Is tourism the solution to insurgency in the North East of India?
Memo #361 By Aadil Brar – aadil.brar [at] alumni.ubc.ca The Northeastern states of India have experienced years of violence and separatist movements. The AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act), the act gives the military and air forces the authority to interfere in the internal affairs of the regional states, applies to the seven sister states, Arunachal […]
Urban Narrative in Delhi, India: Art Explorations and Urban Ethnography
Memo #345 By: Claudia Roselli – roselliclaudia [at] gmail.com The city today embodies a place where fears, hopes, dreams and transformations swirl together, creating new landscapes. Our urban future can be marvellous or frightening, but contemporary researchers, such as sociologists, urban planners, architects and ethnographers can have an important role in shaping the forms of urban and peri-urban evolutions and […]
After a Massive Earthquake, Rebuilding it Right in Nepal
A Statement from the Institute for Asian Research, University of British Columbia: The Institute for Asian Research at UBC sends its deepest condolences to the people of Nepal in the aftermath of the 7.8 earthquake that struck the country on April 25th, 2015. UBC has many connections with Nepal, and many faculty, students, and alumni […]
Nepal: The Long Road to Recovery
A Statement from the Institute for Asian Research, University of British Columbia: The Institute for Asian Research at UBC sends its deepest condolences to the people of Nepal in the aftermath of the 7.8 earthquake that struck the country on April 25th, 2015. UBC has many connections with Nepal, and many faculty, students, and alumni […]
Amidst its Tragedy, Nepal’s Strategic Dilemma
Memo #333 By Tsering Shakya – tsering.shakya [at] ubc.ca Although previous studies have argued that international/donor agenda drives disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Nepal and strengthens the role of NGOs vis-à-vis the government, there are clearly differences in international influences by country, a fact made notable in the cases of China and India. Nepal’s fear […]
Going off the rails?
Memo #329 Challenges for small Indian cities planning metro projects By Simon Harding – sharding13 [at] gmail.com India is undergoing a metro boom. The country has spent US$41bn* on urban metro rail projects since 2002: The country’s six largest cities have begun constructing large-scale networks. Now smaller cities are following suit: Akhilesh Yadav, Chief Minister […]
The AAP’s “clean sweep” in Delhi Assembly Elections
Memo #327 What it means for India By Asim Arun – asimup [at] gmail.com The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP, Common Man’s Party) landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly polls this month is a rare instance of a civil society movement succeeding in democracy’s ultimate test: elections. The AAP is the child of the “India Against […]
Nepal’s Citizenship Challenges: Gender and Sovereignty in the Himalayas
Memo #326 By Sara Shneiderman – sara.shneiderman [at] ubc.ca It’s not often that the words “and” and “or” become political slogans, but this has happened in Nepal. A coalition of feminist and rights activists is demanding that the country’s new constitution grant citizenship on the basis of descent through “father or mother,” rather than “father […]
Pakistani Taliban: The Fault in their Narrative
Memo #323 By Dur-e-Aden – dur-e-aden [at] hotmail.com On December 16, 2014, Pakistani Taliban massacred over 132 children when they attacked a high school in Peshawar. They rationalized this attack as a reaction to the violence perpetrated against them (whether by the Pakistani military or US drones). This narrative attempts to shift blame for the […]
Understanding Kashmir, Tackling the Kashmir Problem
Memo #319 By Promod Puri – promodpuri [at] blogspot.com The division of the Indian sub-continent in 1947 generated a persistent hostility between India and Pakistan, a hostility dominated by clashing territorial claims over the Kashmir region. On the international stage the Kashmir problem is largely viewed in diplomatic, political, government and media circles with the understanding that the […]