Facebook has become a tool for spreading hatred, sexual perversion and extremism. When people comment on sensitive topics like religion and gender, many cross the line of decency.
Jewish Footprints and Connections that Shaped Sri Lanka’s History
Today, the Chabad Houses in Colombo and on Sri Lanka's southern coast have attracted considerable attention amid a rise in anti-Semitic incidents and rhetoric. It is noteworthy that Colombo once had an active synagogue, which served as a regular place of worship for British Jewish servicemen World War II
Repositioning India as the Capital of Buddhist Tourism: A Blueprint for a Global Destination
Buddhist tourism as an important tool of India’s soft power. The shared Buddhist heritage can help develop cultural ties with Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Mongolia, South Korea, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, and several other Buddhist-majority nations through cooperation in archaeology, monk-to-monk dialogues, youth programs, academic exchanges, and cultural festivals
Mohenjo-daro’s ‘Dancing Girl’: The Silence Surrounding Women in Public History
Mohenjo-daro offers South Asia an opportunity to look backwards without dividing the past into national possessions, and to recognise that the region’s cultural memory is older and more interconnected than its modern inheritors.
How a Film by a Boston-Based Immigrant is Dismantling the Model-Minority Concept
Jam Boy represents a much-needed question for the South Asia diaspora, about why it takes a third aggressor for us to see the common struggles that we share, and why it is only in these situations that we remember that our ideas of home are the same.
More on Soft Power, Culture and Society
Studying the science of migratory birds - and what they tell us about the state of the environment
Keeping track of the migratory birds visiting the university campus, and how the impact of climate change would impact the migration of migratory birds, are among the subjects being promoted for research in universities across the globe. These include Beijing University, Royal University of Bhutan, University of SJP in Sri Lanka, HNB Garhwal University in India which are in the network of the Green TERRE Foundation.
Dhaka's hazardous air quality: Official indifference aggravating public health crisis
In response to public interest litigation filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), Bangladesh's High Court recently issued a nine-point directive to authorities to tackle the capital's life-threatening air pollution.
Nepali journalists express solidarity with Gaza colleagues; Hindutva influence questioned
During the conversations that took place afterward, the journalists discussed why Nepal’s government, press, and civil society have not been more vocal about what they termed as a genocide being enacted by Israel in Gaza.
Midnight's Third Child: Stories of Bengal that evoke a sense of yearning and connectedness
The essays cover distinct areas, exploring minority experiences and a wider Bengal, including, inevitably, West Bengal.
The art of Nandalal Bose and his message of nationalism
A democratisation of art, drawing from folk culture that is in direct contact with the realities of those who live close to the cycles of nature, represents a modern outlook that draws inspiration from contemporary reality.
Of wars, their hyped virtual reality and pocket wars
The hyped technology has led us into a frenzied time where we either switch between TV channels or move our fingers on our smartphone screen for the next reel or newsfeed. Stuck within the labyrinth of visual images we are yet to find a new strategy to recover the lost humanity.
Peacebuilding on stage: ‘Gandhi and Jinnah’ in a cathartic reenactment of South Asia’s tragic past
Against this backdrop, the staging of Dr Ahmed’s “Gandhi and Jinnah Return Home” in the Washington D.C. area offered a rare opportunity to witness peacebuilding at play. In one of the play's scenes, Jinnah and Gandhi resurface to debate the costs of partition alongside contemporary Indians and Pakistanis. After many rounds of dialogue, the two embrace one another.
The Golden Bachelor: Is India ready for mature romances?
The chemistry between Dharmendra and Shabana Azmi in the latest Karan Johar film ‘Rocky aur Rani’ suggests that Indian audiences are beginning to recognise that older people don’t just have a pulse, they actually have a heart!
Cutting-edge technologies are fast hurtling the world toward destruction
Any serious conversation about AI also needs to take into consideration the role of deep fake using AI to wreak havoc among society and even intruding into private spaces for monetary and other gains.
Tagore and Gandhi's ideas have great relevance in today's world
Today the distance between the vision and way of life of Tagore and Gandhi and current perspectives is growing. And though the effort and work done with fervour in their names continue, most of that energy is outside India.
The Indian diaspora's 'indentured route' - and a 'lost' children's quest for identity
Ironically, the forced migration also laid the seeds of a diaspora in countries where Indians of another generation looking for better economic opportunities would not have normally settled.
Why was the Aragalaya movement in Sri Lanka personal to me?
What had started as unrest – in response to decades of failed promises, nepotism – had been reduced to a mob seeking revenge. The question remains on how to preserve the spirit of the former whilst recognising the nature of the latter.
A South Asian film festival in Lahore - and the allegory of a sacrificial lamb
A well-connected and bonded youth of the region can ensure a much happier, more creative society and contribute to a better future.
The Eurocentric Nobel Prizes: Smacking of biases and double standards
After all how objective or desirable can the Nobel Prize for Peace be if Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest messenger of non-violence the world has seen for centuries, never got it? His name was nominated several times but Sweden did not want to annoy Britain.
