From India’s Hardnews, it’s time for the Indus Valley to re-adopt its Persian socio-religious legacy; and why are we becoming so intolerant? The collective willingness to ban and burn books, intimidate authors, denounce this slight to that icon’s honour, is part of a creeping culture of political exchange in which public authority is all too ready to be coercive towards those it finds politically inconvenient (and more). The enigma of Bhutan: Two decades ago, nearly one-sixth of the population was forcibly expelled — how did King Wangchuck escape any real censure? How the surging popularity of “Himalayan Viagra” is causing murder and violence in Nepal. Three years after a debilitating civil war in Sri Lanka, people continue to disappear. From Bangladesh's Forum, Kazi Ataul-al-Osman on the politics of religion and distortion of ideologies; and Ziauddin Choudhury on the politics of intolerance and our future. From Naked Punch, Peter Tatchell on Pakistan’s neo-colonial rule in Balochistan. Dangerous place: Pakistan’s remote and poorly understood tribal region has emerged as key to the future of both Pakistan and Afghanistan. How to leave Afghanistan: America can’t let India dictate South Asia’s map.
