Stories about South Asia from May, 2010
India, Bangladesh: Unicode Adoption For Bengali Language
Golam Mortuza Hossain at On a trail less travelled analyzes the progress of Unicode adoption for Bengali language in West Bengal, India and Bangladesh.
India: The Legend of Goopy And Bagha
Greatbong at Random Thoughts Of A Demented Mind pays tribute to Tapen Chattopadhyay, “the Bengali actor famous for playing the role of Goopy Gyne in Satyajit Ray’s Goopy-Bagha trilogy for children”.
MENA: To Draw or Not to Draw Muhammed
The fire ignited by the Everybody Draw Mohammed Day on Facebook, is still raging. Here is a snap shot of reactions from across the Middle East.
Pakistan: Netizens Protest The Blanket Ban Of Facebook And Other Sites
After the ban of Facebook, Youtube and several other sites in Pakistan, many netizens of the country are outraged by the decision.
Bhutan: Why Is It Important For A Politician To Blog?
Indian blogger Jabberwock quotes Tshering Tobgay, blogger and the leader of the opposition Party in the Bhutanese parliament answering the question ‘why is it important for a politician to blog': “because that forces you to pause and introspect and think about things, which is something politicians don’t always feel the...
Bangladesh: The First Bangladeshi Conquers Everest
Gurumia.com reports that Musa Ibrahim has become the first Bangladeshi to conquer the Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth.
Nepal: Why Not To Fear The Maoists?
“Nepal is scheduled to have coalition governments for a long, long time to come, just like India. That might be a good reason to not fear the Maoists,” comments Democracy For Nepal.
India: River Bath Festivals
Ram Banshal at India in Peril writes about the Indian tradition of river bath festivals and the high risk of exposing to viral infections via polluted river water.
Sri Lanka: Productivity Of The Ministers
Serendipity blog questions why the ministers of Sri Lanka are frequently summoned to the presidential secretariat and whether there could be more effective means of communication between the president and ministers in this electronic age.
India, Pakistan: Crossing The Border By Bus
The blogger at The life and times of two Indians in Pakistan writes about the painful ordeal of crossing the India-Pakistan border on road.
Bhutan: Literary Festival In Bhutan
Dorji Wangchuk writes about the recently concluded literary festival in Bhutan titled ‘Mountain Echoes’ which took place in Thimphu, the capital.
India: Outrage At Mangalore Plane Crash
An Air-India Express plane arriving from Dubai has crashed in Mangalore Bajpe airport in south India, killing most of the 166 people on board. It is the first major crash in India for some years, but many bloggers and Twitter users are not surprised at the news.
India: Outsourcing The Womb
AmreekanDesi says that India has taken outsourcing to a new level. The country is now outsourcing the womb to produce little babies for the childless parents across the world.
Sri Lanka: Emergency Flood Relief
In Sri Lanka thousands of people are affected by the recent heavy rains and flashfloods especially in the western, southern and Sabaragamuwa provinces. Sarvodaya blog has the situation reports and information about relief, aid and assistance.
India: Manipur In Peril
“The entire north east is in the grip of an unprecedented wave of Christianization with the help of foreign money,” comments Tarun Vijay, while discussing the problems in the Indian state of Manipur.
India: Things They Don’t Teach At School
Amit Sodha at The Power Of Choice lists 17 things that should be part of the education system, but are not.
Pakistan: Banning Social Media Sites
“It is unfortunate that the government is taking staunch steps in banning social media websites across Pakistan in response to a campaign,” comments Sana Saleem Malik at Mystified justice.
Pakistan: Facebook Ban And Productivity
“Watch out India, Pakistani productivity is about to spike!” – comments one reader at Sepia Mutiny's post on the ban of Facebook in Pakistan.
Sri Lanka: When To Settle The Political Score?
Dayapala Thiranagama at Groundviews attempts to make some observations on the difficulties of political resolution of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and wonders when it will be settled.
Bangladesh: Colours Of Water – Leather Tanneries
Daniel Lanteigne posts a photo essay on the environmental impacts of the approximately 200 leather tanneries in Hazaribagh district of Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh.
Middle East: “Blood Borders”
Martin W. Lewis from GeoCurrent Event blog reviews Ralph Lewis’ “Blood Borders” article on the idea of a complete reshape of Middle East borders in order to fit more appropriately the ethnic and religious affiliations of the region.