A radical theory of jallikattu and Vijay’s rise in Tamil Nadu
Himal Southasianby Ashik Kahina1d ago
THE ACTOR-TURNED-POLITICIAN Vijay’s victory in Tamil Nadu’s state assembly election this April was unexpected.
Himal Southasian
himalmag.comadded August 2026
top 24%Local water management challenges Ken-Betwa Link in Bundelkhand
Himal Southasianby Ankit Mishra4d ago
On the bed of the Ken River in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district this June, farmers were growing vegetables in the exposed silt, running portable pumps into the last shrinking pools to keep the crop...
Maruti Suzuki workers’ long protest for labour rights
Himal Southasianby Kinshuk Gupta8d ago
ON THE AFTERNOON of 29 January 2025, a large gathering of former workers from Maruti Suzuki’s automobile factory in the industrial model town of Manesar, in the northern Indian state Haryana...
The Kabul hotel that tells a people’s history of Afghanistan
Himal Southasianby Taran N Khan9d ago
WHEN LYSE DOUCET began talking to the staff of Kabul’s Hotel Inter-Continental, she found that their memories were rarely about the coups or the upheavals.
Sunsari shootings and Nepal police’s history of violence in the Madhesh
Himal Southasianby Anjali Sah15d ago
ON THE NIGHT of 26 July, a dispute between Hindus and Muslims over religious flags and loud music in Dewanganj, a municipality in Sunsari district of Nepal’s Tarai, ended with the police opening...
Why Meitei, Kuki and Naga violence persists in Manipur
Himal Southasianby Patricia Mukhim18d ago
IN EARLY JUNE, the home department of Manipur, the conflict-stricken state in India’s Northeast, released data revealing that more than 700 people had died over the past three years in relief camps...
The Last of Earth’ and the real Himalaya of pundit explorers
Himal Southasianby Amish Raj Mulmi22d ago
AMONG ALL THE fabled gold mines of Tibet, the Thok Jalung mine in the Changthang plain of western Tibet – “a large desolate plain of which the prevailing color was reddish brown”, a Survey of India...
Bangladesh’s Islamist resurgence threatens women’s rights
Himal Southasianby Nawshin Flora24d ago
Bangladesh’s Islamist extremist resurgence has feminists raising the alarm As right-wing Islamist extremist groups gain in Bangladesh, feminists are fighting for women’s rights and gender equality...
How NEET paper leak and CJP protests shook Modi government
Himal Southasianby Neha Dixit28d ago
“IN MY MEMORY, I have only heard that people who speak against the Indian government are ‘anti-national’,” Pragya Gautam, a 20-year-old Dalit student from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, told me...
Sri Lanka’s war and migration in S Shakthidharan’s memoir
Himal Southasianby Fathima Cader21 Jul 2026
ARTWORK BY SUSIMAN NIRMALAVASAN bookends the award-winning playwright S Shakthidharan’s new memoir, Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath.
Chandu Maheria on Gandhi’s complex role in Dalit history
Himal Southasianby Chandu Maheria15 Jul 2026
Introduction Chandu Maheria, a prominent Dalit intellectual, activist, journalist and columnist from Gujarat, is a litterateur unnoticed and unrecognised by the Gujarati literary establishment.
Hindutva and the remaking of trans identity in India
Himal Southasianby Hritik Lalan13 Jul 2026
WHEN INDIA’S MINISTER for Social Justice, Virendra Kumar, introduced the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026 (TPA) in the lower house of parliament on 13 March this...
The linguistic history of swearing in Southasia
Himal Southasianby Abhishek Avtans10 Jul 2026
SOUTHASIAN LANGUAGES are no strangers to swear words. Swearing, or the use of offensive, “dirty” or indecent language, is a universal linguistic behaviour exhibited to navigate social taboos...
How women became the new leaders of Baloch nationalism
Himal Southasianby Salman Rafi Sheikh8 Jul 2026
A PHOTOGRAPH OF Mahrang Baloch has been doing the rounds on social media over the past few weeks.
Rahul Bhattacharya’s ‘Railsong’ and the Great Indian Novel
Himal Southasianby Vikram Shah1 Jul 2026
IN RAILSONG, Rahul Bhattacharya’s second novel, the protagonist, Charulata “Charu” Chitol, works in the personnel department of the Indian Railways.