🇲🇲 🪖The “general’s election” in Myanmar – Southasia Weekly #98

This week has been eventful, with the ramping up of tensions between India and Bangladesh, new revelations about anomalies in the voter roll revisions in Tamil Nadu, and Imran Khan being sentenced for corruption as Pakistan continues to clamp down on political opposition. But our eyes are on Myanmar, which is poised to hold elections this Sunday that look to be neither free nor fair. We’ve been working on stories that will unpack the (inevitable) election result and the extent of military repression in Myanmar - watch this space for that! 

In the meantime, we have important stories this week telling the story of last week’s attacks on Daily Star and Prothom Alo in the wake of Sharif Osman Hadi’s death, revealing the impact of mob justice and the interim government’s political paralysis in the lead up to Bangladesh’s election. And we have Romita Saluja revisiting a story of domestic violence and neglect that made headlines across India, only to fade away. We’re proud to be a platform for stories like these, and we hope to do even more in 2026. If you want to help power our reporting, join our ‘100 for Himal’ campaign and receive a 25% discount on our USD 99 membership plan, which includes our iconic Right Side Up map until 31 December. Help us reach 100 paying supporters before the end of the year!

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This week in Himal

Cyrus Naji writes that the violence in the aftermath of student protester Sharif Osman Hadi’s death was 18 months in the making, and reveals how mob justice and political paralysis is shaping Bangladesh’s politics in the lead-up to the February elections. 

State of Southasia will be taking a short break and will be returning with a new format soon. Stay tuned for more updates!

Also read: Myanmar’s “general’s election” has failed before it has even started

Also read: Ayesha Jalal on Pakistan’s 27th constitutional amendment: State of Southasia #37

Also read: The woman in the bathroom

Also read: Himal Interviews: Indian Muslims’ marginalisation and the myth of appeasement

This week in Southasia

Myanmar’s upcoming election will entrench military control

On 28 December, Myanmar will hold its first election since the 2021 military coup.  While the junta is claiming the elections will be a path to reconciliation, it has worked to stifle any criticism of the process, including from the media by restricting press accreditation, detaining and executing journalists. Civilians report violence and intimidation on the part of the junta (who threaten continued airstrikes targeting displaced civilians if they don’t vote) and anti-junta armed groups (who have abducted civilians to threaten them not to participate). Over 200 people have been arrested under electoral protection laws, sometimes for simply ‘liking’ an anti-election post on Facebook. 

While there are 57 parties on the ballot, most of them are linked to the military, with only six parties contesting nationally, and with many including the National League for Democracy unable to participate as they have been dissolved by the junta, making it likely that the military will win at the polls. The elections will also reach barely half of Myanmar as much of the country is held by anti-junta armed groups. The military is increasingly using airstrikes, with fleeing civilians in northern Mandalay bombed in the run-up to the elections. On 10 December, streets across Myanmar emptied as citizens observed a ‘silent strike’ to protest the election, indicating that the people do not support the electoral process. 

Elsewhere in Southasia:

• Hindutva supporters rally in front of Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi after lynching of 27-year-old Hindu garment factory worker in northern Bangladesh, reigniting India-Bangladesh tensions
• Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan and wife receive 17-year sentence for retaining, selling state gifts, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf calls proceedings a ‘sham’ 
• Over 9.7 million voters dropped from Tamil Nadu voter rolls after electoral roll revisions, with Chennai showing the highest deletions, abnormalities flagged around gender, deaths
• Damages from Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka estimated at USD 4.1 billion (LKR 1.3 trillion), approximately 374,000 workers affected, IMF approves USD 200 million ‘lifeline’ while India pledges USD 450 million for disaster recovery
• Germany reverses approvals for 600 Afghan refugees despite protests even as Pakistan continues to ramp up deportations of Afghans within the country
• India pledges long-term support for pharmaceutical supplies to Afghanistan in bid to reduce reliance on Pakistan after Taliban health minister visit to New Delhi
• Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering reports Maldives performing poorly in combating money-laundering and terrorism financing against standards set by international Financial Action Task Force 
• Seven Tibetans still missing after 80 detained for protesting illegal gold-mining in Sichuan province 
• India’s Bharatiya Janata Party received INR 60 billion in political donations from 2024-2025, Indian National Congress over INR 5 billion, including a large sum from electoral trusts, despite Supreme Court striking down electoral bond scheme last year 
• Rashtriya Swatantra Party chair Rabi Lamichchane meets Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, sparking speculation of an alliance ahead of Nepal’s elections in March

 Revisit the below archival stories from Himal adding more context to this week's news updates from Myanmar and India 

Also read: The generals’ election

Also read: Why New Delhi backed Sheikh Hasina – and botched its Bangladesh policy

Snap Southasia

Before we get into this week’s quiz, we’re thrilled to announce a special surprise. We’ve been keeping track of all the correct guesses for Snap Southasia, and are pleased to announce the top performers for 2025!

Where in Southasia was this photo taken? Click on your guess below (and check back in next week to see if you were right!)
 

Kolkata, India

Muzaffarabad, Pakistan

Dhaka, Bangladesh