In 2010, the Swedish writer Jan Myrdal (son of Nobel laureates Alva and Gunnar Myrdal) travelled in the tribal heartland of Bastar at an age of 83, and personally interacted with the tribal people and the leadership of CPI (Maoist). The visit resulted in a book, the English version of which will be released with the title ”Red Star Over India”, at the Kolkata Book Fair on 28 February 2012. Myrdal was a central figure in the European protest movement against the Vietnam War, has penned more than 80 books, among which are ”Report from a Chinese Village”, ”The Silk Road” and ”India Waits”. He has written fiction, plays and books on literature, art, politics, besides being a prominent supporter of the civil liberties movements in various countries. He has also made a number of feature films and TV documentaries.
While in India, Jan Myrdal has been invited to be the main speaker at a meeting in Delhi on 6 February, giving a talk on ”The War on People in India”. The meeting is organised by the Forum Against War on People.
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On Monday, 6 February 2012, the Society of International Affairs in Gothenburg (Utrikespolitiska föreningen) and its new branch of activity called Cinema Politica Gothenburg organises a cultural evening with focus on Afghanistan. During this evening it will be screened the film by Canadian director 
Documentary Indian filmmaker Ashvin Kumar has released his latest film ”Inshallah Kashmir: Living Terror” on the video portals youtube and vimeo in order to avoid Indian censorship. It's now available on 
Gabriele Winai Ström who worked as a diplomat in the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Sweden then reacted, and decided to write an alternative book presenting a selection of prominent women who have influenced the Swedish foreign policy, among them Alva Myrdal (photo) – in 1955 the first woman appointed to be Sweden’s Ambassador to India. A very successful appointment indeed, since she had already worked as a high UN official in New York and Paris, and was acquainted to the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. During her period in Delhi from 1955 till 1960 she became engaged on behalf of Sweden in crucial policies like disarmament, decolonization and the organisation of non-aligned nations.
The 35th Göteborg International Film Festival, from 27 January till 6 February 2012, has a rather limited stock of South Asian movies on the programme. The only feature to be screened is ”Runaway” by the Bengali-American film maker Amit Ashraf, previously working with a number of documentaries, short films, commercials and animations. "Runaway" is his first feature film that took him back to Bangladesh to work with producer Sumon Arefin. It is a film about three men who run from their homes, searching for something better. Perhaps a better wife. Perhaps a better life. Then there is one man who is hired to find these runaways. He locks them up and brings them back home. He is constantly on the prowl for his big catch.
Kolkata-based film maker Nilanjan Bhattacharya will also be represented in Gothenburg with his 2011 film ”Rain In The Mirror”, a documentary about three generations of men from one family living in Sikkim near the border with Tibet in the Himalayas. Bhattacharya has been involved in film making for the last 15 years. He has worked in feature films as an assistant director to Tapan Sinha. The new film, that is scheduled for 28th and 30th January, has been produced with support including from Göteborg International Film Festival’s Film Fund.
Aside of the film program, there will be a seminar with the Indian singer and actress Pallavi Arun who visits the festival with the Suchitra School of Cinema and Dramatic Arts, Bangalore. Pallavi has won the Karnataka State Film Award for 
”Kolkata, Santiniketan, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad; Marbach, Copenhagen, Lund, Zagreb and Rijeka; London, Dartington, Cambridge, Birmingham and Hull; Stockholm, Leiden, Salamanca, Barcelona and Valladolid; Washington and Chicago; Kuala Lumpur and Singapore….Who would have thought when I started learning Bengali in 1972 that Bengali and Rabindranath Tagore would take me all over the world? The 150th anniversary of his birth has kept me and other Tagore specialists exceptionally busy in 2011, and the celebrations seem likely to continue, culminating with the centenary in 2013 of his Nobel Prize.”
The impressive ”Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures From the National Museum, Kabul” exhibition, on tour over the world since 2008, will be on display at Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm between 12 November 2011 and 25 March 2012. It is a collection of some of the most remarkable archaeological finds in all of Central Asia, pieces that are not only artistically splendid but also reveal a diverse and thriving ancient culture. The exhibition includes four separate collections. One is from the ancient city of Fullol and includes a Bronze Age set of gold bowls that hint of the native wealth of Afghanistan. Another contains artifacts from Aï Khanum, a Greek city in northern Afghanistan. A third features untouched treasures from what is thought to be a merchant's storeroom in Begram, sealed up 2,000 years ago. And the fourth is the Bactrian gold, a collection of the precious items discovered in the graves of six nomads in Tillya Tepe.
Is your field of interest within South Asia? The online journal 
However, SYDASIEN has resurfaced in a brand new shape, as a high-quality Internet based web magazine.
On Saturday, 19th November 2011, the Iqbal Academy Scandinavia (IAS) as usual celebrated Iqbal Day in the beautiful hall of the Taastrup Cultural Centre. Besides speeches by Abid Ali Abid, Fawad Karamat, Bashy Quraishy, and Nasar Malik, the event was devoted to a semi-classical musical programme. It was arranged on the request of Miss Najma Akhtar (photo), British born vocalist and songwriter, who has achieved a place in World music history by creating a new musical genre, introducing jazz to the traditional genre of the Ghazal (Urdu ballad).
