Sri Lanka, the National People's Power and women in politics – Southasia Weekly #39
This week at Himal
This week, Rajni Gamage and Harindra B Dassanayake write that the National People's Power, the victors of Sri Lanka's presidential election, prioritised women's political inclusion and appointed Harini Amarasuriya as prime minister. But much more needs to be done to achieve lasting, structural change, and the real test will be how the NPP prioritises gender equality after the general elections on 14 November.
For our next Podcast of the Week, host of the Southasia Review of Books podcast Shwetha Srikanthan chats with journalists Saba Imtiaz and Tooba Masood-Khan about their new book “Society Girl: A Tale of Sex, Lies, and Scandal”.
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This week in Southasia
Adani Group halves power supply to Bangladesh, prompting fresh scrutiny on power deal
After prolonged negotiations, the Adani Group lifted a strict deadline on power supply repayments that led to the Indian conglomerate cutting power supply to Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s government hastily made partial payments towards total dues worth over USD 800 million, including opening a new credit line of USD 170 million. For the past year, Bangladesh has paid roughly a quarter of its monthly bill, leading to accumulating debt. Adani said they faced challenges importing coal necessary for power generation and imposed a deadline of 7 November to make full payment, cutting their power supply to Bangladesh by half when the country failed to make the deadline.
Bangladesh has been struggling to make payments due to shortages in foreign currency reserves. The mass protests that led to the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August worsened the situation. Adani’s power deal with Bangladesh, signed under Hasina’s administration, is now being reassessed alongside ten other deals, after criticism that the agreement was “lopsided”, forcing Bangladesh to pay higher prices for lower quality coal. But the deal is unlikely to be set aside as the agreement supplies ten percent of Bangladesh’s power, and a legal challenge would likely be unsuccessful. Bangladesh’s interim government has said that they can repay outstanding dues within the next few months with loans from the International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank.
Elsewhere in Southasia 📡
Bangladesh’s inquiry commission on enforced disappearances finds eight secret detention centres in Dhaka and its surrounding areas, raises concerns about ‘attempts to destroy evidence’ linked to secret cells
As Lahore and Delhi are enveloped by deadly smog, senior government officials from Pakistani Punjab and Indian Punjab have shown interest in ‘climate diplomacy’ to collectively combat worsening air pollution in the region
Southasian leaders from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives congratulate Donald Trump on winning the US presidential elections; Taliban hopes Trump administration takes ‘realistic steps’ in progressing US-Afghan relations
Myanmar rebels try to bomb junta chief Min Aung Hlaing at the airport in the capital Naypyidaw, as he leaves to visit China, the first such visit since his military seized power
20 Bangladeshi fishermen abducted by the Arakan Army and taken to Myanmar while fishing in the estuary between the Naf River and the Bay of Bengal
The Maldives recalls its ambassador to Pakistan after an unauthorised meeting with the Taliban’s top diplomat, as the Maldives does not recognise the Taliban government after it seized power in Afghanistan
Sri Lanka to probe corruption, mismanagement of 2021 X-Press Pearl disaster
2 Chinese nationals shot at a factory in Karachi, following last month’s terrorist attack outside Jinnah International Airport where two Chinese citizens were killed. China has urged Pakistan to enhance security for Chinese workers in the country.
Nepal police detains 7 protestors and fires tear gas at Rastriya Swatantra Party supporters protesting in Pokhara calling for release of RSP chair Rabi Lamichhane, who was recently arrested on charges of fraud and organised crime
The India-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on Fisheries met to discuss illegal fishing, following protests in Tamil Nadu against the arrest of Indian fishermen, discuss joint patrols and releasing fishermen from both countries following legal proceedings
The Maldives says it will mandate military training for youth under new National Service Program starting in 2025 to bolster military strength
Only in Southasia
In Sri Lanka, astrologers have always been held in high regard, with astrological predictions around elections holding some weight (so much so that this election cycle in Sri Lanka, few wanted to stick their necks out). Happily, the US Presidential election presented no such quandaries. A leading daily newspaper went to the extent of publishing an entire column from astrologer Gehan Cooray in which he confidently predicted a Kamala Harris victory. Cooray said he predicted that Harris would replace Biden on the Democratic ticket in June, and said that when he drew Trump's tarot cards, it foretold 'dismal defeat and crushing chagrin', whereas Harris' card spread spoke of a 'luminous victory'. Cooray added that he had voted for Jill Stein and the Green Party this year, making his prediction unbiased. Unfortunately, Cooray just didn't play his cards right.
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From the archive
This week, as the United States of America elected Donald Trump as president, Ambreen Agha's review of Suketu Mehta's book This Land is Our Land: An Immigrant's Manifesto is worth revisiting. Agha writes that leaders like Donald Trump have capitalised on fear of the 'other' to consolidate power. This Land is Our Land addresses several myths about migrants and defends the right to migrate, using the personal histories of migrants to do so.