· May, 2006

Stories about South Asia from May, 2006

Sri Lanka: The conflict and the death of a loved one

  31 May 2006

The death of a friend's father is a shocking reminder of the fragility of life in Sri Lanka for Indi. “The people dying aren’t youthful revolutionaries or radicals, these are just normal people. They have families and responsibilities and hundreds of people that depend on them in countless ways.” An...

Sri Lanka, India: The other side of LTTE

  31 May 2006

Kiruba on the other side of LTTE – “Back then, they were the good guys. The village folks were sympathetic towards their struggle and generally gave them good support. They were mainly looking for shelter and food and there was never a shortage of that in the village.”

Pakistan: Dipalpur and history

  31 May 2006

Shirazi on a town that has held the fort and been a passage of sorts. “Dipalpur is famous in the history as an outpost that has played a significant part in the defence of Delhi kingdom against Mongol invasions in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.”

Nepal: Hinduism and the Throne

  31 May 2006

Samudaya.org comments on the close relationship of the throne and Hinduism. “The Shah Kings in Nepal have exploited Hinduism for more than 236 years. Since the majority of the population is Hindu, as a god of 80% of the citizens, the throne was unchallengeable.”

Nepal: Writing on the wall

  31 May 2006

Blogdai has some serious words of advice. “Get rid of these old reprobate politicians and sweep aside your romanticizing, stone-throwing children, Nepal, and let's get busy with saving the country before these fools plunge us into civil war.”

Demystifying Tamil as a language and a person

  31 May 2006

What is Tamil? For some it's a language, for some it's a religion, for the uninitiated, wikipedia to the rescue. There is of course also the the Wikipedia in Tamil. For those who don't like reading pages and pages, google current has it all. From “what is Tamil” to “the...

India: Shivaji Market in Pune

  30 May 2006

thecookscottage has a photo-post on Shivaji Market in Pune. “There is a little shop for Irani and Parsi specialities, another for dairy and Jain foods,a third for rice, lentils and wheat, and finally at the exit a gaggle of bangle wallas.”

Nepal: Sujata Koirla

  30 May 2006

Nepali Netbook profiles a daring woman Sujata Koirla and her role in Nepali politics – “Perhaps the most controversial woman during Nepal’s 1990-2002 brush with democracy, she went on to become one of the fiercest critics of King Gyanendra’s direct rule. Her daring escape from Kathmandu after the Feb. 1,...

Sri Lanka: Activism and the Online Medium

  30 May 2006

What does the online medium mean to those who engage with activism? ICT for Peacebuilding says “The crux of the problem is in the creation of content that is able to kindle the interest of those unused to the drudgery and often, very real danger, of activism on the ground...

India: Women and Helplines

  29 May 2006

Smita has a positive experience with a helpline for women, as some fellow passengers in the bus seem to need more than just gentle nudging.

India: Media and the bias

  29 May 2006

Just how balanced is the media when it comes to reporting on some issues? Abi discusses how a new channel appears to ignore one set of demonstrations while highlighting the other.

Sri Lanka: Job losses and India

  29 May 2006

Given that a lot of outsourcing jobs go to India, Janapathi in the context of transnational job losses – ponders on why Sri Lankan executives lose their jobs to Indians.

Nepal Moving Towards Peace Talks

  29 May 2006

After the victory of the April Revolution, and a major House Proclamation that has seriously curbed the powers of the king and renamed the army from Royal Nepal Army to Nepal Army, and a phase one talk with the Maoists, the seven party alliance government still has a lot of unresolved issues. The pace is felt to have been too slow.

Nepal: Quotes from the streets

  29 May 2006

Blogdai reports from Nepal – quotes and photographs from the street. An observation on grafitti – “Their political grafitti–often in phrases that span over hundreds of meteres–admonishes any and all to “keep going” and to “continue the struggle” as though some final hidden Maoist plan has yet to be fully...

What do Bloggers say about Rural India?

  28 May 2006

While reading different blogs, I have often read that in India blogging reflects a very middle class mindset. So, I thought even if it is true what do Indian blogs say about the issues that are not typically middle class or about urban India. Dilip at Death Ends Fun in...

India: Office 2007

  26 May 2006

Kingsley takes a closer look at Office 2007 and comments on User Interface, features and quirks.

About our South Asia coverage

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