Contemporary Pakistani literature in the age of terror
I am posting the synopsis of my paper entitled Silhouetted Silences – contemporary Pakistani literature in the age of terror, that I presented at…
Sad times in Lahore
What a sad day it was – a city that usually glows with spring colours and crisp air was a death-zone. Everyone was afraid…
Noor Jehan & Khurshid Anwar
I loved Fawad’s post A Divine Musical Collaboration – Noor Jehan & Khurshid Anwar and here it is: In the wake of Khalid Hasan’s…
Swat, Now
Cross posted from CM Yesterday’s announcement that Zardari has made a deal with the TNSM and installed “Islamic government” in Swat is all over…
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…
Dholaks drowning gunfire
by Shreekant Gupta During a recent visit to Delhi I mentioned to my aunt that I planned to visit Rawalpindi next week for a…
Pakistani media – an alternative view
Themrise Khan sent me her provocative piece on Pakistani electronic media. It is a contested standpoint and will not be appreciated by all. But…
Dark forces still potent year after Bhutto’s slaying
I was quoted in this piece posted below SAEED SHAH ISLAMABAD SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL, DECEMBER 27, 2008 A year after Benazir…
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…
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…
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…
Lahore blasts fail to terrorise Lahoris
Having lived two days in Lahore as a ‘resident’, the three low intensity blasts are a rude reminder that there is a war all…
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 –…
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…
National identity sans freedom
A few quotes from this article in the Hindustan Times – incidentally it also includes what I rambled…. Freedom means everything. But I’m not…