Stories about South Asia from February, 2009
Sri Lanka: Blog Posts In A Book
Cerno announces an idea of publishing Sri Lanka’s top 100 blog posts in a book. In a followup post the blogger explains how people can contribute to the project.
Bhutan: Yartsa Guenbup
Kaptang at Kuzu-Bhutan Weblog describes the dark side of the Cordyceps (Cordyceps sinensis) or Yartsa Guenbup (caterpillar fungus) which is collected at an altitudes beyond 4,000 Mtrs.
Bangladesh: Ekushey Boi Mela
Dhaka Dweller posts some pictures of this year's Ekushey Book Fair, popularly known as Ekushey Boi Mela, the national book fair of Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka: Appreciating Opposing Views
Serendipity hopes that the positive contribution of the Sri Lankan bloggers appreciating opposing views will bring harmony in a divided community.
Pakistan: Wearing Taweez
Mohammad Yusha at Chowrangi writes about the tradition of Muslims wearing Taweez for protection from black magic.
India: The Free Hug Campaign
AJ at Desicritics.org joined the Hug Karo, Pub Bharo aandolan (hug and fill the pub movement) and posts his experience including photos. This was organized by the Blogaloreans (Bangalore Bloggers group) to protest the moral policing of Shree Ram Sena activists in Mangalore.
Bangladesh: Nuclear Energy Required
Alap Bangladesh discusses Bangladesh's energy crisis and opines that Bangladesh should start constructing nuclear power plants to tackle the issue.
India: Religions and Fundamentalists
M.J. Akbar makes a point that all religions are not same, but fundamentalists are.
Bangladesh: Citizenship Amendment Act 2009
Tulip Siddiq writes about the newly enacted Citizenship Amendment Act, 2009 in Bangladesh which fixed the previous anomaly that children of any Bangladeshi woman marrying a foreigner would not be Bangladeshi citizens.
India: The Pink Underwear Resistance
In some parts of India, celebrating Valentine's Day could be considered harmful to women's and couple's health, as Morality Police decide to hunt down couples and women that may be holding hands or in pubs. The Pink Chaddi campaign is a step towards demonstrating that women can and will take matters into their own hands to make sure the situation changes.
Bangladesh: Books By Bloggers
The history of Bangla blogging is relatively short. It was December 2005 when the first Bangla blogging platform was born. But soon more platforms came up and open source development in Bangla input systems eased Bangla computing across the globe and brought more people in blogging. The most encouraging aspect...
India: The Satyam Fraud
Sans Serif comments: “It is remarkable how easily an even larger media circus has allowed ‘India’s Biggest Corporate Fraud’ to slip into ‘India’s Biggest Coverup’ in one month flat.”
Sri Lanka: Tamil Politics
Dayan Jayatilleka at Groundviews discusses the future of Tamil politics: “Tamil political discourse has to rediscover the heritage of Tamil progressivism.”
Bangladesh: International Telecom Policy
Rohan Samarajiva at LIRNEasia comments on the failing international telecom policy of Bangladesh, “illegal termination could not be controlled without bringing down international termination rates.”
Bangladesh: Exploring New Markets For Manpower
Bangladesh Corporate Blog is in favor of the Bangladesh government's decision to explore new markets for the Bangladeshi manpower, “why should we remain squeezed back to back against each other in (…) one of the smallest countries of the world?”
Sri Lanka: Flesh Forks
Indi.ca from Sri Lanka explains the alchemy, the reasons behind using flesh forks, the five fingers of a hand to eat a meal in the Indian subcontinent.
Pakistan: Acknowledgment At Last
CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan reports that Pakistan has formally “acknowledged that ‘some part of the conspiracy’ behind the November attacks in Mumbai took place in Pakistan”.
India, Bangladesh: BIPA Treaty
The New Horizon takes a closer look at the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIPA) between India and Bangladesh and comments: “Bangladesh should take the treaty in positive frame of mind and try to exploit the conditions as much as they can. It is the same for India.”
Poland, Pakistan: Piotr Stanczak's Death
The beatroot writes about the death of Piotr Stanczak, the Polish engineer who was kidnapped four months ago in Pakistan and beheaded last week.
India: The IT Outsourcing Competition With China
Itonion at Desicritics discusses whether China is really a threat to the Indian IT outsourcing industry as perceived by many and concludes that India and China may end up collaborating in the future.
Pakistan: Using Radio To Spread Fundamentalism
Ambreen Kazmi at Chowrangi reports that a cleric in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan is using FM radio to influence the minds of an illiterate society especially the women, who are largely his listeners.