South Asia Citizens Web

It’s with a heavy heart that we want to bring to your attention the plight of the communities affected by the Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) dam.

The Southasia Trust regrets to announce the suspension of publication of Himal Southasian, the pioneering magazine promoting ‘cross-border journalism’ in the region. A decision to this effect was taken by the Trust’s Executive Board on 22 August, due to non-cooperation by regulatory state agencies in Nepal that has made it impossible to continue operations after 29 years of publication.

India’s Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar recently made an irresponsible statement on 16th of August, when he said that "Going to Pakistan is the same as going to hell." Kannada actor turned politician Ramya, who is also an ex-MP from Congress, referred to Parrikar’s statement when sharing her experience of recently having visited Pakistan to attend a SAARC Young Parliamentarians Conference in Islamabad. She said "Pakistan is not hell. People are just like us. They treated us very well". As a result of this statement, a sedition case has been filed against her under Section 124A of the IPC by K. Vittal Gowda, a Coorg-based advocate. The matter is posted for hearing on August 27th.

The people of Kashmir have tried, time and again, to translate themselves from passive recipients of violence, legitimated by legislations of the physically and psychologically removed parliaments of India and Pakistan, into subjects who recognize that they can exercise agency and take control of their destinies. They march forward with a refusal to allow history to be imposed on them, and attempt to take charge of their own social and political destinies. The confluence of religious nationalism, secular nationalism and ethnic nationalism create the complexity of the Kashmir issue.

Author Ishtiaq Ahmed shares the perspective of the victims as well as perpetrators of the blood-bath surrounding the division of the subcontinent.