“animal rights” for alleged terrorists!!

How horrific to read this news-analysis with this grim end-note: “while the bourgeoisie likes to proclaim India the ‘world’s largest democracy,’ it is increasingly…

Patriarchy and Caste System

Found this excellent piece at Virodhi’s blog on caste, casteism and love authored by Taimur Rahman As I have elaborated before, the Asiatic Mode of…

Bombay – Nostalgic shop owners refuse to change name

Read the captioned story in the Times of India today- politics of war mongering can be such a disruptive influence on ordinary lives. In…

Say no to war

Little did we know that the imminence of war between India and Pakistan would once again become a possibility, howsoever faint or misguided? The…

9 Is Not 11

I am completely under the spell of this fabulous piece of writing, brutally honest and eminently sensible. 9 Is Not 11 (And November isn’t…

Is it just cricket? Indian team should have come to Pakistan

“The tour’s cancellation means that terrorists have won; this is what they wanted to achieve.” I was quoted in a piece published by Hindustan…

Even Tamas is online now

My dear friend Bhupinder alerted me to his post that talks about Tamas, a great novel (and subsequently a gripping TV serial) on the…

Struggle for the soul

– Ayeda Naqvi While it is tempting to give in to anger, it is more important to take a deep breath and remember that…

Who will win the game?

I have been amazed at the reaction that my little piece, “Policy shifts not war” published on these pages on Dec 4 has generated…

A new book on the Partition saga

Changing mindsets by SYED ALI NAQVI One might cry out, humanity is dead if there was any, in disgust and disbelief after going through…

The best of Mumbai posts

My friend Annie’s post on Mumbai is a remarkable piece of writing. I am cross-posting it here: The other day, I went shopping for…

Policy shifts not war

First published in The NEWS The dastardly attacks in Mumbai have irritated the old wounds and replayed the familiar, jingoistic tunes across the Indo-Pak…

On Damadam Mast Qalandar

Renuka Narayanan writing for the Hindustan Times So many wake-up calls The unrelenting terror trail across India recalls young Pakistani author Raza Rumi’s wistful…

Happy Diwali – on light and triumph

Indians and Hindus in Pakistan are celebrating Diwali today – I wish them a very happy Diwali. There will be fireworks and festivities signifying…

The dilemma of an educated [Indian] Muslim youth

Saif Khalid, a patriotic Indian writes on the predicament of those who want to stay away from the missions, the purges and typecasting of Indian…

Fana: When the ego gets annihilated

Source Sufi thought is centred around the two fundamental doctrines of the Transcendent Unity of Being or wahdut al-wujud and the universal or perfect…

Closing the gap

Delhi based writer Tridivesh Singh Maini sent this piece that was published here The Indo-Pak relationship has been so enmeshed in political issues – mostly disputes –…

No One Is Left Hungry at Ajmer

 “No one goes hungry in Ajmer during Ramadan” – NDTV – New Delhi, India By Rajan Mahan, For Muslims of south Asia, the Sufi…

South Asian Cooperation and the Role of the Punjabs

South Asian Cooperation and the Role of the Punjabs. Tridivesh Singh Maini. New Delhi: Siddharth Publications , 2007 South Asian Cooperation and the Role…

Kashmir,Azadi and Arundhati Roy

UPDATE: Arundhati’s brutally frank piece where she asks this question: The unimaginable sums of public money that are needed to keep the military occupation…