Following on what some have characterised as an increasingly faltering campaign, recent months have seen a renewed push by the Thimphu government to strengthen the usage of Bhutan's
A creeping clampdown on Christianity in Bhutan poses the serious question of whether the kingdom has really set itself on the path to secular democracy.
The controversial 'arrest' of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Raju Baruah in early December caused a localised storm that nonetheless quickly
Two books present the dichotomy of Bhutan´s image - from one perspective, the progressive-though-traditional idyll, to another, the authoritarian-to-dictatorial regime.
For more than 15 years, the Bhutanese government painted circles around Kathmandu's authorities, as well as those concerned in the international community, regarding the repatriation of the Nepali-speaking
BANGLADESH/ INDIA
Power-hungry
Perhaps counter-intuitively, nothing leads to cooperation between Southasian countries better than crippling shortages. With much of the region reeling under severe power scarcities, there are always plans
Both Bhutan and the Maldives constitute Southasia's most interesting democratic experiments at the moment; and both seem to have hit on a formula to deal with India as
In March 2008, Bhutan ended its century-old system of absolute monarchy in favour of parliamentary democracy. This was a significant decision for a state that had always fought against democracy,
BANGLADESH/INDIA
Thai excess
All illustrations by BILASH RAI
Yet another tragic story of migration has recently begun to unfold in Southasia. Over 300 Burmese Rohingya 'boat people'