The Subcontinent: 12 March 2021
COVID: Second Wave in India?
Sarong Movement in Myanmar
Pawri Over for TikTok In Pakistan
Nepal Restricts Everest Videos/Photos
Book: Sita, Now You Know Me
1. COVID: Second Wave in India?
Has the second wave of COVID hit India? The Hindustan Times has four charts that show "how the talks of India's second wave of infections may be entirely valid" (The Hindustan Times)
What are the four new trends?
Nationwide resurgence of new infections continues
States where cases are rising twice as fast as the national average
Positivity rate has again started going up
Trajectory of active cases has been rising for 20 days.
Also
Nagpur becomes first major Indian city to return to lockdown: BBC
India recorded close to 1 lakh Covid-19 cases in the last 5 days: Hindustan Times
One Airline Is Offering $4 Covid Tests to Get People Flying: Bloomberg
Third Covid-19 wave has started in Pakistan (Pakistan Tribune
2. Sarong Movement in Myanmar
It is being called a Sarong Movement, as women hang skirts at vantage points to thwart an attack by soldiers who are superstitious about walking under women’s clothing. A traditional belief system suggests that walking beneath women's clothing will make the men appear weaker (The National Post).
Strongest Statement Yet
The UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has described the new regime as "a murderous, illegal regime", which is "now likely engaging in crimes against humanity."
This is the harshest statement by a UN official on Myanmar.
Also
Britain advises its citizens to flee Myanmar: The Guardian
Coup strands over a million Myanmar workers in Thailand: Nikkei
3. Pawri Over for TikTok In Pakistan
Pakistan has been Tik Tok for spreading "immoral content." This follows a ban by the Peshawar High Court following a petition which alleged that the app was promoting obscenity (Dawn).
The app is already banned in neighboring India, albeit for a different reason (Financial Times).
The pawri (slang for a party) meme, which spread like wildfire in the subcontinent, also originated from a Pakistan TikTok star.
4. Nepal Restricts Everest Videos/Photos
The Nepal government has imposed restrictions on the filming and photography 'of others' on Mt Everest. There is no restriction on filming one's own self (The Kathmandu Post).
Experts say that strict enforcement will be difficult.
Why?
A photograph of a long serpentine line of climbers, which was termed an "Everest traffic jam," had caused considerable embarrassment to authorities who may not wish similar photographs to circulate (Explorers Web)
5. Book: Sita, Now You Know Me
Indian American author Sini Panicker's first novel has hit the shelves. Titled "Sita, Now You Know Me," the author described it as a journey inside Sita's mind where we "see a woman evolved far beyond her time, a woman who speaks to us today, out of the narrative of one of the oldest epics."
Read an Interview with Sini Panicker: "From heroin to India's first heroine: Indian American author Sini Panicker speaks about her debut novel" (The American Bazaar).