· March, 2009

Stories about South Asia from March, 2009

India's Fritzl

  20 March 2009

Shantanu Dutta at Desicritics discusses about India's hidden incest crisis.

Nepal: On Individualism

  19 March 2009

Thinking About Nepal believes that: “if Nepali parents are able to indoctrinate in their children a sense of individualism along with respect for community and elders, Nepal will have a citizenry that will able to deal with most challenges faced today and in the future.”

India: The Menace of Ragging

  19 March 2009

Sam's Lodge [chai-coffee] describes how the trend of ragging is becoming severely violent in India. The blog comments: “a clear distinction must be made between ragging and bullying. When ragging becomes bullying, it crosses all lines of decency.”

South Asia: Migrant Workers Coming Home

  19 March 2009

South Asia is a populous region. Many South Asian immigrants or migrant workers travel to distant places around the world in search of a better education, job or better living conditions. However they have close ties to families and friends back home and their remittances play a major role in...

Hong Kong: Ng-hao big-naug or you are dead!

  19 March 2009

On Tuesday, March 18, a local police shot at a Nepali homeless man twice at close range and one of the bullets end up in the head, leading to the man's death. The police report soon after the shooting said that the police officer went to check out the hillside...

Pakistan: The Way Ahead

  19 March 2009

The whole Pakistan is overjoyed with the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and a happy end to the Lawyers’ Long March movement. Although apparently president Zardari is in back foot by giving the nod to to reinstate Chaudhry, it had prevented the possible chaos and anarchy if the protesters’...

Pakistan: Sari Makes A Comeback To Fashion

  18 March 2009

The trademark dress of the women in the Indian Subcontinent is called Sari. During the 80s it started disappearing in Pakistan after it was declared un-Islamic by then president Zia-ul-Haq . Pak Tea House reports that Saris are making a comeback in Pakistani fashion.

Bangladesh: Non-profit Wonder

  18 March 2009

“Have you ever heard of an international organization that self finances 80% of its work? Want to know how they do it?” Read BRAC Blog for details. Based in Bangladesh, BRAC is one of the world's largest non-governmental development organizations.

Global: Bubbles, Bailouts and Stimulus Plans

  18 March 2009

Identifying the economic woes of the United States is crucial. But we should also understand that other countries are also grappling with bankrupt companies and shrinking economies. Many countries are also implementing their own stimulus plans. What are some of the examples used by bloggers around the world when they discuss the bubble economies, bailout of banks and stimulus plans of their countries?

India: Pata Chitra

  18 March 2009

Tanay Behera at Desicritics writes about ‘Pata Chitra’, a popular Indian art form using rich vegetable colors. ‘Pata’ in Sanskrit means piece of cloth and ‘Chitra’ means painting or picture.

Maldives: Dissident And Anti-Islamic Sites Blocked

  18 March 2009

Several dissident and alleged anti-Islamic websites were filtered recently in Maldives. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs ordered the Telecommunication Authority of Maldives (TAM) to block access to those websites. Maldives Dissent informs: A week after President Anni announced his intention of turning the Maldives into a sanctuary for oppressed writers,...

Japan: Sri Lanka, Somalia, us? The government?

  18 March 2009

Ryutaro Yanagawa (柳川龍太郎) in his podcast program Nekura Nomikon Onvoice (ネクラのみ来ん on voice) [ja] reflects upon issues related to Japanese foreign politics. In the last episode, the podcaster invites us to not forget those areas of the world, such as Darfur or Sri Lanka, that too rarely are the centre...

Sri Lanka: Form Of Charity

  17 March 2009

The End blog recommends person to person charity because: “What happens in state run forced charity, is that when I get one Rupee as a grant or a subsidy, much more is spent on the processes that bring me that money.”

Pakistan: A Proud Event

  17 March 2009

The reinstatement of chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was a proud event for many Pakistanis like the blogger at Monsoon Frog after a long time.

Bangladesh: Floating Hospital

  17 March 2009

Bangladesh is inundated with heavy monsoon rain and floods every year. Mikey Leung reports that :”In the face of this rising tide, one organization has developed a novel solution. They’re delivering high quality health care to Bangladesh’s poorest people, in floating hospitals.”

Jamaica, Dominica: Carbon Neutral?

  17 March 2009

The President of the Maldives plans to make the territory carbon neutral in 10 years; Jamaica Salt sees similarities between the islands and is “looking around for environmental action in JA”, while Steve's Dominica‘s first thought was: “Dominica, ‘Nature island’, Green-globe nation etc etc, should be aiming for this.”

Maldives: Video Games And Violence

  16 March 2009

Abdullah Waheed informs that there could be at least 3000 video games sold per day in Maldives capital Male. The blogger wonders whether there is a link between the increasing violence on Male streets and these video games.

Pakistan: Suicidal Attack in Rawalpindi

  16 March 2009

While Pakistanis were celebrating today's victory for Long March the country faced yet another suicide attack in Rawalpindi. “As many as 12 people, mostly poor people taking the local transport back to their homes, were killed in a huge blast,” reports Pak Tea House.

About our South Asia coverage

Rezwan
Rezwan is the South Asia editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.