South Asia

| INDIAN MANDALA

In the past month, protests calling for the restoration of the monarchy have broken out in the Himalayan country in which pictures of an Indian BJP leader have appeared. New Delhi has repeatedly expressed support for the king and for Nepal to return to being a Hindu state. But many believe the protests express dissatisfaction with traditional parties, which are not keeping their promises of prosperity.

by Nirmala Carvalho

In Varanasi, the celebrations for the end of Ramadan are blocked due to closures related to a Hindu holiday. Meat, fish and poultry shops have had to close; only a few vegetarian markets are available. Protests also break out in Meerut over the ban on street praying.

| 31/03/2025
| INDIA
by Melani Manel Perera

Jeyakumari Balendran writes to the president, the fifth since her son was detained, asking for information on his fate. Conscripted by the LTTE, he was last seen in a picture taken when he was in a rehab camp. For 17 years, Tamil families have been seeking justice for the thousands of missing. Relatives told AsiaNews that they want an “international inquiry” right away.

| 31/03/2025
| SRI LANKA

A crowd stormed a Sufi shrine, replacing the green flag with a saffron flag, a symbol of Hindu nationalism. In Nagpur, clashes broke out on 17 March after extremist groups called for the removal of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb. In this tense climate, Prime Minister Modi is expected in the city. Once a symbol of harmony, it has become a stronghold of the RSS paramilitary organisation and the centre of religious and political tensions.

| 28/03/2025
| INDIAN MANDALA
by Shafique Khokhar

An explosion in the Barech market area, among the victims a doctor known for his cancer treatments. The massacre comes after the indiscriminate arrests following the seizure of the Jaffar Express train. Local civil society voices to AsiaNews: ‘The government must find a clear solution to the long-standing demands of the Baloch people’.

| 28/03/2025
| PAKISTAN

The Bangladeshi leader starts a four-day visit that is viewed with suspicion in New Delhi at a time when the regional balance of power in South Asia is still shaky after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster. Reducing interest on its loans is Dhaka's most important request to Xi Jinping. Large Chinese investments in solar panel production and other outsourcing opportunities in Bangladesh are other top issues.

| 27/03/2025
| RED LANTERNS
by Arundathie Abeysinghe

A move to increase tax revenues, but risks undermining domestic production that had experienced a period of strong expansion. The association that brings together operators expresses great ‘concern’. For experts, a tax regime ‘that incentivises locally assembled vehicles’ is preferable.

| 27/03/2025
| SRI LANKA
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“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”