On secularism, Jinnah and Pakistan
My contribution for Jinnah Institute’s secular space What are we fighting for? What are we aiming at? It is not theocracy, not for a…
Too Late For Kashmiri Politicians To Accept Two-Nation Theory
Now that India has actually merged Jammu & Kashmir in Indian Union Territory, certain Kashmiri politicians are coming to admit that Two-Nation Theory was…
In search of Jinnah’s Pakistan
As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of Pakistan’s creation, it is important to revisit the key questions that have befuddled the country. What is…
W.H. Auden’s poem – Partition
My friend IK has reminded me of W.H. Auden’s poem ‘Partition,’ published in 1966. These moving verses highlight the absurdity of the way the…
Midnight’s furies
The violent process of Partition remains a highly contested domain in the study of history. Raza Rumi examines various histories of Partition in the…
The heart divided
Here’s an excerpt from my book ‘Delhi, by heart’ that was featured in TFT I am not sure how I met Bunty. It was…
Jinnah’s Pakistan is not dead
In recent weeks, several commentators have dwelt upon the amorphous notion of Jinnah’s Pakistan, challenging its notional contours and exposing its overt ideological underpinnings.…
Abida Parveen sings Faraz’s poem
Found this enchanting piece of music here: In his latest double CD “Paigham-e-Muhabbat” composer Muzaffar Ali, who has brought so much pleasure to our…
Folklore sans frontiers
I was part of a delegation from Pakistan that was driving to Chandigarh to attend the SAARC folklore festival organized by Punjab’s legendary writer…
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…
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…
Lost Imaginations
Sixty one years have gone by but the creation of Pakistan is still a heated debate: contested, fractured and bitter. That history has been…
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…
“Partition: Surgery without Anaesthesia”
Titled “Partition: Surgery without Anaesthesia”, the book, a compilation of 31 individual accounts including from noted writer and columnist Khushwant Singh and artist Satish…
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…
Ustad Daman on partition – again
Here is the roman Punjabi version of Ustad Daaman‘s poem that appeared in my earlier post. Punjabi readers will appreciate it. Bha’n-wain Moo-hoon Na…