In an exclusive interview with CNN.com, Robert McNamara, the chief architect of U.S. policy in Vietnam, said it most eloquently that the 20th century “will go down as the bloodiest century in all of human history. We'll have lost 160 million people, killed by conflict. Is that what we want in the 21st century?”
Even though numerous historians identify with the thesis of Kevin Costner’s 2000 movie “Thirteen Days” that the escalation of the Cold War brought the world to the brink of a nuclear war, most however identify with Cold War historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and his assertion that the conflict between the Soviet Union and the Free-World saw “the ripening of American leadership unsurpassed in the responsible management of power . . . [a] combination of toughness . . . nerve and wisdom, so brilliantly controlled, so matchlessly calibrated that [it] dazzled the world."
SOUTHASIA Magazine, formerly called THIRDWORLD INTERNATIONAL, was established by veteran journalist and media personality, Syed Jawaid Iqbal in 1977, during the height of the Cold War. Where the conflict was primarily between the United States and the former Soviet Union, the battles were most often fought in the Third World nation-states such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Angola, Afghanistan, Panama, and Cuba to name a few. THIRDWORLD INTERNATIONAL covered ground-breaking news such as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the rise of the mujahideen, the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and more recent events of the War on Terror. THIRDWORLD INTERNATIONAL concentrated and brought to life the evolution and development of the entire world during, and after, the Cold War; and although its name changed to SOUTHASIA in 1997, its focus on political and economic development has never wavered.
Today, South Asia is home to about one fifth of the world’s population and stands poised for a giant leap in this century. It is a vast frontier just waiting to be won by those with enterprise and Initiative. SOUTHASIA magazine provides one of the best analytical previews and reviews of the events and trends to the decision-makers in the region. The magazine is reputed to be extremely objective and is constantly endeavoring to reduce tensions as well as encourage mutual rapport amongst the people of the region.
SOUTHASIA distinguishes itself by having correspondents and writers located in the key cities of the region, who provide a non-governmental input to decision-makers and opinion-builders in South Asian countries to express their views from a regional perspective.
As part of a concerted effort to come full circle and explore how the Indian Sub-Continent – and most importantly its trans-atlantic diaspora – has evolved since the Cold War, SOUTHASIA Online will focus not only to give an internet voice to its monthly contributions, but most importantly to go beyond journalistic endeavors and provide a deep and critical understanding of the post Cold War world.
One way to embark on this endeavor is to combine investigative reporting with an in-depth theoretical foundation as provided by academic, philosophical, and aesthetic studies. It is for this reason that SOUTHASIA Online aims to address issues from South Asia and its trans-atlantic diaspora in the light of a strong critical theory. Having been at the forefront of major political and economic events in South Asia in the last three decades, we strongly feel that a well balanced, multi-disciplinary, and academic project is required if one is to understand how the events of the Cold War played out in the Third World, and how they continue to dictate how we think about the world today.
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