Stories about South Asia from November, 2010
India: The 2G Spectrum Scam
Roger Reports writes in details about the recent 2G spectrum license scam, which resulted in huge loss of the Indian government.
Sri Lanka: Tamilinzed Sinhala names in Jaffna
Rebel of Kandy lists some names of places in Jaffna which originally had Sinhala names during the Dutch colonial period but has been Tamilinized later.
Sri Lanka: On Facebook Friends
Mili asks “what does a Facebook Friend mean to you?”
Sri Lanka: Floods In Colombo
Photoblogger Minaali Haputantri captures the scenes of the recent floods in Colombo.
South Asia: Steep Bandwidth Price
The cost of Internet bandwidth has to be reduced across Asia, which remains more than 300% expensive than the western hemisphere, argues Abu Saeed Khan at LIRNE Asia.
India: Credibility Of Media Under Question
Reports have emerged revealing that “some of Indian journalism’s biggest names may have crossed the line between legitimate news gathering to lobbying with political parties on behalf of corporate houses”, informs Sans Serif.
India: Is Forwarding Emails A Crime?
A government employee from the Indian state of Kerala got arrested for forwarding an email joke to a few friends, which is about the election debacle of the ruling communist party. Netizens feel that this is an attempt by politicians to stop criticisms against them.
Nepal: Embarrassment At The Parliament
On November 19, 2010 was a shameful day for Nepal's parliament as “Maoist lawmakers disrupted the House session and resorted to vandalism and manhandling”, reports Ujjwal Acharya at The Radiant Star. The blogger thinks that the Maoist lawmakers’ behavior was “immature, beyond tolerance and unacceptable”.
Pakistan: Christian Woman Sentenced To Death On Charges Of Blasphemy
“A 45-year-old Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for allegedly blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad,” reports Faheem Haider.
Sri Lanka: Tamil Journalist Detained
International Network Of Sri Lankan Diaspora Blog reports that a London based Tamil journalist has been arrested last Wednesday at the Colombo Airport, when he landed in Sri Lanka to visit his family.
Bhutan: Khuru And The Rise Of Feminist Movements
Bhutanese women may have, unintentionally, created the stirrings of their first feminist movements of sorts when they recently started to encroach upon a traditionally male dominated sport Khuru (game of darts).
Sri Lanka: LTTE And JVP
“LTTE and JVP have been two faces of the same coin of fascism. Both have miserably failed their terrorist campaigns though operated under different political slogans,” comments Lanka Rising.
Bangladesh: Corruption And Honesty
Expat Bloggers Jacob and Hosanna shares their experience of corruption and honesty in Bangladesh.
Pamela Fever Grips India
Hollywood actress and model Pamela Anderson is creating ripples in India as she arrived in Mumbai a few days ago to take part in a TV reality show. Netizens reflect on what the Indians think of Pamela.
Pakistan: The Cost Of Sacrifice
Five Rupees is surprised to learn about the large number of animals slaughtered in Pakistan during the Eid-Ul-Azha festivities and the huge cost associated with it.
Bangladesh: Traveling On The Roof
Hundreds of thousands of people left Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh for the Eid holidays. There is usually a mad rush in the public transport systems during this time and photo-blogger Monirul Alam caught the exodus on camera which shows hundreds of people traveling on the roofs of a train.
Bangladesh: Discrimination In The Middle East?
“Would there be any lashing if they were white Europeans or Americans?” – so reacts Jyoti at Unheard Voice on the news that a Filipina maid and her Bangladeshi lover had received punishment of 100 lashes and deportation for having sex out of wedlock in Sharjah.
India: What Is Beauty
“Beauty is what you have within, in your heart and in your soul, beauty is how you look and behave towards other fellow humans, how you respect the other, how much love and care in your heart to give to the one who needs it,” comments Debolina Raja Gupta.
Pakistan: The Truth About Balochistan
“Balochistan needs to be healed — within Pakistan’s federal framework,” comments Ejaz Haider at Pak Tea House.
India: An Appeal To The Delhi Metro Rail Authority
Raja Basu, a regular commuter of the Delhi Metro, points out to some anomalies in the rail services.
Pakistan: Bulldozing Over Civilization
The recent bomb attack that killed 19 people in Karachi shook buildings, shattered glasses and weakened people’s sense of security. The sad fact is that this has become a routine Pakistanis are being forced to live with.
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