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

Over 100 Palestinians reported killed in Gaza as attack continues despite ceasefire deal

More than 100 Palestinians in Gaza – including 50 from one family – were reported killed on Wednesday as Israeli forces continued to attack across the strip from land, sea and air hours after agreement was reached for a ceasefire to begin on Thursday. Wafa, a Palestinian news agency, said 81 people had been killed since midnight… Read More Over 100 Palestinians reported killed in Gaza as attack continues despite ceasefire deal

Dilip

More Nights than Days

A Survey of Writings of Child Genocide Survivors. By Yudit Kiss Publisher’s Blurb: This is a unique exploration of the experience of children who survived the Holocaust—including Roma and Sinti victims—and the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, and Bosnia. Children are among the principal victims of armed conflicts and slaughters; nonetheless, they perceive events through the… Read More More Nights than Days

Dilip

Despite the truce, people in Gaza will keep dying: this horrifying death toll must never be forgotten

Comparison with other conflicts paints a harrowing picture of children being killed in unforgivable numbers Owen Jones Even if the truce between Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and Hamas results in the promised four-day pause in hostilities – or longer – the horror enveloping Gaza in terms of lives lost is worse than many people think. Among those who… Read More Despite the truce, people in Gaza will keep dying: this horrifying death toll must never be forgotten

Dilip

The Revolutionary Temper by Robert Darnton review – a nation at breaking point

The ancien regime”, as applied to 18th-century France, always sounds like such a solid proposition. It speaks of arbitrary power, stiffened with protocol, girded by gold, topped by a dusting of icing sugar (you could always spot a noble by their terrible teeth) and utterly stuck in its ways. Until, that is, revolution arrived in 1789… Read More The Revolutionary Temper by Robert Darnton review – a nation at breaking point

Dilip

Israel has long wanted Palestinians out of Gaza: my father saw it first-hand

Events point to Israel’s strategy of emptying the north of Gaza of its Palestinian population, with both the massive bombardment that has damaged at least 222,000 residential units, and the refusal to accept a ceasefire so essential life-saving provisions cannot enter. All this shows the massive pressure on the Palestinian population to move south, thus ethnically… Read More Israel has long wanted Palestinians out of Gaza: my father saw it first-hand

Dilip

Unit 731 Museum Harbin, China: the Japanese Army site for ‘medical experimentation’ on prisoners of war

First posted May 04, 2020 Unit 731 Museum: UNIT 731 was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development wing of the Imperial Japanese Army that undertook lethal human experimentation during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and World War II. Commanded by General Shiro Ishii, an officer in the Kwantung Army, the exact number… Read More Unit 731 Museum Harbin, China: the Japanese Army site for ‘medical experimentation’ on prisoners of war

Dilip

Debora MacKenzie: End of nations – is there an alternative to countries?

First posted October 01, 2016 Try, for a moment, to envisage a world without countries. Imagine a map not divided into neat, coloured patches, each with clear borders, governments, laws. Try to describe anything our society does – trade, travel, science, sport, maintaining peace and security – without mentioning countries. Try to describe yourself: you have… Read More Debora MacKenzie: End of nations – is there an alternative to countries?

Dilip

Unworkable: Swapping Palestinian workers with Indians

Bharat Bhushan The government has denied that there are requests by Israel to export 100,000 Indians to replace Palestinian workers. Glossing over such reports, a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said the government was not aware of any specific requests and if taken up, the initiative would be a “long-term” issue. Yet, India… Read More Unworkable: Swapping Palestinian workers with Indians

Dilip

Diana Muir Appelbaum: Rootless Roma: The benefits of nationalism, as illustrated by its absence

First posted July 04, 2017 At the core of the Roma’s troubles is the fact that they are a people without a land – but with a twist. To say that a people is without a land can mean at least three things. It can mean that, for one reason or another, a people does… Read More Diana Muir Appelbaum: Rootless Roma: The benefits of nationalism, as illustrated by its absence

Dilip