Cover

Still terminally ill

Good on paper

With the government incapable of designing Nepal’s school education, bilateral and multilateral donors are forced to step in.

A casualty of nationalism

Sri Lanka’s formerly effective school system has been damaged by over-politicisation.

Reflections of a teacher

Beyond false debates

The teacher and the student make up the two crucial elements of learning, but little is done on the basis of this understanding to improve education.

Review

Bhutanese mists: 'Within the Realm of Happiness' by Kinley Dorji and 'Becoming a Journalist in Exile' by T.P. Mishra

Two books present the dichotomy of Bhutan's image - from one perspective, the progressive-though-traditional idyll, to another, the authoritarian-to-dictatorial regime.

Hindutva then and now: 'Violent Gods: Hindu nationalism in India's present' by Angana Chatterji and 'Savarkar and Hindutva' by A G Noorani

If the metamorphosis of Mohandas Gandhi’s Gujarat into a Hindutva laboratory was baffling to social scientists, Orissa’s recent emergence as another communal hotspot has been no less surprising.

The value of values: 'The Beautiful Tree' by James Tooley

Conservation history: 'A Boy from Siklis' by Manjushree Thapa

The legacy of Chandra Gurung, pioneer in the field of conservation in Nepal.

Time and a place

Turn around or go on

Counting the curves on the road(s) of eastern Bhutan.

Southasiasphere

Colonel Sanders in Kathmandu

The one who has smashed tyranny
Broken the back of untrammelled authority
The horse that pulls the chariot of destiny
That one cannot be destroyed.
That one will never die.
 – Kedarnath Agarwal in Jo jeevan ki dhool chat kar bada hua hai

Essay

Dialogue, debate or disagreement?

How useful is the distinction between ‘East’ and ‘West’ in today’s world?

Mail

Comments from readers

Opinion

Kaplan's savage Orientalism

Through slanted analysis, Sri Lanka has been the latest entry into international correspondent Robert Kaplan’s narrative of fear-mongering.

Reflections

A magically depicted reality

‘Song of Ceylon’ is possibly the finest account of the island and a film which helped define the evolving documentary form.

Analysis

The emerging complexity of Dalit consciousness

Election on a precipice

Sarath Fonseka’s candidature in the upcoming presidential elections might be a setback for the Rajapakse dynastic project.

Report

Taming modernity

Sighting

Macaulay's stepchildren

The colonial decision to utilise English in higher education was not one man’s decision – and its legacy is far more complex than generally understood.

Mediafile

Tidbits of the region's media

Photo Feature

Scraggly camel show

The afternoon stillness was broken by the shrill sounds of the orchestra belting out old Hindi movie songs. Instinctively, I knew I had arrived at the right place – the Great Royal Circus, on the outskirts of New Delhi.

Southasian Briefs

Round-up of regional news

Voices

Opinions from around the region

On the way up

The Kailash Parikrama

Commentary

Stop and think (India)

No reconciliation, (Pakistan)

Right of return, (Bhutan)

'Quick study'

Bookshelf

Reviews of the latest books from and on Southasia

Critique