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. 

With regret

October 31, 2007 marks two years since Subcontinent South was launched as a weekly news digest.

We regret to announce that we are suspending publication of updates as of this date, for an indefinite period. We hope that someday, soon, we will have the resources and ability to resume this service in this or some other format. In that hope, we are not deleting this blog.

Thank you for visiting our site.

Subcontinent South Team

October 31, 2007.

Maldives Update; October 9, 2007.

Troops surrounded and then cleared an illegal mosque that had been accused of fomenting extremism.
Militants' arrested in Maldives, BBC News, October 8, 2007.

The move came a week after a British honeymoon couple were badly burned in the Maldives's first ever terrorist bomb attack

The Maldivian Government had four hundred radicals in detention in 2006.
Ajay Makan, Fundamentalism Biggest Threat To Maldives Security: Government Advisor, Minivan News, October 7, 2007.

Foreign Ministry has refused to comment officially on travel restrictions for Maldivians in Pakistan.
Ajay Makan, No Maldivians In Our Madrassas: Pakistan, Minivan News, October 7, 2007.

Sri Lanka Update: October 7, 2007.

It has become a favourite pastime for government politicians to label as “Tigers” all those who oppose their views.
Iqbal Athas, If you tell the truth, you will be damned, Sunday Times, October 7, 2007.

“The LTTE is maintaining patience and still restricting itself to a defensive war.”
Senpathi, Military ups the ante in the Wanni, The Nation on Sunday, October 7, 2007.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) commenced covert investigations two years ago into LTTE fund raising activities, as part of its anti-terrorism initiative.
Ayesha R. Rafiq,Tiger lawyers in move to prove LTTE a liberation force, Sunday Times, October 7, 2007.

During the 2001-2004 regime of the UNP, it was able to take the peace process started by President Chandrika Kumaratunga to new heights.
Ravana, Federalism and the UNP’s political expediences, The Nation on Sunday, October 7, 2007.

The Tigers still control a mini-state in parts of the north, where they are engaged in near-constant fighting with government forces.

The war had its ups and downs, and even an Indian intervention, with peacekeepers, in the late 1980s. Nothing worked.
Slow Victory in Sri Lanka, Strategy Page, October 5, 2007.

Southern states Update; October 7, 2007.

A Sri Lankan fisheries trade union leader was shot dead at Madurai Central Prison.
Sri Lankan fisherman killed at Madurai prison , Colombo Page, October 6, 2007.

A magisterial enquiry has been ordered into the incident.
S. Vijay Kumar, Magisterial probe ordered into firing, The Hindu, October 07, 2007.

It is worth remembering that the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu subscribes to an anti-brahminical and even atheistic philosophy.
Amulya Ganguli, Ram Sethu issue unlikely to boost BJP prospects, India Interacts, October 07, 2007.

Most Indian prime ministers have either died in office, or faded away once they stepped down.
Debashish Mukerji, The southern satrap: H D Deve Gowda, Hindustan Times, October 5, 2007.

Also See:
Sitaram Yechury, Keep them separated, Hindustan Times, October 3, 2007.

Sri Lanka Update: October 5, 2007.

Even a northern victory, momentous as it would be, would not bring an end to Sri Lanka's conflict.
The northern front, The Economist, October 4, 2007.

There is no doubt that troops manning the Defences in the Wanni, contrary to the position they had taken earlier, have now turned their role into a more active one.
Ranil Wijayapala, LTTE in dire straits as Forces mull Northern advance, Daily News, October 5, 2007.

"In fact, Rajapakse is responsible for effectively tearing up the 2002 ceasefire."
Wije Dias, Sri Lankan president’s speech at the UN: lies in defence of war and human rights abuses, WSW, October 5, 2007.