The resurgence of anti-India sentiment during the violent mass movement that overthrew the government of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed was cause for alarm. Yet, India had good reason to support a regime that, for all its faults, kept Bangladesh in the Indic sphere, to which it belongs historically. The author argues that India is striking a balance between the assertive Indira Doctrine that was cast in the long aftermath of the imperial Monroe Doctrine, and the benign Gujral Doctrine which was so pacifist as to fail to make much headway in South Asia. The Modi Doctrine seeks to combine power and goodwill in a calibrated strategy that leaves none of its neighbors in doubt that India is the regional power. India is indeed the indispensable power in South Asia. Employing power and persuasion, it must uphold a status quo that has served the sub-continent well since the horrors of Partition in 1947. And, Bangladesh is a test case of the responsibilities that come with India’s regional role.
Full Text PDFShortly after the Fall of Saigon in 1975, the victors from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) imprisoned over one million former military officers, government workers and supporters of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in Reeducation Camps. While these camps were supposed to rehabilitate their former foes for life in a communist society, re-education became a euphemism for incarceration under conditions of extreme hardship and deprivation. Many prisoners were musicians, amateur and professional, some of whom composed songs in the camps. These works reflect the indignities the prisoners suffered, as well as longing for loved ones, and an aspiration toward a higher humanity. In the face of the doctrinal regimentation imposed on the society outside the camp walls, these songs resulted in a range and depth of expression absent from the Vietnamese society of that time.
Full Text PDFThe fall of Saigon marked an abrupt loss of a state and national identity for tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees. As they faced an exilic and diasporic existence in the United States they wrote, performed, and recorded a substantial amount of music. Much of this music reflected their new exilic identity. Three categories could be discerned about this music. First is the music of having lost the Republic of Vietnam, especially Saigon, to the communist enemies. Second is the music “for those remaining behind”: family members and friends who were experiencing imprisonment, political repression, and economic impoverishment. Third is a music that articulates the hope for returning to a communist-free Vietnam, possibly through the support for armed violence. Together, these categories reveal the political identity that refugees attached to the former Republic of Vietnam while they adapted to a new society from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s. Their musical experience made up a restorative nostalgia that was heavily informed by noncommunist nationalism and republicanism.
Full Text PDFFor four decades, Paris by Night, a pre-recorded musical-variety show hosted predominantly in the United States, has been a cultural pillar of Vietnamese families across the globe. From war-time music and love ballads to sketch comedy and singing competitions, the show, which has sold millions of copies worldwide, encapsulates both mainstream, diasporic-Vietnamese cultural identity and anti-communist political ideology. As of 2024, Paris by Night is still officially banned in Vietnam despite its prevailing popularity, as demonstrated by its accessibility in the black market. Contrary to the commonly held notion that the show is merely a residual cultural artifact of the Republic of Vietnam, I argue that attention ought to shift towards how the show laid the foundation for what can be conceptualized as Vietnamese American music today. In taking samples from recorded shows from the 1990s to the present, I make the case that both the producers and cast of the show have not only reproduced music from the Republic of Vietnam, but have also incorporated new forms and renovated genres by introducing elements from American popular music as well as other mainstream international music, to produce a platform that is uniquely Vietnamese American.
Full Text PDFThis article studies the music of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, as well as the music of the Republic of Vietnam, and of the diaspora. It shows that in the twenty-first century, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has permitted many songs from the fallen Republic of Vietnam to be produced in the reunified country. More commonly known as pre-1975 songs in the diaspora, many musicians in Vietnam have dubbed the repertoire as bolero instead, highlighting the elements of Western progeny over the cultural memories of war and exodus. Using a postcolonial reading, this essay calls into question these selective revisions and recontextualizations, arguing that the musicians in Vietnam have been deploying a tactic of “self-orientalization,” or self-criticism and cultural reformation, in order to respond to the postwar politics of state censorship. In doing so, the musicians have been able to portray themselves and the pre-1975 repertoire as being politically innocuous, which in turn offers them the leverage to work with the censors and cover politically taboo songs legitimately.
Full Text PDFTolerance is popularly understood to be a virtue. It is renowned as a position of sympathy and magnanimity which seeks to promote care for peoples across disparate backgrounds. In reality, tolerance is a far more complicated idea. In David Chariandy’s novel Soucouyant and David Guterson’s novel Snow Falling on Cedars, each narrative focuses on immigrant minorities who are subjected to various expressions of tolerance in their respective host communities. These novels show that while tolerance in and of itself does not necessarily promote care for immigrant minorities, it does set a precondition of peace, amity, and politeness through which care and empathy might arise. Through studying these novels, this essay argues that while it is certainly an imperfect position, tolerance is desirable insofar as it allows people, who might otherwise share an uninhibited animus for one another, the possibility to empathize with each other.
Full Text PDFRising Asia is a scholarly publication and journal of record with a multidisciplinary orientation. It serves as a resource for the study, investigation, and teaching of Asian societies. Each volume of the journal contains interpretive essays on all aspects of Asian history, economy, diplomacy, literature, health, science, military affairs (war, peace and society or WPS) and culture.
Its coverage spans the humanities and social sciences, incorporating various thematic approaches—historical, economic, foreign policy, military, literary and theoretical that explore issues of grand strategy, ideology, ethnicity, race and gender, diasporic and indigenous communities, and colonialism and postcolonialism. The journal also publishes research articles in the field of Film Studies, as well as commentaries on museum exhibits and resource guides, provided all of them are scholarly in nature.
| Title: | Rising Asia Journal |
|---|---|
| Frequency: | Three times a year |
| ISSN: | ISSN 2583-1038 |
| Publisher: | Rising Asia Foundation |
| Chief Editor: | Harish C. Mehta |
| Copyright: | Rising Asia Foundation |
| Starting year: | January 2021 |
| Subject: | Multidisciplinary subjects |
| Language: | English |
| Publication Format: | Online |
| Phone No: | 91-9830721954 |
| Email id: | harishcmehta1968@gmail.com |
| Website: | www.rajraf.org |
| Address: | 32 T, New Road, Alipore, Kolkata 700 027, West Bengal, India |
HARISH C. MEHTA
PhD, McMaster University, Canada;
former Lecturer at University of Toronto, McMaster,
and Trent University;
and former Senior Indochina Correspondent,
The Business Times of Singapore.
harishcmehta1968@gmail.com
harish.mehta@utoronto.ca
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ANIRUDDHA LAHIRI
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras;
Wharton (Senior Leadership Program);
former positions: Senior Vice-President, Unilever;
Director, Hindustan Lever;
Managing Director ABP Ltd (publisher of The Telegraph),
President, The Chatterjee Group.
lahiriani@googlemail.com
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GURJIT SINGH
Former Ambassador of India to Germany, Indonesia, ASEAN, Ethiopia and the African Union;
currently honorary Professor of Humanities, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore (Japan, Indonesia, ASEAN, Africa and Europe),
ambassadorgurjitsingh@gmail.com
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ANG CHENG GUAN
Professor, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore. (International History and Politics of Southeast Asia),
iscgang@ntu.edu.sg
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JANGKHONGAM DOUNGEL
Professor, Department of Political Science, Mizoram University, Aizawl (Local/Regional Politics & Socio-Economic Development of Mizoram, and Autonomy Movements in the North East),
jdoungel@gmail.com
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Julie Banerjee Mehta
Former Lecturer, University of Toronto and York University, currently Guest Faculty Professor, Loreto College, Calcutta (Postcolonial and Gender Theory, World Literatures, Diaspora Studies and Southeast Asian Culture),
juliemehta57@gmail.com
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Suchorita Chattopadhyay
Professor, Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University (Comparative Literature, Japan, and Asian Diasporas),
suchoritachattopadhyay@yahoo.com
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Craig Etcheson
PhD (International Relations), University of Southern California; former Visiting Scientist at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health from 2017 through June 2022 (Transitional Justice, Genocide Studies, and Cambodia),
etcheson@ix.netcom.com
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Lalnundika Hnamte
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Pachhunga University College, A Constituent College of Mizoram University (Peace and Conflict Resolution; Northeast Indian politics; Sixth Schedule and Tribal Autonomy; Migration and Citizenship;
Look East/Act East Policy),
lalnundika@jbc.edu.in
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Tuan Hoang
Associate Professor of Great Books, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California (Modern Vietnamese Intellectual and Religious History, Vietnamese American History,
and Vietnamese Catholicism),
tuan.hoang@pepperdine.edu
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Sanjay Kathuria
PhD (Economics), University of Oxford; Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, and Ashoka University, Sonipat, India; Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research and former Lead Economist, World Bank (South Asian Trade and Investment, India's North East, Global Economy, Economic Growth, and Competitiveness),
sanjay@cprindia.org
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Veronica Khangchian
Assistant Professor, Gandhian School of Democracy and Socialism, ITM University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh; and former faculty in the Department of Sociology at Delhi School of Economics and Maitreyi College, University of Delhi (Ethnicity & Conflict, Migration, and Peace Processes in Northeast India),
verokarujiliu@gmail.com
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Vimal Khawas
Professor, the Special Centre for the Study of North East India, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (the Himalayan region, Sikkim, Nepal, Environmental Studies/Security, Development Studies, Urban and Regional Planning),
vimalkhawas@mail.jnu.ac.in
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Siddharth Mallavarapu
Professor, Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University (Disciplinary histories of International Relations, Theories of IR in the Global South, Asia in World Affairs, Comparative Political Thought, and Critical Security Studies),
siddharth.m@snu.edu.in
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Medha
Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University (South Asian Historical International Relations, Postcolonial and Decolonial approaches, Identities, Ideologies and Religion, and Discourse Theory),
medha@snu.edu.in
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Biswajit Mohapatra
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong (Politics, International Relations and Foreign Policy; and India's North East),
biswajitm1@gmail.com
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Nguyet Nguyen
Assistant Professor of History, Department of Social Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Alaska, Southeast, Juneau, Alaska (Vietnam War, U.S. Foreign Relations, Imperialism and Decolonization, and Gender Politics),
ntnguyen2@alaska.edu
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Por Heong Hong
Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang (Malaysia's healthcare policy, biopolitics, politics of memory, politics of heritage),
porheonghong@usm.my
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Vu Duong Luan
Senior Lecturer, Department of Heritage Studies, and Head of Office of Research Affairs and International Cooperation, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (Transnational History of Sino-Vietnamese Early Modern Borderlands, Comparative Studies of Social and Economic Institutions of Imperial China and Vietnam, and the Politics of Heritage in Chinese and Vietnamese societies).
luanvuduong@gmail.com
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BOOKS
Mohini Maureen Pradhan
mohinipcal53@gmail.com
FILM STUDIES
Raka Mukherjee
rakamukherjeeofficial@gmail.com.
RESEARCH
Hemalatha Sridhar
tatsugarde@gmail.com
Hussena Calcuttawala
hussenacal@gmail.com
COLUMNS
Valentina Notts
valentinanotts@gmail.com
PUBLISHING EXECUTIVE
Roshni Subramani
sales.risingasia@gmail.com
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