Himal Southasian

Himal Southasian (stylized as HIMĀL Southasian) is a monthly magazine publishing long-form journalism, including analysis, reportage, criticism, commentary, review, fiction and poetry, and is based in Kathmandu, Nepal.

History and profile

Himal Southasian was initially founded as the bimonthly magazine called as Himal. In 1996 the name got changed to Himal Southasian and enlarged the area to the area of Afghanistan to Burma and from Tibet to the Maldives. Furthermore, it has become a monthly magazine since then. Published and distributed by not-for-profit organization The Southasia Trust, funded by Norwegian embassy. Himal Southasian is an independent, non-nationalist and pan-regionalist magazine, offering stories for the entire region of South Asia.

Geographical Boundaries

Himal defines South Asia differently than the typical political blocking of countries. In its designation, it includes the nations of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and the autonomous region of Tibet. Other distinctive choices in terminology include its favouring of 'Southasia' as one word, and its use of 'Burma' instead of Myanmar. Despite its regional focus, Himal Southasian has a global readership, distributed across South Asia, as well as Europe and the USA.

Contents

The magazine debuted in 1987 as the bimonthly 'Himal', with a focus on the Himalaya region. 'Himal' became the monthly 'Himal Southasian' in 1996, shifting its focus to include a broader definition of South Asia. The magazine publishes long-form journalism and analysis on politics, culture, history and economics. In addition, it carries reportage, reviews, photo essays and fiction. Since January 2013, Himal Southasian divides its output between a thematic quarterly publication, Southasia’s first ‘bookazine’, and its website.^[1] Past quarterlies have been on topics like Afghanistan’s past, present and future, the state of the Southasian media, militarisation of its nation states, the Southasian diaspora, and the predicament of labour in the region.^[2] The magazine posts only some of their content from the quarterlies online but publishes other articles on its website regularly.

External links

• Himal Southasian website

References