It's that time of the year: we at Himal Southasian have compiled a selection of some of our most-read book reviews for 2023. These pieces raise questions that deserve wider debate and deeper reflection, and we hope they serve as starting points for richer conversations on Southasia.
In no particular order, here's our selection:
The historic struggle for housing by Bengali migrants in London
Ashraf Hoque reviews Shabna Begum's From Sylhet to Spitalfields, a searing history of the lives of Bengali squatters in 1970s East London. Ashraf explores how this historic struggle for housing by Bengali migrants in London is a chilling reminder of how migrants in the United Kingdom were – and continue to be – treated by local authorities and the wider state machinery.