South Asia
A Progressive Hindu Voice
A new political formation is taking shape among Hindu Americans, as progressive groups organize around anti-caste laws and opposition to Hindu nationalism.
The New South Asian Power Brokers
For decades, “South Asian” in the U.S. meant affluent Indian Americans in tech and business tied to corporate power and Hindu nationalism. But Zohran Mamdani’s rise signals a more expansive identity, one that is also working-class, coalition-driven, critical of nationalist politics — and includes Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Nepali and Indo-Caribbean communities.
Pakistani Singer Ali Sethi Blends the Traditional and the Transgressive
Trained in Hindustani classical music, the Pakistani artist Ali Sethi is known for blending South Asian traditions with global sounds and queer aesthetics. Once embraced across borders, Sethi now navigates cultural and political estrangement from both Pakistan and India, yet remains one of the subcontinent’s most prominent musicians.
In South Asia, a Battle Against Taboos on Female Sexuality
Young girls in Pakistan often grow up being told they can do certain things after marriage, and daughters in South Asia are often referred to as guests in their parents’ house until their marriage, waiting to be given away to their husbands at the right time.
The Long Shadow of Deobandism in South Asia
The new Taliban government in Afghanistan represents the realization of the 155-year-old Deobandi movement’s objective of establishing a regime led by religious scholars. Over this time, and possibly much like the Taliban today, these religious clerics oscillated between jihadism and pragmatic politics.