SOUTH ASIA TO SOUTHASIA

Serious' magazines have a high mortality rate everywhere in the world, and so it is with some self-satisfaction that Himal Southasian can claim to have achieved more than fifteen years of living. It has been a struggle every step of the way, from being a Himalayan magazine from 1988 through 1996, and then as a magazine of the Subcontinent (and Sri Lanka) since then. But every step of the struggle has been invigorating, for we have been pioneering journalism all along, seeking to think beyond boundaries and edit 'regionally'. Though a small magazine, we can claim to have had a share of influence on how people conceptualise our region and the transformations that its 1.4 billion people confront..Speaking of transformation, the magazine you hold is about to go through one, and which is what I would like to communicate to you, our reader. Rather than fold up, which is what the majority of periodicals do after years of trying, Himal Southasian is actually going to mutate into two publications. In March 2004, Himal Southasian will spawn two magazines. Himal and The Southasian..'Himal' will revert to being a Himalayan magazine, which it was before 1996. After a hiatus that is required to organise and plan, it will bring intensely meaningful journalism to the Himalaya like it did of old, covering the life and times in the 2500 km Himalayan chain—Hengduan to the Karakoram—and contiguous areas of the Indus-Ganga plains and the Tibetan highlands. Himal will remain a magazine published by the Himalmedia group in Kathmandu..'The Southasian' will be the successor publication to the magazine which you hold, and it will dedicate itself with new energy to covering the Southasian region amidst the roller coaster period in which we live. Forces both terrible and promising are swaying this region, and The Southasian will strive to give meaning to all that is happening, seeking to chart a course that is independent of economic determinism, ideological straitjackets, and chauvinistic nationalism..The Southasian's editors will continue to be guided by what is good for the people in the long term, rather than what is good for the establishments in each of our countries. We will strive to help define Southasia of the future in a way that is different from the SAARC organisation (though we appreciate it and understand its need), helping define an identity that is inclusive and provides unifying energy to the people of the Subcontinent and Sri Lanka..As you may have noticed in this column and elsewhere in this issue of Himal Southasian, the editors have decided that it no longer makes sense to spell 'South Asia' as two words. If we are to internalise this geographical signifier whose origins lie in Western media and academia—we of the region are late converts to its usage—then it is best that we give it more cohesion in the spelling. Whereas 'South Asia' is the way an outsider would see our region, 'Southasia' is how we need to see it (as long as the language is English, of course). This is one small step to move out of the identity rigidity created in the era of the nation-state for a region which is actually one vast penumbra of intermingling cultures and identities. South Asia is the region of sharply defined borders and nation states. Southasia, if you will, reflects more closely what we all are, beyond our certitudes as modern-day Indians and Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Nepalis..So, welcome to Southasia, dear reader. And watch out for our March issue, when we emerge as The Southasian and continue the traditions of Himal Southasian.