 2016 piece about the decline in freedom of expression in the country by Ma Thida https://www.himalmag.com/comment/a-fierce-fear

The 2007 assault on the news director of the state-owned Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation by Mervyn Silva, and the stalling of the investigation and case, remains a blot on media freedom during and after Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime. #SriLanka #Reportage

🎥 #Southasia film spotlight: Prasuna Dongol is a documentary filmmaker, curator and educator based in Kathmandu, #Nepal. Watch her 2022 film 'Before You Were My Mother' with Screen Southasia before Jan. 8: bit.ly/ScreenSouthasia

Anupam Debashis Roy, PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Oxford, and the Editor-in-Chief of Muktipotro on why he contributes to Himal. If you value the work we do, consider becoming a patron via the link in bio.

Excerpts from Southasia Weekly. Subscribe to our newsletter through the link in bio. #Bangladesh

The 2007 assault on the news director of the state-owned Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation by Mervyn Silva, and the stalling of the investigation and case, remains a blot on media freedom during and after Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime. Bingun Menaka Gamage writes https://ow.ly/YN8X50XQWey

The unrest that followed Sharif Osman Hadi’s death was 18 months in the making, as an unresolved revolution, selective justice and tolerated street violence steadily destabilised Bangladesh. Cyrus Naji writes: https://www.himalmag.com/politics/muhammad-yunus-osman-hadi-violence-media-bangladesh

🎙️ Himal is releasing transcripts of its #PartitionsoftheHeart podcast episodes, hosted by Harsh Mander. Next up, episode 3, featuring the economist Amirullah Khan who talks about the deprivation of India’s Muslims and the lack of Muslim leaders. https://ow.ly/rfgT50XQUrn

📚🎙️ “Choice feminism is such an important thought to challenge because how can women really make free choices in a system that is designed to keep us oppressed?” A conversation with Nirvana Bhandary on 'Unsanskari: A Feminist Life': https://youtu.be/4TeurmZBBcA

“On 10 December, streets across #Myanmar emptied as many observed a “silent strike”, despite the junta’s efforts to ensure that business continued as usual,” writes Ma Thida https://www.himalmag.com/politics/myanmar-2025-election-junta-military#Myanmar

Ramrati was locked in a bathroom for two years. Her family insisted she was mentally unstable. A doctor agreed. Government authorities believed them. But was she really? A Himal Investigation on the realities of India’s crisis of domestic abuse by Romita Saluja https://ow.ly/fBC350XQwLF

"Seeing the electorate in #Bangladesh tire of their often impractical rhetoric, the former revolutionaries fear nothing as much as the Awami League’s return, which they see as a death sentence." Cyrus Naji writes: https://www.himalmag.com/politics/muhammad-yunus-osman-hadi-violence-media-bangladesh

“229 individuals have been subjected to punitive action under the military's harsh new electoral protection law in #Myanmar,” writes Ma Thida about the country's ongoing elections. https://www.himalmag.com/politics/myanmar-2025-election-junta-military

📚🎙️ “The word ‘feminist’ is something I didn’t hear or use to describe myself until my early twenties, because I had no women around me who called themselves a feminist.” A conversation with Nirvana Bhandary on 'Unsanskari: A Feminist Life': https://ow.ly/t03o50XQek8 #southasianliterature

🌏 ELSEWHERE IN SOUTHASIA News roundup for the week of 22 December. Sign up for Southasia Weekly, your radar on the region: bit.ly/HimalNewsletters

"Last Thursday, when mobs set fire to #Bangladesh’s leading newspapers, obliterated what little remained of Mujibur Rahman’s house, no one could agree on who to blame." Cyrus Naji writes: https://www.himalmag.com/politics/muhammad-yunus-osman-hadi-violence-media-bangladesh

🎙️ "You have to win back democratic space. It's doesn't come from the heavens. It has to be earned. Politicians have to understand that by fighting amongst themselves, they only empower the military further," says Ayesha Jalal #Pakistan #27thamendment. https://youtu.be/eXiuTQ6ppkM

#Myanmar's election, orchestrated by the generals, is an attempt to legitimise the military’s grip on power. A closer look, however, reveals a repressive legal framework that entrenches military control. Read the commentary by Ma Thida: https://ow.ly/sfwO50XPTNQ

📚🎙️“A lot of social media is still deeply sexist and misogynistic. So for young women to grow up seeing just this certain ideal of beauty is still really harmful.” A conversation with Nirvana Bhandary on what it means to be a feminist in Nepal today: https://youtu.be/4TeurmZBBcA

🎥 Next on Screen Southasia: a documentary connecting three generations of women from Manipur to New York. Nepali filmmaker Prasuna Dongol’s ‘Before You Were My Mother’ (2022) will stream January 1-8 with our *free* monthly program. Subscribe here: bit.ly/ScreenSouthasia

"Certain groups were allowed to break the law in defence of the 'spirit of the July Revolution', but it was impossible to know who those groups were and what exactly they were allowed or not allowed to do." Cyrus Naji writes about #Pakistan: https://ow.ly/vQ9950XOLKK#Pakistan

🎙️ "To say that there's democratic backsliding in #Pakistan is laughable. Pakistan has always been a military authoritarian state," says Ayesha Jalal about the 27th constitutional amendment. https://youtu.be/eXiuTQ6ppkM

#Myanmar’s 2025-26 election is a sham designed to entrench military control, and many international bodies are rejecting the junta's attempt to legitimise its rule. Read the new piece by Ma Thida: https://www.himalmag.com/politics/myanmar-2025-election-junta-military#Myanmar’s

"While the interim government is unequivocal in its condemnation of outright violence in #Bangladesh, it has sent mixed signals on moral policing and non-violent intimidation." Cyrus Naji writes: https://www.himalmag.com/politics/muhammad-yunus-osman-hadi-violence-media-bangladesh

Romita Saluja reports on the shocking case of Ramrati and India’s broken structures of care and legal redress. A Himal Investigation : https://www.himalmag.com/culture/domestic-abuse-india-woman-locked-toilet

Myanmar’s election on 28 December will entrench military control. Our top story in Southasia Weekly on the #Myanmar election. Sign up to stay informed bit.ly/HimalNewsletters

A husband in Haryana locked his wife in a bathroom for two years. He spent less than 24 hours in jail before coming out on bail. Then she went back to him. Romita Saluja reports on the shocking case of Ramrati in a Himal Investigation : https://ow.ly/51VS50XOKYx

Writer Rosie Roti on why she supports Himal. Independent Southasian voices need space to think and write freely. Help us reach 100 new patrons. Payment link in bio.

📚🎙️“When you’ve never been given a voice and we suddenly ask women to rise up, tell us what you think, revolt – it’s not that easy at all.” A conversation with Nirvana Bhandary on 'Unsanskari: A Feminist Life': https://youtu.be/4TeurmZBBcA

🎙️The political commentator Ayesha Jalal says #Pakistan's 27th amendment only further solidifies the long-standing military authoritarianism and manipulation of the judiciary. #StateOfSouthasia https://youtu.be/eXiuTQ6ppkM#Pakistan

🎥 Coming soon to Screen Southasia: ‘Before You Were My Mother’ (2022), by Nepali filmmaker Prasuna Dongol. Watch as she examines the journeys of her mother, her grandmother and herself. Subscribe to watch January 1-8 with our *free* monthly program: https://ow.ly/T5Z450XOlWL

🎥 Coming soon to Screen Southasia: ‘Before You Were My Mother’ (2022), by Prasuna Dongol, in which the Nepali filmmaker recontextualizes the journeys of her mother, her grandmother and herself. Subscribe to watch January 1-8 with our *free* monthly program: https://ow.ly/T5Z450XOlWL

Women continue to speak, organise, and refuse erasure, even when the law falls short. The challenge to male power in Kerala, once rare and isolated, is now visible and impossible to ignore, writes Sumithra Prasanna #Avalkoppam #Dileep #Kerala https://ow.ly/63Sw50XOkyx

The burning of the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star was not an isolated act of violence. Cyrus Naji traces how Bangladesh reached this point. https://www.himalmag.com/politics/muhammad-yunus-osman-hadi-violence-media-bangladesh

Revisiting Jinnah through the archives. A selection of Himal articles that reflect on his political thought, legacy, and the many ways he has been interpreted over time. #SouthasianHistory #Archives

In 2025, our editors worked on stories that asked difficult questions, resisted simplification, and kept Southasia at the centre. 100 for Himal is our year-end goal to bring in 100 new patrons who believe independent journalism needs time, care and backing : https://payhere.lk/pay/o84a18f40

Zehra Khan on why she supports Himal. Independent Southasian voices need space to think and write freely. Help us reach 100 new patrons : https://ow.ly/w5Hs50XNCLy

The political commentator Ayesha Jalal says Pakistan's 27th amendment only further solidifies the long-standing military authoritarianism and manipulation of the judiciary. Listen to the full podcast on Himal's Youtube channel and our website.

‘Mother Mary Comes To Me’, Arundhati Roy’s memoir of love, loyalty and the larger-than-life Mrs Roy, puts into perspective a whole career of writing about the problem of belonging. A review essay by @supriyan.bsky.social: https://www.himalmag.com/politics/arundhati-roy-mother-mary-memoir

The political commentator Ayesha Jalal says Pakistan's 27th amendment only further solidifies the long-standing military authoritarianism and manipulation of the judiciary. Listen to a new episode of the State of Southasia podcast here : https://ow.ly/Kntf50XN7C5

Harsh Mander on supporting independent Southasian journalism. We’re aiming for 100 new patrons by year-end. If you value this space, consider supporting us : https://ow.ly/c1tW50XN6Pk

What marks this moment in Kerala as different from earlier decades is the persistence of resistance because women are refusing to wait passively for the system to change, writes Sumithra Prasanna #Avalkoppam #Dileep #actorassaultcase #Kerala https://ow.ly/lLGb50XMZoK