Author: Dilip

I'm a scholar, writer and teacher; and my blog is designed for intellectual exploration. It carries no advertisements and requires no cash subscription

With Gaza in ruins and Lebanon under siege, what defence remains for Israel’s actions?

‘Existential threat’ is a thin excuse: the out-of-control force that is pushing the Middle East to the brink is Israel itself Nesrine Malik Acommon defence of Israel’s belligerence, both within the Palestinian territories and in the wider region, is the claim that it must act in this way because it is surrounded by countries that are trying… Read More With Gaza in ruins and Lebanon under siege, what defence remains for Israel’s actions?

Dilip

Daniel Berrigan, Defiant Priest Who Preached Pacifism Dies at 94 (2016) / Catonsville 9 Statement written by Dan Berrigan, S.J.

First posted May 01, 2016 NB: The Berrigan brothers represent the best in the tradition of non-violent resistance to war and bellicose nationalism. Here is what they said in a public statement issued at the height of the Vietnam war, in 1968:  “We confront the Catholic Church, other Christian bodies and the synagogues of America with their… Read More Daniel Berrigan, Defiant Priest Who Preached Pacifism Dies at 94 (2016) / Catonsville 9 Statement written by Dan Berrigan, S.J.

Dilip

Map-maker

Keki Daruwalla Perhaps I’ll wake up on some alien shoreIn the shimmer of an aluminium dawn,to find the sea talking to itselfand rummaging among the lines I’ve drawn;looking for something, a voyager perhaps,gnarled as a thorn tree in whose loving hands,these map lines of mine, somnambulant,will wake and pulse and turn to shoreline, sand. The… Read More Map-maker

Dilip

Certainty

Even if our brains are not up to the task of appreciating all the connections that relate to quality of air, water, nutrients, soils, etc., these things are still vitally important. In other words, we would be tragically foolish to imagine living without insects, plankton, microbes, fish, birds, etc., and the uncountable and unknowable interrelationships between… Read More Certainty

Dilip

‘Education of hatred’: Killing of Japanese boy sparks soul searching in China over rising nationalism

A rare statement issued last week by dozens of Chinese people living in Japan condemned the assault and called for reflections on the “underlying causes.” “The extreme nationalist hate education against Japan has been prevalent in China for a long time. It has obscured some Chinese people’s understanding of Japan, and even indulged ignorance and evil,” the statement… Read More ‘Education of hatred’: Killing of Japanese boy sparks soul searching in China over rising nationalism

Dilip

सेना से रिटायर ब्रिगेडियर की बेटी के साथ पुलिस थाने के भीतर यौन हिंसा / How can you touch an Army officer, assault his fiance? Asks Maj. Gen Bishamber Dayal

सेना से रिटायर ब्रिगेडियर की बेटी के साथ पुलिस थाने के भीतर यौन हिंसा की घटना को लेकर किसे कोसा जाए। उस चुप्पी को कोसने लग जाए, जो अब राजनीतिक दल के हिसाब से ओढ़ ली जाती है या उन आवाज़ों को भी कोसने लग जाएं जिनके मुखर होने के बाद भी ऐसी घटनाएं नहीं… Read More सेना से रिटायर ब्रिगेडियर की बेटी के साथ पुलिस थाने के भीतर यौन हिंसा / How can you touch an Army officer, assault his fiance? Asks Maj. Gen Bishamber Dayal

Dilip

At least 22 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza school compound

GAZA casualties, live statistics At least 22 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in an Israeli strike on a school compound Saturday, Palestinian officials said, with Israel saying it targeted Hamas fighters sheltering there. A spokesman for the Gaza Civil Defense, Mahmoud Basal, said the missile hit the Al-Zaytoun School, near Gaza City, where thousands were… Read More At least 22 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza school compound

Dilip

‘Revolutionaries on Trial’ by Aparna Vaidik: Insightful new look at revolutionary past

Revolutionaries on Trial Reviewed by Harish Jain Aparna Vaidik, a professor of history at Ashoka University, is among the few scholars genuinely and keenly interested in the stories of revolutionaries who, through their extraordinary deeds, captured the imagination of a disheartened nation but were subsequently marginalised. Over more than a decade of fieldwork, she has… Read More ‘Revolutionaries on Trial’ by Aparna Vaidik: Insightful new look at revolutionary past

Dilip