Asia

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Thai Opposition to Potash Mine Becomes Community-Wide Fight

Tanya Roberts-Davis November 18, 2008 Tanya Roberts-Davis

Nuentang Taamain
Entering the North-Eastern Thai village of Ban Nonsomboon, one could be fooled by the appearance of rural tranquility: Children, parents and elders chat amongst themselves, relaxing in hammocks and sharing baskets of freshly cooked sticky rice. It doesn't take long, however, to notice the banners, stickers and posters throughout the community declaring, "No to Potash Mining!" Green flags signifying a commitment to a toxic-chemical-free zone wave in the breeze.

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India: Gay Pride Parade Mobilizes Against Discrimination

Sammy Loren July 10, 2008 Sammy Loren

Rainbow Pride Parade
As the locals of Calcutta, India began relaxing over tea on a humid Sunday afternoon, supporters of the city's sexual minorities, including lesbians, bisexuals, gays, transgender, Hijras (eunuchs), and heterosexuals took to the streets for a Rainbow Pride Parade. Much of India is still deeply conservative. Indeed, homosexuality in the Indian subcontinent is illegal.

Photo from NYU.EDU

Female Feticide, Infanticide on the Rise in India

Shuriah Niazi June 12, 2008 Shuriah Niazi

Child Development Minister, Renuka Chowdhury
The Chambal region of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh was notorious for its dacoits, or armed robbers. Now, the cause for terror is the low sex ratio in this area of the state. This threat can be traced to the falling sex ratio of the region. While the national average of women per 1,000 men is 933, and the state's figure is 920, the Chambal region shockingly has only 400 women per 1,000 men in some villages. The main reason for the grim sex ratio is the practice of female infanticide and female feticide.

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Rabindranath Tagore: Balancing the Local and the Universal

Rene Wadlow June 3, 2008 Rene Wadlow

Rabindranath Tagore
In a period of rapid change as we face today, it is often difficult to find the right balance between the cultural contributions and needs of the local, the national, and the universal.  One way of finding this balance is to look at the life and work of others, who earlier confronted the same challenges. One such person was the poet, writer and cultural reformer Rabindranath Tagore.

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Crisis in Burma: A Constitution is More Than a Document

Rene Wadlow May 7, 2008 Rene Wadlow

The tropical cyclone Nargris which struck the Burma Irrawaddy delta on May 3, and the incompetent military response for relief efforts, could be the equivalent of Katrina in New Orleans in showing the incoherence of Myanmar's military government and its disregard of the welfare of its people. Prior to the cyclone, the government was planning to hold a referendum on a government-drafted constitution for the country.  If all goes as in now planned, the referendum will be held on 10 May in most of the country and in the storm-ravaged areas on 24 May.  Were people to vote freely, it is likely that the military constitution would be swept away.