Stories about South Asia from June, 2020
India's digital ID system deepens exclusion of vulnerable communities amid pandemic
The use of Aadhaar-based authentication makes exclusions more likely.
Students arrested for demanding internet facilities in Balochistan
A number of students were manhandled, baton-charged and arrested in Quetta, Balochistan, for protesting against non-availability of internet after their classes shifted online due to COVID-19 restrictions.
WHO urges Pakistan to reimpose lockdown after surge in cases
Pakistan has implemented new lockdown restrictions after a letter from the WHO urged the country to improve testing and control outbreak numbers.
Sri Lanka prepares for twice-delayed poll amid militarized COVID-19 response
"The government will not hesitate to arrest opposition activists and voters for violating this or that anti-virus rule while giving a free pass to its own supporters."
How Trump's ‘game-changer’ drug is boosting nationalism in Brazil and India
The claim that there’s a cure for COVID-19, but that powerful actors prevent access to it, allows these leaders to cast themselves as saviors.
How can Nepal's literary tradition make its mark on the global scene?
Director of Global Literature in Libraries Initiatives shares insights into how Nepali literature can reach wider audiences.
COVID-19 is rapidly exhausting Bangladesh healthcare system amidst alarming rise of infected people
As Bangladesh tries to figure out which lockdown measure is the answer, public healthcare systems are failing largely, resulting in no signs of the COVID-19 contraction curve plateauing.
Between Kolkata, Saint-Petersburg and Paris: An interview with novelist Shumona Sinha
"Literature does not pretend it can change the world, but it can unveil the human condition, plant seeds of hope, of dreams of a better world...."
Actually, anti-Blackness has everything to do with Sri Lanka
"As long as colonial legacies continue to govern our sense of identity, politics, and society. . . we will continue to be complicit in anti-Blackness."
Families struggle to retrieve victim's bodies after Pakistan International Airline crash
Families of the victims of PIA Flight PK8303 were asked to give DNA to identify bodies.
The return of birds during the COVID-19 lockdown is a boon to Nepali wildlife photographers
Weeks of lockdown have created a favourable environment for birds due to the reduction of pollution and less human interference.
Pakistan blocks Twitter, Zoom and Periscope to curb critical voices
In mid-May, Twitter, Zoom and Persicope were either blocked or throttled across Pakistan. Activists say the move was meant to target a few web conferences on human rights issues.
About our South Asia coverage
