Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks. If you are a member, you will automatically receive links to new episodes in your inbox. If you are not yet a member, you can still get episode links for free by signing up here.

In this episode, we talk about communal misinformation connected to the Odisha train crash in India and the abduction of the lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir in Pakistan.

For “Around Southasia in 5 minutes”, we talk about developments in the wrestlers’ protests in India, a poisoning incident involving primary schoolgirls and the drop of opium cultivation in Afghanistan, anti-China protests in Myanmar, amendments to legislation in Bangladesh limiting the Election Commissioner’s powers, and the arrest of a Tamil MP in Sri Lanka and what it reveals about military surveillance in the country’s North and East.

For “Bookmarked”, we discuss the Al Jazeera Witness documentary “No Place Like Home”, tracing the roots of a potentially illegal adoption from Sri Lanka.

Episode Notes:

Southasiasphere: Issue #3: https://www.himalmag.com/southasiasphere-issue-3/

States of denial: https://www.himalmag.com/states-denial/

Marriage equality in India, fencing the Durand line, wrestlers’ protests and more: https://www.himalmag.com/marriage-equality-india-durand-line-gurajat-nepal-earthquake-wrestlers-protests/

Opium den: https://www.himalmag.com/opium-den/

No place like home - Tracing roots from Norway to Sri Lanka: https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/program/witness/2023/5/31/no-place-like-home-tracing-roots-from-norway-to-sri-lanka

Full episode and transcript:

Listen to this episode on Soundcloud:

Youtube: https://youtu.be/ZF2QOAF5Aq8

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3X7hE75

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3N5DfIp