What's news from the South?

A quick review of news headlines today was interesting for reasons other than the news content itself. Top Google news search headlines in each of the places within the scope of this blog call for comment in themselves.

Let's start with Chennai. The oil spill off Ennore is one of the leading items, rightfully. The oil spill followed the collision of two ships near Kamarajar port in Ennore last weekend. The spill has had an impact on aquatic life and on the livelihoods of fisher communities in the area. The jallikattu protests and violence continue to be the subject of news and analysis. There is also a report about a Madras High Court effort to gather information about norms and practices relating to gender discrimination in the provision of public toilet facilities.

The Tamil Nadu search yields stories about water-sharing arrangements and dams and also a new thermal plant.

Pondicherry is now officially Puducherry.

From Andhra Pradesh, there is news of a Maoist ambush on the Andhra-Odisha border in Koraput. On January 30, police officers from both states had met there to discuss operations against the Maoists. It has also been reported that the Coast Guard HQ near Vishakhapatnam will acquire an air enclave by 2018. Swine flu has been reported in Telengana.

Following the success of the jallikattu protests in Tamil Nadu, the demand for reviving kambala is in the news in Karnataka. The death of six tigers in Bandipur and Nagarhole reserves has also drawn attention. The most recent headline on the news search relates to the death of 12000 newborns every year in Karnataka. The water dispute with Goa over the Mhadei river makes its presence felt over election news in that state.

The strategic importance to India of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is discussed in this article. Lakshadweep's leading news is about its presence in the Republic Day parade in 2017.

Sri Lankans take cricket seriously but the Google news feed as I write this would suggest they think about nothing else! News from the Maldives is like a holiday and tourism blog, but tucked away are reports about arrested dissenters and journalists.

The point is: What one can catch on any feed is quite arbitrary, be it Google News or a social network. How does one then come to understand what it is that people think about or worry about in the course of a day? And without that understanding, how does one join in their search for mutually acceptable solutions? 

Revival

In October 2005, as part of my consultancy's portfolio (although I wasn't thinking so strategically), I set up a weekly digest that I would curate, compile and post every Sunday, called Subcontinent South. It was a one-person exercise for about two years, sustained with religious dedication. The weekly web-page became too onerous and I switched to this blog, and around that time, 2007-ish, an intern joined me in doing this work, Gokul Chandrashekhar. Gokul and I kept the blog going till 2009 when I finally threw in the towel, writing this brief post.  

This is how I described it: 

Attention to South Asia remains largely attention to its large states; India and Pakistan's troubled relationship garners the maximum attention. Subcontinent South is an initiative of Chaitanya-The Policy Consultancy intended to draw attention to news, developments and trends in the southern part of the South Asian subcontinent, which we define as including Sri Lanka, Maldives and India's southern states and island territories.

Started in October 2005, Subcontinent South is not intended to be a comprehensive news resource; instead, we will identify a short list of stories in the course of the week that we consider to be of significance from the point of governance, security and gender. Past issues were prepared in a weekly web-page format and are archived here (link now defunct).

Subcontinent South, a cottage industry operation, quietly turned into a resource that many valued greatly. People wrote in with information; I know there were times when it was the only resource on a crisis and I would later meet people who regretted that I had shut it down. 

I never shut down the blog and I could not have explained why. The hope that I could revive this resource and the anxiety that I will not have the energy to sustain it have battled within. But today, the desire to do this wins by arriving at a very expedient framework: "Same subject area, but I will curate or comment as it suits me." 

In the almost-nine years between my last post and this one, while news media focus on the south has changed with the emergence of south-focused portals and programming, this niche area--security, governance and gender--still merits thoughtful attention. 

I posted a link to this wonderful Himal Southasian map of the region on the first edition of Subcontinent South, and I would like to re-post it here as a way of reminding ourselves of how perspective matters. Himal has had to shut down in recent times, but I will hope, like hundreds of its other fans, that it will be back sooner rather than later.