UNHRC Approves Resolution on Human Rights Abuses in Sri Lanka
In March, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) approved a resolution calling out Sri Lankan authorities for the atrocities committed against the Tamil minority community during the 26-year civil war that ended in 2009. The resolution urged Sri Lanka to revise its law on preventing terrorism, as rights groups have accused the government of using the law to target dissidents. The resolution was sponsored by countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany; 22 members voted in favour, 11 voted against, and 14 members, including India, abstained. Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardene extended his appreciation to the countries that abstained or voted against the resolution. Gunawardene claimed that the resolution was tabled for “political purposes, by concealing the truth.” The passage of the resolution gives the UNHRC a mandate to collect and preserve information and evidence of crimes committed during Sri Lanka’s civil war—in which over 100,000 people, including 40,000 Tamil civilians, were killed—and establish a central international database for future persecution of war crimes. [Read More]
Sher Bahadur Deuba Replaces KP Sharma Oli as Nepal’s Prime Minister
Nepal’s political crisis deepened after former Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli dissolved the Parliament in December 2020. The dissolution was met with fierce opposition from the rival Nepal Communist Party, including former PM Prachanda. However, in February, the Supreme Court annulled the government’s move and reinstated the dissolved Parliament, ordering the leadership to summon the House within 13 days. Subsequently, the Oli administration lost its majority in the House of Representatives after the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists officially withdrew its support. The Parliament was then dissolved, as both Oli and the opposition parties were unable to form a majority coalition. In July, following an order by the Supreme Court to reinstate the Parliament, Sher Bahadur Deuba was appointed as the new PM after receiving 165 votes in the 271-member Lower House. [Read More]
Delta Variant in India Causes Oxygen Shortages, Black Fungus Epidemic
By April, India was mired in a rampant wave of COVID-19, reporting over 400,000 new cases each day. Despite multiple states imposing lockdown-like restrictions, India struggled to contain the virus. Due to the sudden and unprecedented rise in hospitalisations, there was a severe shortage of beds, oxygen, Remdesivir, and other medical equipment and supplies necessary to treat patients with severe symptoms. Many suppliers were also hoarding oxygen cylinders and critical medicine and selling them for exorbitant prices. During this second wave, India received support from many of its allies across the globe—including the United States, Russia, China, France, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom—who delivered critical medical supplies such as oxygen concentrators, respirators, liquid oxygen, emergency medical care united, surgical masks, therapeutics, and raw materials for vaccine production. [Read More]
Further compounding India’s misery, there was a parallel outbreak of mucormycosis, or Black Fungus, in May, with the health ministry declaring an epidemic. While the disease was previously relatively rare, the country recorded over 45,000 cases and 4,200 deaths from the deadly fungus over a two month period. Medical experts believe that the rising number of cases was likely due to the over-reliance on steroids to treat COVID-19 patients. Experts say that steroids, while effectively reducing the inflammation in the lungs, reduce immunity and raise patients’ blood sugar, specifically in diabetic patients. Therefore, immunocompromised individuals, such as cancer patients or individuals with HIV/AIDS, accounted for several Black Fungus cases. Another reason for the rise in infections was the unhygienic administration of oxygen to COVID-19 patients, wherein oxygen cylinders were not properly sterilised or disinfected and the oxygen was not passed through sterile water. [Read More]
Floods and Cyclones in South Asia Cause Widespread Devastation
Alongside the pandemic, South Asian countries also dealt with several natural disasters. In May, Cyclone Amphan emerged from the Bay of Bengal and made landfall in West Bengal and Bangladesh, resulting in at least 85 deaths in the latter. While cyclones are an annual occurrence in both West Bengal and Bangladesh, this was the first “super” cyclone in the Bay of Bengal since 1999. [Read More]
Two months later, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Nepal were struck by heavy floods that killed at least 221 people, impacted the lives of at least one million, and caused severe infrastructural damage. The rising frequency of heavy rainfall across the region has been attributed to climate change, which has led to an increasing number of floods. In 2017, floods caused over 1,000 deaths in South Asia. Similarly, 600 people were killed by floods in 2019. [Read More]
Taliban Takes Over Afghanistan as the US, NATO Forces Withdraw
In August, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan following the hasty withdrawal of United States (US) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops. After capturing several provincial capitals during a week-long blitz, the insurgents flooded Kabul and forced President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country, marking the collapse of the Afghan government and the end of the 20-year American campaign to rebuild the country. Apart from the emergency evacuation of thousands of foreigners and diplomats, the Taliban takeover led to over 100,000 Afghans being evacuated by several countries, including the US, the United Kingdom, and Iran. Simultaneously, there was a massive influx of refugees into neighbouring countries. [Read More]
India-Out Movement Gains Momentum Following Former Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen’s Acquittal
On November 30, former Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen was released from house arrest following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn his money laundering and embezzlement conviction. Soon after his release, he conducted a nationwide tour to reiterate his support for the “India Out” movement. The opposition coalition launched the “India Out” campaign in 2018 to criticise the government’s decision to sign “secret agreements” with India and allow it to establish military bases in the Maldives. In one of his rallies, Yameen called on the Maldivian government to hold a referendum to seek public approval for the Indian military’s continued presence on the island nation. In response to the campaign’s growing momentum, the government said it is “profoundly concerned” about the opposition’s attempts to spread “misguided and unsubstantiated information to propagate hatred towards India.” It noted that India remains one of the Maldives’ “closest bilateral partners,” and asserted that the movement is not reflective of public opinion about India but merely of a “small group of individuals and a few political personalities.” [Read More]
Ten-Day Long Protest Called Off After Pakistani Government Reaches Compromise With TLP
In November, the Pakistani government reached a compromise with Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and withdrew its ban on the far-right extremist group. According to the Interior Ministry, the decision was taken after the group assured that it would refrain from organising violent protests in the future. Islamabad also granted immunity to TLP leader Saad Rizvi. Furthermore, the provincial government of Punjab modified the fourth schedule, which contains a list of citizens monitored under the country’s anti-terrorism laws; 48 out of 90 TLP activists have now been removed from the list. The Punjab government also released 100 TLP members. In addition, the group will now be allowed to participate in elections. The move brought an end to a 10-day long protest by the TLP that saw the participation of 8,000 activists, who blocked roads and fired projectiles. [Read More]
Over the years, the TLP’s actions have frequently disturbed the peace, public health, and economic activity. In fact, soon after the revocation of the ban, a Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and set on fire by a mob of hundreds of TLP supporters for allegedly tearing and throwing away a poster of the TLP that had Quranic verses on it. [Read More]
Farmers’ Laws Repealed Following Months of Protest
In December, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella organisation of 40 Indian farmers unions, called off a year-long protest by tens of thousands of farmers at the capital city’s borders. Their decision came after the Indian government agreed to set up a committee to deliberate on the SKM’s demand for a guaranteed minimum support price for food grains. The government also agreed to discuss the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021, before it is tabled in the Parliament; vowed to compensate the families of farmers who died during the year-long protests; promised to urge state governments to withdraw cases filed against the farmers; and pledged to introduce penalty exemptions for crop burning. However, the government letter did not mention anything on the SKM’s demand for the dismissal of Union Minister Ajay Misra Teni, whose son was responsible for the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in October, when four protesters and a journalist were run over by a car. [Read More]
South Asia’s Biggest Stories of 2021
Find out more about the farmers’ protests, the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Nepal’s political crisis, and other top stories from South Asia in 2021!
December 31, 2021
In December, the SKM, an umbrella organisation of 40 farmers unions, called off a year-long protest by tens of thousands of farmers at the New Delhi border. IMAGE SOURCE: THE LEAFLET