Capital shock
My op-ed published in the NEWS. This was also posted at ATP and a robust discussion took place there. A week long sojourn in…
Beyond Borders – with Shubha Mudgal and Tina Sani
My article published in the Friday Times (Aug11-18) Days after the recent skirmishes at the Line of Control, when the composite dialogue between India…
Kabir, Bulleh and Lalon – Petals of a mystic lotus
The subcontinent during the 15th century witnessed the coming of age of a process that started brewing with the arrival of Central Asian Sufis,…
A brush with the new – Asim Butt’s Art
What distinguishes Asim Butt from his generation and perhaps the preceding generations of artists is the sheer originality of his vision and an iconoclasm…
Pakistan’s ruling coalition must not splinter
My op-ed piece that was published in the NEWS, Pakistan On these erudite pages, and elsewhere, there has been much ado about the fact…
The invisibility of the Mughal princesses
Painting by A.R Chughtai | Chughtai Museum My piece published by the Himal Magazine The limitations of Southasia’s historical record can be seen in…
Civil Service is no longer an alluring career for Pakistan’s youth
The captioned article of mine appeared in News on Sunday a week ago. I was quite glad to note that the NEWS wrote an…
Guest Stars at the Long March
My article that appeared in Dawn. here. THE enthusiasts for the long march towards Islamabad are justifiably feeling let down by the grand posturing,…
Shoaib Akhtar – a fallen hero
There have been some avoidable outbursts by both Akhtar and his disciplinarians. Akhtar has a chequered past in the conventional sense; and perhaps his…
Pakistan’s Media – responsibility must anchor freedom
My piece that was published earlier this week: IT is a truism that media freedom in Pakistan today has been earned after a long…
Why Jodhaa Akbar is a disappointment?
The challenge of translating a historical era into a cinematic endeavour is daunting, especially when it concerns historically contested subjects such as the fabled…
Living Histories
Essences of the past and present come alive at the Lawrence Gardens Lahores Lawrence Gardens, baptised the Bagh-i-Jinnah in the post-independence era, represent the…
Mian Mir’s 384th Urs
Mian Mir’s death anniversary celebrations are commencing today. Mian Mir is regarded as one of the greatest Sufi saints of the Subcontinent. He belonged…
The flawed boycott mantra?
Thursday, February 21, 2008 Much has been said on how the election results are a referendum against the policies of General Musharraf. While there…
Afghan Madhouse (Book Review – No Space for Further Burials)
Decades of imperialism have left Afghanistan and its people devastated. But the fall of the Taliban, and the much touted ‘liberation’ of Afghanistan, has…
Shehr-i-Qatl ke log (People of this Murderous City) a poem
Reposting this 2007 poem: Alam kay iss jazeeray mein Jahan sab per ujar gaye Aur saari musafitan be-nishaan ho gayee Teri tasveer neechay gulab…
Nahaj ul Balagha – Looking back to Get Ahead
Fahmida Riaz is Pakistan’s premier female poet. She became a sensation in the early 1970s when her bold, feminist poetry created a stir in…
Hazrat Ali’s letter on governance and citizenship
The common stories about Islam or Muslims have to do with the chopping of arms and killing of infidels. We are told that Muslims…
What goes around…No more saviours please
Now that the wheel has turned its back yet again, there is much to ponder. There are many who are saying that this is…
October 18: Attack on Benazir Bhutto’s rally at Karsaz, Karachi (From the archives)
Despite the Tragedy, Extremism Will be Fought by Pakistanis Published October 20, 2007 (blogcritics) 180 are dead and more than 500 injured in Karachi…