Indo-Pak film wars
Filming the Line of Control: the Indo-Pak Relationship through the Cinematic Lens; Edited by Meenakshi Bharat & Nirmal Kumar; Routledge 2008; Pp239; Price Rs…
Oh, Lucknow!
By Intizar Husain ONE fine morning under the programme of Sahitya Academy I found myself in Lucknow, and wondered if it was the Lucknow…
Dalrymple on gods and monsters
In an era when most British officials were interested only in exploiting India, a few remarkable men celebrated Hindu art and culture. William Dalrymple…
Anyone listening?
Thanks to my friend Temporal, I had a chance to read this account of contemporary Pakistan – The diary of a border crosser –…
Darlymple on India and Pakistan
William Darlymple’s article published in the Guardian is an insightful piece that attempts to be unbiased and reflects on some pertinent issues that afflict…
On Half truths – Guest Post by Ali Eteraz
Today, Jahane Rumi is publishing a guest post by Ali Eteraz who is well known in the blogopshere. Eteraz is a gifted, fiery writer…
60 “Best” Books from India
To celebrate the Indian Independence day, Hindustan Times has published a rather interesting list of 60 best books from India. From the list, my…
Nazmain Chand – Poems for 15th August
Happy Independence day to the Indian friends and readers! Today’s post comprises a few poems that may capture several moods and facets of the…
Healing the wounds of Partition ..
I read this interesting, albeit a little contentious, piece by Ravinder Kaur that examined the impact of partition on settling the communal question. The…
Becoming Pakistani
A fine piece of writing at Opendemocracy: As a small child, Maruf Khwajas life was transformed by the carving of his mother country into…
‘Gandhi, My Father’ – humanising heroes
It is an interesting coincidence that the new Bollywood film, Gandhi – My Father has been released days before the subcontinent celebrates sixty years…
Tum bilkul hum jaisey nikley – Fahmida Riaz
Guest Post by Raza Rumi After reading some of the recent posts and comments on the communal politics and the [ab]use of religion, I…
Ajmer – my scuttled travel plans
Ajmer Shareef is a spiritual centre-point in South Asia. It is not just another Muslim Saint’s dergah but represents the glorious tradition of inclusiveness…
National Consultation On Communalism-Anhad
Irfan Habib from Delhi has shared the proceedings of a two day discussion that veered around several aspects of the problem, including the rise…
India-Pakistan Peace Train (the journey must continue)
One day after the tragic bomb blast on the peace train, life goes on. The resilience of people in our part of the world…
More on M F Husain – the great artist
I wrote about M F Husain’s persecution at the hands of extremists here. Parvaiz Alvi sent me images of his works that were most…
The new slave dynasty in South Asia?
“Writer Arundhati Roy said in an interview last week that at least India’s growing middle class was reared on a diet of radical consumerism…
The Sultan of Hearts
The Sultan of Hearts Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya Sadia Dehlvi The 6th of this May marked the 682n AD/703 Hijri death anniversary or Urs celebrations…
khushwant singh
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20070416&fname=Cover+Story+%28F%29&sid=1 Magazine| Apr 16, 2007 khushwant singh Spring Of The Patriarch Don’t be fooled by this image of repose. At 92, India’s grand old…
Mohsin Hamid on Indo-Pak perceptions
Hamid thinks that India is more jingoistic than Pakistan. There were some interesting moments in the interview as the quote below indicates. Full…