Covering Policy Issues from South Asia
Blog
The law of generosity combatting coronavirus in Pakistan0
- Blog
- April 2, 2020
As Pakistan imposes greater social distancing measures to combat coronavirus, a Muslim law of generosity is helping to save those out of work. By Aysha Imtiaz 1 April 2020 Outside grocery stores in Karachi, a remarkable scene has been unfolding over the past two weeks. Instead of rushing home after shopping to avoid being exposed
India; Why Flinging the Term ‘Corona Jihad’ at the Tablighi Jamaat Makes No Sense0
- Blog
- April 2, 2020
Far from waging ‘CoronaJihad’ as some right-wing politicians are alleging, the Jamaat is anathema to the Salafi ideologies of organisations like Al Qaeda and ISIS, who condemn it as having destroyed Islamic jihad. Shail Mayaram 2 April 2020 If there is one thing that does not define the Tablighi Jamaat, it is jihad as we
Coronavirus update: Positive cases in India rise to 2,069, death toll at 53. Here’s state-wise tally0
- Blog
- April 2, 2020
3 min read. 02 Apr 2020 By Aparna Banerjea Maharashtra is the most-affected state with 335 cases and 13 deaths Currently, there are close to 940,000 people around the world who have been infected by the virus, and more than 47,000 people have died The number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 2,069 on Thursday,
Asians will become the new Muslims — how coronavirus will change our world like 9/110
- Blog
- April 2, 2020
To control another Covid-19 outbreak, solutions like body screening, temperature guns, sanitising kits will become a permanent part of our lives. KAIRVY GREWAL 2 April, 2020 Coronavirus is our 9/11 moment. Things will never go back to the way they were. Surveillance systems will never be the same, and public places will constantly remind us of
Ex-BBC Hindi employee claims he was sacked after alleging caste discrimination in office0
- Blog
- April 2, 2020
Abhimanyu Kumar Shah claims he was sacked on 23 March, six days after he sent a mail to BBC employees across the world about the ‘torture’ he faced in the newsroom. TARUN KRISHNA 2 April, 2020 New Delhi: A former BBC Hindi employee has accused the media organisation of caste discrimination, which, he alleged, drove him
Delhi’s Nizamuddin — a bustling blend of history and spirituality, until Covid-19 struck0
- Blog
- April 2, 2020
Nizamuddin Basti is home to many things — food, culture, history and a sense of community that is inclusive and keeps reeling you back in. FATIMA KHAN 2 April The Print New Delhi: Walls that are history lessons, streets crammed with flower sellers, and winding lanes that lead to the revered shrine of Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya
Commentary
Covid 19 crisis is cut out for Modi to prove himself0
- Commentary
- March 25, 2020
N Sathiya Moorthy 25 March 2020 Possibly for the first time since Prime Minister Indira Gandhi called upon the nation to donate/sacrifice for the ‘Bangladesh war’ efforts, and also suffer blackouts at nights with patience and pride, has the nation reacted so very positively to the government’s diktat, says N Sathiya Moorthy. The truth remains
The Punjab: The History of the Punjabis and the Contested Region on the Border Between India and Pakistan. Book Review.0
- Commentary, Reviews
- March 23, 2020
by Arnold Zeitlin 23 March 2020 Anonymous authors take the reader on a brisk 54-page journey focussed on the Punjab against the broader context from the Indus Valley or Harappan Civilization dating back to 3300 BCE to the region’s modern state divided between India and Pakistan. Along the way, we meet Alexander the Great who
The South Asia Story: The first sixty years of U.S. relations with India and Pakistan. Book Review.0
- Commentary, Reviews
- March 23, 2020
by Arnold Zetlin 23 March 2020 Author Harold A. Gould, whose long career as an anthropologist and student of India has spanned the independence of India and Pakistan and the first 60 years of their relationship with the United States, doesn’t think much of the intellectual capabilities of the men who shaped American policy toward
Sri Lanka; COVID curfew and after0
- Commentary
- March 23, 2020
N Sathiya Moorthy 23 March 2020 In the absence of a cure for COVID-19, Governments across the world are doing the next best thing, to ensure minimum damage under the circumstances. Shut-down or lock-down, to borrow a new-generation western terminology are the only way to ensure that the virus does not take the pandemic form,
Modi’s canceled Bangladesh visit is an opportunity0
- Commentary
- March 19, 2020
by Ali Riaz 19 March 2020 India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina before their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, October 5, 2019. REUTERS/Altaf Hussain Bangladesh’s decision to cancel the public celebration event of ‘the Mujib centennial’ due to public health concerns after the detection of
As Pakistan trails, India sets to improve journo-murder index0
- Commentary
- March 17, 2020
by Navo J. Thakuria 17 March 2020 As Pakistan trails, India sets to improve journo-murder index by Nava J. Thakuria As the year 2020 rolls on, Pakistan reported the first murder of journalists in the Indian subcontinent. All other countries in the subcontinent have evaded killing of any scribes in the last two months. Around
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Featured
Tabligh, Religion, and Corona
by Asif Ibrahim 4 April 2020 Tabligh men organised a congregation of 250,000 participants near Lahore in Pakistan on March 11, despite the request of the Pak authorities to postpone or cancel it. And they gifted the perils of Corona virus, and deaths to whole of the Muslim world from Gaza to Malaysia. They have
United Nations interagency Covid-19 memo: Without interventions, “upto 2 million” people may die in Bangladesh
Leaked UN interagency memo led by WHO predicts “complete saturation” of the health system early in the Covid-19 epidemic and “rampant” exposure of healthcare workers in Bangladesh. Netra News March 28, 2020 According to a leaked interagency United Nations (UN) memo, the Covid-19 epidemic could result in “between half a million [to] 2 million” deaths