Stories about South Asia from January, 2007
India: Cricket Advert Gone Bad
The advertisements for the India-West Indies cricket series don't quite do the trick. Almost As Good As Chocolate on all that is wrong with the advert. “At worst, these ads are racist. At best, they shout out a message that Indians are not hospitable and treat our guests terribly.”
Bangladesh: ULFA and Assam
A separatist armed outfit in India causes trouble for Bangladesh. Rezwan on how the government needs to make it's position clear. “With their involvement in the terrorist attacks in Bangladesh or the killing of the poor Biharis in Assam, ULFA is proving that they are just a mercenary group quite...
Pakistan: A Nobel for Edhi
All Things Pakistan hopes that Edhi gets a Nobel Prize and urges his readers to contribute to an ongoing initiative. “Irrespective of whether Abdul Sattar Edhi is a Pakistani or not, irrespective of how much most Pakistanis hold his selfless zeal in reverence – and irrespective also of all the...
Bangladesh: The Bubble
Salam Dhaka on the gaps observed in Bangladesh. “There is a huge gap between what the political circles, elites and “intellectuals” want to talk about and what the middle and lower middle class care about. If you talk to people in the lower middle class then the disconnect gets worse.”
South Asia: Human rights, blogosphere, traditions, democracy, discrimination, travel and festivals
Picks from different blogs from the following South Asian Countries: Bangladesh: After 5 years detention in Guantanamo, one Bangladeshi (Mobarak) was recently released by the US authorities. However he was arrested again by Bangladesh Airport police for interrogation as soon as he arrived in Dhaka. Naeem of Drishtipat blog is...
Nepal: Strikes and Traffic
Traffic comes to a sluggish halt because of a strike called in Nepal. United We Blog! on the situation and with a video. “The National Federation of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs have called an indefinite traffic strike (chakka jam) today to protest the torching of public vehicles in Lahan on Friday...
Sri Lanka: Peacemaking and Religion
Infoshare Research Unit points to a research titled “Religious Contributions to Peace Building”. “The report expresses both the difficulties and the successes of religious peacemaking, and show that properly conducted religious efforts can bear much fruit.”
Sri Lanka: Art and the Tamil Tiger
Biting sarcasm at ravana, as contribution of Tamil Tigers to art is discussed. “The head of HR confirmed that for functional artisans and pure artists alike, immediate post mortem appreciation is guaranteed with the LTTE’s rewarding martyrdom retirement plan.”
Nepal: Tiananmen Square Being Staged in Lahan
Madhesh.com has concerns about violence against citizens. “In Lahan, more than hundred innocent peaceful Madheshi protestors have been seriously injured from the brutal attack by government's armed forces to suppress their voices and peaceful protests.”
India: In Bihar
Feringhee: The Indian Diaries writes on going to Bihar. “Every week, the paper has an account of a prominent person's child, or even just successful middle-class person's, kidnapped and held for ransom. The headlines of the “Bihar Digest” section sometimes defy belief (“Child's fingers chopped off for stealing spinach”; “Son...
India: Indians in Kenya
Sepia Mutiny on the Indian community in Kenya. “Today, the community in Kenya is perceived, not without justification, as wealthy and aloof. Rajan is critical of what he sees as the community's lack of engagement with Kenya's many challenges.”
Sri Lanka: Conflict and Art
groundviews on conflict and its impact on art. “Among those artists who regularly emphasize the impact of conflict on society are Sri Lankan duo Bandu Manemperi and Roger Constantine. Their most recent exhibition was based on how human emotions have been numbed by frequent and continuous violence.”
Nepal: Maoists and Mainstream
Nepali Netbook on the Maoist way of arms and doing things and how it's impacted the mainstream parties and politics. “By the end of 1976, when B.P. Koirala finally fused nationalism and democracy into a plea for reconciliation, it was pretty clear that the Nepali Congress’ principal foreign sponsor had...
Bangladesh: End to end solution for religious events
Salam Dhaka on glimpses of life in Bangladesh, like meeting Huzur. “You want an end to end solution for all your religious events? Hanif is your man. In 2 hours notice he will buy a goat, bring in a professional butcher and get it all done. If you want the...
The Global Voices Show #4
Finally — the fourth episode of The Global Voices Show has landed! In this edition we feature excerpts from the following podcasts: - The IndiCast (India) – also see Global Voices article “The Blogospheres on Big Brother, Shilpa Shetty, Bullying and Racism“ – Pambazuka News (Zimbabwe) – Palabras Libres (Bolivia)...
Pakistan: Chinese on a Pakistani vehicle
Chinese and Japanese languages make an appearance on transport vehicles in Pakistan. Light Within says “Over the past few years, Chinese and Japanese characters have increasingly appeared on Pakistani public transport as decorations. .. I’ve been fortunate to have a Chinese language expert at home as my wife so we...
Nepal: Predictions for the blogosphere
Nepali Voices has predictions for the Nepali Blogosphere in 2007. “The biggest catalyst in the increasing number of blogs will be the traditional media. It will be difficult to leave out the buzz of blogs. They will covering blogs and blogging thus promoting the ‘blog literacy’.
Nepal: Inheritance of Loss
Deepak Adhikari on Kiran Desai's Inheritance of Loss. “It was nice to read the story of Gorkhaland movement at a time when the demand is resurfacing. …I was in this small hill station Kalimpong in mid 1990s. A religious group called Krishna Pranami from Itahari organized a tour to Kalimpong...
Bangladesh: The racist subcontinent
Reacting to the Big Brother Racism controversy, Mezba says “The whole subcontinent. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. We discriminate daily based on caste, skin fairness, gender, religion (or inter-religion as in Sunni/Shia so on). Yet we are always the first ones to criticize.”
India: Blogging Monkeys
A mainstream media newspaper publishes a cartoon that seems to hint that bloggers are nothing but typing monkeys. Marketing Practice comments on the cartoon in the context of Consumer Generated Media. “The depiction of the blogger as a monkey also reveals another side of the arrogance: do the editors feel...
Terrorism in Assam and Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, a take in Hindi!
These last two weeks have seen fairly good amount of activity in the Hindi Blogosphere. With the political & other elections season coming up, its hard to ignore it & the resulting activity. So while Rachna composed a poem on elections describing how the environment would be in a village...
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