Southasiasphere 4 Oct 2023: Delhi Police raid on Newsclick, elections in the Maldives, and more

In this episode, we talk about the Delhi Police raid on the office of the Indian news outlet Newsclick as well as numerous journalists’ homes; and debates around delimitation and the women’s reservation bill in India’s parliament. In “Around Southasia in 5 minutes”, we talk about the presidential election results in the Maldives, the reimposition of an internet ban in strife-torn Manipur, the BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s Islamophobic language in the Indian parliament, concerns over the Online Safety Bill and antiterrorism legislation in Sri Lanka, price controls impacting farmers in Myanmar and a recent massacre of resistance fighters in the country, and brewing controversy around elections for the position of the World Health Organisation’s South Asia regional director. For “Bookmarked”, we discuss the novel “The Laughter” by Sonora Jha. Episode Notes: BJP highlights NYT report linking NewsClick to China, targets Congress for defending news site: https://scroll.in/latest/1053926/bjp-highlights-nyt-report-linking-newsclick-to-china-targets-congress-for-defending-news-site A Global Web of Chinese Propaganda Leads to a U.S. Tech Mogul: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/world/europe/neville-roy-singham-china-propaganda.html The Maldives’ ruling party is fighting itself and the opposition in the race for president: https://www.himalmag.com/maldives-presidential-election-ibrahim-solih-mohamed-nasheed-abdulla-yameen-mdp-ppm/ G20 summit in Delhi, new allegations on the Easter Sunday bombings, the return of Nawaz Sharif and more: https://www.himalmag.com/g20-summit-delhi-2023-easter-sunday-attack-nipah-kerala-bangladesh-dengue-nawaz-sharif-jawan/ 2023 Half-Yearly Report: Anti-Muslim Hate Speech Events in India: https://hindutvawatch.org/hate-speech-events-india/ He live-streamed his attacks on Indian Muslims. YouTube gave him an award: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/26/india-monu-manesar-viligante-social-media/ The Bajaur bombing, India’s ban on rice exports, violence in Haryana and Gurugram and more: https://www.himalmag.com/bajaur-bombing-india-ban-rice-exports-communal-violence-haryana-gurugram-nuh-2023-rahul-gandhi-defamation/ Proposed Online Safety Bill: Sparking concerns over freedom of expression: https://www.themorning.lk/articles/kJoknFck7KnJZNZA6iG0 Myanmar junta slaps struggling farmers with price controls: https://www.irrawaddy.com/business/myanmar-junta-slaps-struggling-farmers-with-price-controls.html The Laughter: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sonora-jha/the-laughter/ Southasiasphere is our roundup of news events and analysis of regional affairs, now out every two weeks.