| All Drawings by BILASH RAI |
As a new year rolls in, a host of lists 'measuring' everything from poverty to literacy to mortality rates are doing their annual rounds. It is a depressing time for Southasians, whose countries are inevitably at the bottom of most such rankings. Chhetria Patrakar would like to begin by embracing the bad news on the media front. Pakistan bagged third place, followed by India, with Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka coming ninth as 'most dangerous' countries for journalists. While we could certainly quibble over methodology and placing, scribes do have a tough time in Southasia. With the high level of intimidation and insecurity in many parts of the region, the situation may well be more dire than the rankings make it out to be.
