South vs North

In this issue, I'm looking at the election results in India, the world's most populous country, its major parties, and what is at stake, plus the tensions between North and South Korea over literal trash balloons. I'm also talking about some major music and film festivals that took place last week in Addis Ababa, in London and in Arusha, a podcast episode about that critically looks at books, movies and art from and about Kashmir in the last 20 years, my Ethio-jazz favorites in this newsletter's very own Spotify playlist, yoga in Pakistan, an online review in Nigeria that's putting someone in prison for it, and so much more.

India's 2024 election results are underway -- Here what's at stake

What happened:
The 2024 elections were held to elect new members of India's parliament (called the Lok Sabha), and vote counting is underway. Voters are choosing 543 members for the lower house of Parliament for a five-year term.

Why this matters:
This year's Lok Sabha election was the second-longest since India's first election in 1951-52. Nearly 970 million people were eligible to vote in India's general elections. Also, some polls view this election as a test for the country's democratic values, as some of these values "have eroded during Modi's 10-year-rule," writes AP.

Tell me more:
Some 642 million people voted in the election, with an average 66% turnout across the seven phases, according to official data. The election pitted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, against a broad alliance of opposition parties that were struggling to play catch up. It was essentially a big contest between two major alliances:

• The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) -- Led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They have been in power since 2014. Major parties are, next to BJP, also Shiv Sena, JD(U) and Akali Dal.
• The Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) -- This was a new alliance formed by several opposition parties to take on the BJP. The major parties involved are Congress, DMK, TMC, NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT faction), JD(S), RJD, SP, JMM and AAP.

It is a high-stakes election. If the NDA wins again, it would mean Modi getting a rare third consecutive term as PM. But if INDIA does well, it could mean a major change in government.

Did you know?
For the first time, more than 17 million registered voters chose to vote from home.

Good to know:
The percentage of Muslims in India has gone up (from 11 to 14 percent), but the percentage of Muslim members in Parliament has come down (from 9 to 5 percent) from what it was decades ago. Muslims in Indian politics? Pretty much underrepresented.

What now?
Today (June 4), the vote counting begins, and early trends show the NDA crossing the majority mark needed to form government again. However, INDIA also appeared to be putting up a strong fight, especially in some key states. Both sides claim leads in different regions as the counting is going on through the day. Right now, the NDA seems headed for another victory, though the margins are/remain close in many places. At least one big surprise, though: India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, is showing surprising early leads for the opposition, despite being previously controlled by Modi's party.

Fun fact:
Omar Abdullah, a prominent politician from Jammu and Kashmir, already conceded defeat and congratulated his opponent, Sheikh Abdul Rashid, a former legislator, who is currently in jail. Despite being jailed, Rashid was leading against Abdullah by a huge margin of over 125,000 votes in Baramulla. 'Well, that's democracy for you,' Abdullah kinda tweeted.

Dive deeper:
India's got the most people on WhatsApp and YouTube subscriptions than anywhere else on this planet. But here's the thing -- researchers who keep an eye on fake news and hate speech in India say the big tech companies like Google, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram have dropped the ball big time. After years of failing to properly enforce their own rules, the tech firms are using one-size-fits-all approaches that don't account for how diverse India is -- languages, religions, regions, cultures and all.

Zoom out:
This, of course, has deep implications for all of Southasia -- and not just because India is the region's largest country. Himalhas kept an independent Southasian eye on Modi's India even as so much of the media in India itself has amplified authoritarianism, communalism and nationalist chauvinism. Read their "Modi's India from the Edges" series.

One giant step back in the relationship between North and South Korea

What happened:
Things are getting heated again between the two Koreas. As of this week, South Korea is pulling the plug on an agreement they had with North Korea back in 2018. The two countries are now further away from signing an official peace treaty to formally end the Korean War.

Why this matters:
The Korean War was a big deal. Here's a refresher: The war resulted in millions of dead, missing, abducted, and refugee civilians in both Koreas. The official statistics? One million civilians died in South Korea and some 600,000 in North Korea.

Tell me more:
See, North Korea has been up to some shady stuff lately, like sending hundreds (!) balloons filled with trash and other nasty things over to the South. The balloons carried cigarette butts,...