Directionless: trapped in a vicious cycle
The image below is that of a painting by the amazing Pakistani artist Saira Wasim and it relates to the theme of my piece…
Conversation with Mushir ul Hasan on my book
Last year, my book was released in Delhi. The video and transcript of the discussion have been uploaded now. Mushir ul Hasan: I’m delighted…
Writing from the Heart
What a Lovely Review on my book “Delhi by Heart” published in South Asia Magazine! By Tariq Bashir Delhi by Heart is a passionate…
Ghamdi on Islam and the Taliban
A friend sent this piece with an introductory message that “Ghamdi’s life is under threat by the Taleban as they want to eliminate all…
Delhi by heart: Writing “Home”
A review of my book, Delhi by heart, in the Express Tribune In candid tones, journalist and analyst Raza Rumi explores an Indian city,…
Book review: A psycho-social perspective on terror
The launch of Dr Unaiza Niaz’s excellent book in September was most symbolic, as the world commemorated the ghastly incident of 9/11 and the…
What are we teaching our children?
The overwhelming response to my earlier piece on the subject of jaundiced Pakistani textbooks has prompted me to continue with this theme. A large…
Our textbooks and the lies they teach
By Raza Rumi Due to the 18th Amendment, a momentous shift in Pakistan’s governance arrangements is taking place through a politically mediated and largely…
Alternative narratives: History rewritten to further political ends
The view that Pakistan was conceived as soon as Muhammad bin Qasim set foot in Sindh amounts to rewriting of history, Historian Manan Ahmed…
The Martyrs of Karbala
By Sadia Dehlvi We are in the beginning of Muharram, the first month of the lunar Muslim Hijrah Calendar. According to authentic prophetic traditions,…
History must not lie
By Shahid Javed Burki EVER since gaining independence Pakistan has done a remarkable job of either ignoring its history or simply not telling the…
Myths, fables and lies: The murder of history in Pakistan
KK Aziz’s seminal study, – The Murder of History – is essential to understand what went wrong in Pakistan. The most worrying sign of…
Oldest university on earth is reborn after 800 years
Nalanda, an ancient seat of learning destroyed in 1193, will rise again thanks to a Nobel-winning economist By Andrew Buncombe During the six centuries…
K K Aziz: Historian Extraordinaire
The state, society and intelligentsia in Pakistan had forgotten about this towering scholar of our times. His books on Chaudhry Rehmat Ali, Sir Agha…
To undo the vicious past
Published in the News on Sunday It’s about time a civilian Pakistan functions as a peaceful country with fair share of resources put into…
The tender tea house
I was quite pleased to read this piece. Aside from fact that it talks about me, the constant rememberance of Pak Tea House is…
Coffee, tea and revolution
Before his death in July 2009, KK Aziz had accomplished one mission that he had set for himself, i.e. to write about the Lahore…
Sultana Begum, the great grand daughter-in law of last Mughal emperor
Jahane Rumi is grateful to Shivnath Jha for this contribution.. Stiching words together to restore glory to the lives lost in oblivion may not…
Capitulating Rajas: why Taliban might not be resisted
My new piece for The Friday Times South Asian history is a tale of capitulation of local elites before external invaders. Be it the…
Living Lohawarana – a Lahori rambling
My piece for Himal Magazine’s October issue There was a Lahore that I grew up in, and then there is the Lahore that I…