Stories about South Asia from March, 2012
India: Arresting Tibetan Activists
Dilip D'Souza at Death Ends Fun comments on the arrests of Tibetan activists in India: “we gave the Tibetans shelter when they fled from the excesses of China. Now we arrest them when Chinese premiers come visiting.”
South Asia: Every Day Is Earth Hour for Us
Today many countries of the world are observing Earth Hour, an event to make people aware of the climate change by turning off their non-essential lights for one hour. Millions of people in South Asia have no access to electricity and the demand of electricity is much bigger than supply.
India: Is God Now An Industry?
Ugich Konitari at Gappa writes about the VIP pilgrims of the famous Hill Temple at Tirupati, who keep the ordinary pilgrims waiting for many hours for their chance to perform rituals. “Should money be the deciding factor in defining classes of worship?” the blogger asks.
India: Media And The State
Aagan reports that a recent circular from the West Bengal Ministry of Mass Education Extension and Library Services caused much buzz on mainstream and social media. The West Bengal government has decided that it will not stock any “politically funded” newspaper in government libraries.
India, Bangladesh: Caught In The Cyber War
A cyber war between Bangladesh and India broke out last month as Bangladeshi hackers defaced Indian border security Force's website in protest of the recent border killings by BSF. Indian hacker groups retaliated by defacing Bangladesh government ministry websites and a cyber war followed.
Nepal: Call for Submissions for Nepal International Indigenous Film Festival
The 2012 Nepal Indigenous Film Festival is calling out for submissions of any type of film related to Indigenous youth produced after 1 January, 2008. Submitted films should be made by indigenous youth or should focus on positive efforts indigenous youth are doing to honor their heritage. More details about...
Sri Lanka: How Should We React To Beggars?
The Puppeteer invokes the debate “how should we react to beggars?” How do we know they are sincere or professionals?
Pakistan: Demand for Independence of Sindh
A freedom march organized by one of the biggest Sindhi nationalist parties, has drawn a huge crowd in Karachi city. The news was either blocked or under-reported in most of the Pakistani mainstream Urdu media channels.
India: Young Women Learning About Participatory Video
A group of young women in the slums of Hyderabad in India are learning how to make videos to change their communities, and in this next film the group of young girls explain what they've learned and how they are helping their communities and themselves through their work.
India: The Last Handwritten Newspaper in the World
The earliest forms of newspaper were handwritten and now 'The Musalman' probably is the last handwritten newspaper in the world. This Urdu language newspaper was established in 1927 and has been published daily in the Chennai city of India ever since.
Sri Lanka: Reactions to US Resolution at UNHRC
A US resolution was recently passed at a UN Human Rights Council meeting on Sri Lanka seeking to encourage the government to investigate allegations of human rights violations during the country's civil war against the LTTE and implement the recommendations made by a reconciliation commission. Netizens react.
Pakistan: Karachi launches campaign against TTP
Zia Ur Rehman reports that an awareness campaign against the horrible atrocities by the religious group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has begun in Karachi. An NGO named Anjuman-e-Muhibban Pakistan (Organisation of Lovers of Pakistan) launched the campaign.
Pakistan: Using Social Networking Sites To Incite Violence
Tufail Ahmad at Pak Tea House posts an investigative story on how Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is inciting violence against Shi'ite Muslims and spreading antisemitism using Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and other Internet tools.
India: How Many Lives More To Ignite A Movement?
Rita Banerji makes a strong case of negligence of the civil society of India in addressing the violence against the girl child and the obsession with male progeny and masculine lineage.
India: Renewing the Pledge Against Tuberculosis on World TB Day
In India, where TB is one of the biggest health challenges, the World Tuberculosis (TB) Day was observed in various parts of the country. A nationwide communication campaign has recently been launched in India, giving her a new superhero, Bulgam Bhai, to help fight the TB battle.
Bangladesh: Court Orders Shutting Down of Facebook Pages for Blasphemous Contents
On 21 March a Bangladesh court ordered concerned authorities to shut down five Facebook pages and a website for blaspheming the Prophet Mohammed, the Koran and other religious subjects. Netizens fear whether this ruling, if imposed, will be used as a precedence to curb freedom of speech in the future.
India: Tweet Fuels Communal Tensions in Kolkata
Earlier this week, certain areas of Kolkata in West Bengal, India, were brought to a grinding halt by protesters protesting against a certain tweet, allegedly posted by an Indian model, which was in turn published in a leading English daily. Netizens reported from the ground and also discussed the incident on social networks.
Pakistan: Killing of Ahmadis To Be Made Legal?
The Horizon reports that a religious party in Pakistan demanded in an anti-Ahmadiyya conference held in Lahore that “those considered apostate by the Muslims clerics should be put to sword, a view developed through the dark ages of the Muslim Ummah”.
Bhutan: The Criterion For Judging the best schools
Passu Diary dicusses what should be the criterion for judging the best schools in Bhutan.
Bangladesh: The Plight of the Indigenous People
In Bangladesh there are more than 45 indigenous tribes (adibashis). Every day some of them are being subjected to discrimination, oppression and abuse. Their plights can be heard in indigenous blogs and other social media platforms.
China: Reactions to India's Poor and Homeless
Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated Chinese netizens’ reactions to a set of photos that show India's poor and homeless.
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