This week, we look at the failure of New Delhi’s policy on its eastern flank with a timely review of Avinash Paliwal’s India’s Near East: A New History. Cyrus Naji writes that New Delhi’s emphasis on supporting stable governments in nearby Bangladesh and Myanmar has amounted to support of autocratic control in both countries - with devastating consequences for the Nagas, Mizos and Assamese, the health of democracy in Bangladesh, and the welfare of the Rohingya in Myanmar.
Sumaiya Ali writes about India’s harsh anti-conversion laws, which place obstacles on people looking to convert from Hinduism, particularly in BJP-ruled states. Ali talks to converts in Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh to discover how they navigate bureaucracy and repression.
In other news, we're screening Supermen of Malegaon, directed by Faiza Ahmad Khan, for this month's edition of Screen Southasia, from 30 September to 7 October. If you want to sign up to watch it (for free!) click here.
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Sri Lanka votes in left-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake in hopes of systemic change
The results of Sri Lanka’s presidential election are in. Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People’s Party coalition won with 42 percent of the vote, while Opposition Leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Sajith Premadasa received 32 percent of overall votes. The Election Commission announced a second round of counting for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, as no candidate won a 50 percent majority. Hailing from Anuradhapura in north central Sri Lanka, Dissanayake was seen as an alternative to Sri Lanka’s (often elite) political establishment. Mass protests in 2022 which led to the ouster of then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, saw calls for ‘systemic change’. Dissanayake polled roughly 3 percent of votes in presidential elections in 2019.
Dissanayake dissolved parliament and announced snap general elections on 14 November. An interim cabinet has been appointed as the NPP does not hold a parliamentary majority, While Sri Lankans have welcomed Dissanayake’s appointment with optimism, sceptics point to a key party in the NPP coalition, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, which spearheaded insurrections against the Sri Lankan state in the 1970s and 1980s, though the party has been absorbed into Sri Lanka’s mainstream politics over the years. In his first speech, Dissanayake said he was committed to continuing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and to improving the standard of living for Sri Lankans. It remains to be seen whether Dissanayake will fulfill key campaign promises, including abolition of the executive presidency.
India invites Myanmar’s anti-junta forces to attend seminar in New Delhi in mid-November. India has kept in contact with the junta through visits to Naypyidaw, but this will be its first formal engagement with the junta’s opponents.
US President Joe Biden offers support to Bangladesh’s interim government during rare bilateral meeting with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at the UN General Assembly session, welcoming further engagements between the two countries
At least 25 people have been killed in days of clashes between Shiites and Sunni Muslims over land dispute in the northwestern district of Kurram in Pakistan, marking continuation of sectarian violence in the region
India reports first case of new mpox strain that triggered a World Health Organisation public health emergency alert in Kerala
Pakistan receives International Monetary Fund approval for a USD 7 billion loan, providing a critical boost to the country’s economy. The deal also comes with unpopular austerity measures, including increased tax collection.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu calls to abolish veto powers at the United Nations Security Council, which he says hinders the council from holding Israel accountable for crimes, including “genocide” on Palestinian people
Ernst and Young (EY) affiliate not registered under Shops and Establishments Act, Maharashtra labour officials say after probe following death of a 26-year-old EY India worker
Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli calls for global climate justice, urging major carbon-emitting nations to take responsibility for their contributions to climate change, emphasising the disproportionate impacts on vulnerable countries like Nepal
Over 50,000 residents evicted from villages around Rakhine State’s capital, Sittwe, after massacre by Myanmar junta troops in May, face starvation and illness in overcrowded temporary camps.
Sri Lanka President appoints former academic Harini Amarasuriya interim prime minister, making her Sri Lanka's third female prime minister
Canada, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands decide to take the Taliban to the International Court of Justice over gender discrimination in groundbreaking case
As the election results came in, Sri Lankans did what Sri Lankans do best - reacting to the breaking news with humour. In particular, news about Dissanayake’s meteoric rise from polling 3 percent to 42 percent of the vote, and of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna candidate Namal Rajapaksa’s abysmal results drew humorous comparisons. Seeing as Dissanayake’s past performance saw political opponents refer to his party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna as the ‘3 percent party’, it was only fair that netizens point out there was a new Mr 3 percent in town. For Sri Lankans jaded with the Rajapaksa’s long regime of corruption and cronyism, this meme drew many chuckles.
Got a meme or satirical post you'd like to share? Send it to us here.
This week, Amish Raj Mulmi’s piece on a new generation of Tibetan writers pushing back against fetishisation of Tibet by the West has been getting some attention on our website. Amish writes that these writers consciously emphasise the trauma of displacement, counters prevailing narratives about Tibet and shifts discourse away from the hard politics of the Tibet issue.