Dengue Fever

No, I am not talking about the mosquito-borne tropical disease that appears in many South and South-east Asian countries. Dengue Fever is an American band from Los Angeles who performs psychedelic rock fusioned with Cambodian pop and lyrics in Khmer language. I first heard the enchanting lead singer Chhom Nimol (the first name is Nimol) in Radio Paradise, the High Definition radio channel. Then I looked up at Google to find out more about the...

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Sayings of Kabir

Image Credit Wikimedia Saint Kabir was a 15th-century mystic poet from India, whose writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Adi Granth. Here are some of his inspirational quotes: During suffering, everyone prays to the Lord, but when experiencing happiness, we forget to thank God. If one were to pray to God even during the good times, can the bad times ever trouble one?  Instead of doing...

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Bangladesh Police Chief Tells Bloggers, "Don't Cross the Line"

Activists march in a torch-light vigil demanding immediate arrest and exemplary punishment to the killers of secular blogger Niloy Neel. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Image by Khurshed Alam Rinku. Copyright Demotix (8/8/2015) It has been five days since the assassination of secular blogger Niloy Neel but Bangladesh police authorities have made no significant progress investigating his murder. Neel was hacked to death by a band of five men...

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Maldivians March to Mark Anniversary of Local Journalist's Disappearance

Image via the Facebook page of Secular Democratic Maldives Movement It has been 365 days since Maldivian journalist, blogger and human rights advocate Ahmed Rizwan Abdulla went missing. The 28-year-old, who works for online news site Minivan News, is an advocate of democracy and free speech and a prolific social media user. There has been no real progress in the investigation and the people behind his abduction have not been identified. The...

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"No Country For Secular Bloggers": Niloy Neel is the Fourth Bangladeshi Blogger To Be Killed in 2015

Murdered blogger Niloy Neel, Image by Reza Sumon. Copyright Demotix On Friday, August 7 at approximately 1:45pm, five assailants armed with machetes entered the flat of blogger Niloy Neel and killed him brutally. When his wife and sister attempted to save him, the attackers threatened to kill them too. Niloy is the fourth blogger to be killed in Bangladesh over the last six months. All those killed were secular and critical...

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Why Britain Owes India for 200 Years of Brutal Colonialism

Shashi Tharoor speaking at Jaipur literary festival. Image by Jim Ankan Deka. Copyright Demotix (23/1/2015) Indian Opposition MP, former minister and former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations Shashi Tharoor recently participated in a debate at the Oxford Union society arguing that Britain owes reparations to India for misdeeds committed during two centuries of colonial rule. The 15 minute clip containing Tharoor's powerful and...

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Citizen Media Shows Why India Is Unlikely to Reach Its Millennium Goals Target for Maternal Mortality

In the hamlet of Indkatha, Jharkhand state in eastern India, women of the Ho tribe take lessons to reduce maternal mortality. Image by Freny Manecksha. Copyright Demotix (11/11/2008) According to the UN Millennium Development Goals, India should bring down its maternal mortality rate (MMR) to 109 per 100,000 live births by 2015. This is a tough ask, as from an MMR of 437 per 100,000 live births in 1990-91 India has only achieved...

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