Southasiasphere, 20 Feb: Delayed elections in Sri Lanka, tax raids on BBC in India and more

In this episode, we talk about delayed local government elections in Sri Lanka. We discuss the tax raid on BBC offices in Mumbai and Delhi. We also discuss the shutdown of embassies in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In “Around Southasia in Five Minutes”, we discuss the release of PTM leader Ali Wazir after almost two years behind bars in Pakistan, a new political party law and a directive from the junta on civilians carrying firearms in Myanmar, the controversial appointment of Victoria Gowri as an additional judge of the Madras High Court in India, rumours of a growing rift in the Taliban in Afghanistan after critical comments made by interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, and Bangladesh’s selection of a new president. For “Bookmarked”, we discuss the documentary Dreaming of Words, which tells the story of Njattyela Sreedharan, a fourth-standard drop-out who went on to compile a comparative dictionary of Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. Full episode and transcript: https://www.himalmag.com/tax-raid-bbc-india-delayed-local-government-elections-sri-lanka-ptm-ali-wazir-release/ Episode Notes: Sri Lanka’s local elections are a major threat to the ruling class: https://www.himalmag.com/srilanka-local-elections-aragalaya-tax-policy-economic-crisis-ranil-wickremesinghe-rajapaksas/ Protests in Gwadar, a BBC documentary on Modi, Tamil fiction in translation and more: https://www.himalmag.com/southasiasphere-protests-gwadar-bbc-documentary-modi-gujarat-riots-tamil-fiction-translation/ Pashtuns will not be pawns in Pakistan’s dangerous game with the TTP and Taliban: https://www.himalmag.com/pashtuns-protest-pakistan-peshawar-mosque-bast-swat-waziristan-ttp-taliban/ Taliban regime under siege, within and without: https://www.himalmag.com/himal-briefs-taliban-regime-under-siege-afghanistan-2022/ Dreaming of words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWmRnOcm_Ko