In July 1983, anti-Tamil pogroms engulfed Sri Lanka, killing and displacing Tamils and destroying homes and businesses. For many Tamil families, Black July transformed what it meant to call Sri Lanka home. https://www.himalmag.com/shakthidharan-sri-lanka-conflict-tamil-history-memoir/

For over a decade, the Modi government has had a formula for dissent: dehumanise it (by calling them 'Andolanjeevi' 'Termites' or 'Cockroaches') , wait it out, and then let fear do the rest. What makes the CJP protests different this time? https://ow.ly/rWCe50ZsVlZ

India’s Gen Z and the Cockroach Janta Party have transformed outrage over exam paper leaks into a nationwide protest movement challenging Narendra Modi’s regime, and shaken an ingrained fear of his government and the Hindu Right. Read the piece by Neha Dixit: https://ow.ly/LoLI50ZsVhf

Every Southasian writer has a story to tell. Become a Himal Patron to give these stories the space they deserve! https://www.himalmag.com/

Tune in to our latest Southasia Review of Books episode for a conversation with Mirza Waheed on his new novel, ‘Maryam & Son’: https://ow.ly/kshB50Zsar4

Mirza Waheed joins the Southasia Review of Books podcast to talk about 'Maryam & Son' – his latest novel novel about motherhood, grief and what happens when the political enters the most intimate spaces of our lives. Catch the new episode, out this Friday!

A memoir excerpt by Gujarati Dalit writer Chandu Maheria, new Southasian fiction, books on the Dalit Panthers, Mumbai's food cultures, Indian Ocean pearl divers, and more. Our latest Southasia Review of Books rounds up new releases from across the region. Read: https://ow.ly/oO1550ZoPsm

In this edition of Southasia Weekly, we focus on activist Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike in Delhi, calling for the resignation of the education minister. Your weekly radar on the region and the latest from Himal. Sign up here: https://www.himalmag.com/newsletters/

Read your way through Southasia. Become a Himal Patron today! https://www.himalmag.com/

An excerpt from the Gujarati Dalit writer and activist Chandu Maheria’s memoir – translated by Hemang Ashwinkumar – reflecting on growing up in Ahmedabad’s working-class chawls and the place of Mohandas K Gandhi in Dalit life and political thought: https://ow.ly/HhmT50ZocvY

In contemporary Southasia, taboo words remain a potent device for policing social boundaries and for reflecting entrenched prejudices via widely normalised casteist, religious and gender-based slurs. Abhishek Avtans writes: https://www.himalmag.com/swear-words-southasia-linguistics-taboo/

In this edition of Southasia Weekly, we focus on how riots inside Sri Lanka’s Negombo prison have left 26 dead and hundreds injured. This story is a reminder of the inequalities and repression baked into the prison system across Southasia. Sign up: https://www.himalmag.com/newsletters/

Himal Southasian is looking for an Editorial Intern! Please send applications to careers@himalmag.com with the subject line “Name - Editorial intern 2026”. A complete application must include your CV, cover letter and two references.

Himal is looking for a Social Media Intern! Send your CV, cover letter and samples of work to careers@himalmag.com.

The Southasia Review of Books podcast returns with Joe Sacco, plus this month’s Southasian publishing – from new books on Mughal history to an Afghan memoir and India's Paralympic movement. Read this fortnight's edition: https://www.himalmag.com/southasia-review-of-books-1-july-2026/

In this edition of Southasia Weekly, we focus on how Southasian countries have continued to support Israel despite the escalation of violence towards Palestinian citizens, including children. Your weekly radar on the region and the latest from Himal. Sign up here: https://ow.ly/IJux50ZjZxW

Himal is looking for a Video Editor and Producer! Send your CV, a 300-word note on your experience, and links to podcast or video work you've produced/edited to careers@himalmag.com. Visit https://www.himalmag.com/careers/ for more details.

Joe Sacco joins the Southasia Review of Books podcast to discuss ‘The Once and Future Riot’, violence and a political tool, and why Penguin India decided not to distribute the book. Youtube: https://ow.ly/S6lQ50ZhqFY Spotify: https://ow.ly/mN0N50ZhqG0 Apple Podcasts: https://ow.ly/bui850ZhqFZ

"We have still not understood this tectonic shift in Tamil Nadu’s politics...This much is clear: the grand claim that the election was a verdict against the influence of caste and money in politics could not be further from the truth," T M Krishna writes about Vijay: https://ow.ly/6f4V50ZiBEI

To launch our new season, Joe Sacco joins us to discuss ‘The Once and Future Riot’, graphic journalism and the controversy surrounding the book’s publication in India. Youtube: https://ow.ly/S6lQ50ZhqFY Spotify: https://ow.ly/mN0N50ZhqG0 Apple Podcasts: https://ow.ly/bui850ZhqFZ

In this edition of Southasia Weekly, we cover Mahrang Baloch's life sentence, six Bangladeshi journalists charged under the Cyber Security Act, and the EU's talks with the Taliban on asylum seekers. Your weekly radar on the region and the latest from Himal: https://www.himalmag.com/newsletters/

The Southasia Review of Books podcast returns with Joe Sacco! Youtube: https://ow.ly/mOfW50ZhqHu Spotify: https://ow.ly/eSXZ50ZhqHt Apple Podcasts: https://ow.ly/IkYv50ZhqHv

From 1-8 July, we’ll be screening Riyalists (2021) by Kesang Tseten, a sequel documentary about Nepali labour migration in the Gulf. Sign-up at himalmag.com to receive regular updates about screenings every month.

That's a wrap on Himal Fiction Fest 2026 🎉 Over ten days, we published six original translations of Southasian fiction — from Kashmiri, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, and Balochi. Read the stories here: https://www.himalmag.com/tag/himal-fiction-fest-2026/

Field Marshal Asim Munir is riding high on Pakistan’s mediation of US–Iran talks, but the country remains beset by economic crisis, a rapacious elite, IMF-imposed austerity and violent insurgencies. Read Aasim Sajjad Akhtar's piece here: https://www.himalmag.com/pakistan-us-iran-talks-asim-munir/

The Southasia Review of Books podcast returns, plus new books on Adivasi histories and anti-caste futures, new fiction from Kolkata and Karachi to Awadh, Mahe and the Sri Lankan diaspora, and more from across Southasian publishing. Subscribe: https://www.himalmag.com/newsletters/

Himal Southasian wins two 2026 SOPA Awards! 🏆 'The Woman in the Bathroom' by Romita Saluja and 'Pills, Perils, Profits' by Vidya Krishnan & Arshu John. https://www.himalmag.com/domestic-abuse-india-woman-locked-toilet/ https://www.himalmag.com/pills-perils-profits-himal-investivative-series/

In Ladakh, boundaries have rarely been mere administrative lines. Questions of territory here are inseparable from questions of identity, representation and power. Zaid Bin Shabir writes: https://www.himalmag.com/india-ladakh-districts-muslims-marginalisation/

In light of Karnataka Home Minister Priyanka Kharge's letter demanding greater financial transparency from the #RSS, revisit our Saffron Siege series hosted by Harsh Mander in partnership with #karwanemohabbat: https://ow.ly/55e850ZcGm3

Read the full short story 'What a Time! What a Creature!' by G Nagarajan, translated from Tamil by Ashik Kahina, at the link in bio. https://www.himalmag.com/what-a-time-what-a-creature-himal-fiction-fest-2026/ Part of Himal Fiction Fest 2026: Southasian Fiction in Translation.