Pseudo-Messianic Movements in Contemporary Muslim South Asia
This new book by Yoginder Sikand has been published by Global Media Publications in 2008. Messianic hopes and expectations are common to almost all…
Itihaas : Was Hussaiyn bin Mansour Al Hallaj inspired by India?
By Akhilesh Mittal In the third century of its advent Islam and its world were in ferment about forms of polity such as the…
Old boys’ homecoming
Sumegha Gulati, Hindustan Times | October 10, 2009 Humayun Khan, 77, stood outside the imposing mahogany doors of the Irwin Hall inside Bishop Cotton…
Tau kiya yeh tay haye… (Gulbahar Bano singing)
A piece of Urdu poetry that has remained with me through seasons, years and all the vicissitudes… This is an extraordinary ghazal (rhymed poem…
Remembering Parveen Shakir (1952-1994)
Parveen Shakir (1952-1994) has defined the sensibilities of several generations and beyond. At the relatively young age of 42 years, Parveen Shakir died on…
It Has Been Written
Last night I stumbled upon this translation of Parveen Shakir’s poem (Navishta) rendered by C M Naim. This is where she addresses her only…
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar of Sehwan
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar‘s shrine is full of devotees these days. His Urs is a major cultural event in Sindh. The Qalandar has followers across…
The Romance of Raja Rasalu
Story telling has been a primordial urge, never quite expressed in its fullest measure, but always lingering and floating like life. There was a…
Dehumanized: When math and science rule the school.
Mark Slouka, Harper’s, September, 2009 Many years ago, my fiancée attempted to lend me a bit of respectability by introducing me to my would-be…
Weave not, like spiders..
There was a tragedy in my family recently. It has been a sobering week, reflective as well as chaotic. Last night, I read this…
Discovering Lucia Micarelli
My young friend JC is forever introducing me to happening stuff. Yesterday, I heard Lucia in her full form. What a talent. Hear a…
Fair and accurate journalism
A friend asks: “Are we going to see this article splattered all over the front pages of major American newspapers? I highly doubt it.…
Extracts from Empires of the Indus by Alice Albinia
From The Guardian In a land where it seldom rains, a river is as precious as gold. Water is potent: it trickles through human…
‘I belong to Ranjha’ – the syncreticism of Lahore’s Shah Hussain
Lahore, the ancient city of Loh, the age-old halt for invaders, is also the home to eclectic Sufis. Men and women who shed conventions…
Jinnah Unfairly Demonised for Partition
Jinnah was a “great leader†and was unfairly “demonised†by India for his role in the Partition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh…
Mir in Lucknow
Special mention may be made of Mir Taqi Mir. On arrival in Lucknow, he went to a Mushaira (Symposium) dressed in his outdated attire…
Muslimness – shifting boundaries
Muslimness is an elusive state of being. There are watertight strictures of the theological identity defined by men, interpreted as the Sharia, on the…
My Travels to Delhi
Finally, I wrote a piece on Delhi …… Delhi’s present day chaos cannot belittle its grand past, which created a civilisation and shaped the…
Book review: Challenging martial histories
This book review was published in The Friday Times (June 19-25 2009 issue) This was a hot May afternoon when I found myself at…
This is a long war
This is a critical moment in our history perhaps unmatched for its severity and its brutal reality. The experiential nightmare that our country is…