The story of the Kurukshetra war echoes the horrors of Partition in the play. In Dharamvir Bharati’s pathbreaking Hindi play, Andha Yug (1953), the story of the Kurukshetra war echoes the horrors of Partition, both encapsulated in the cry, “What is this peace you have given us, god”. Andha Yug achieved iconic status: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru watched a production… Read More Andha Yug by Dharamvir Bharati (1953): Theatre of Roots
BY MARGARET ATWOOD This is the one song everyonewould like to learn: the songthat is irresistible: the song that forces mento leap overboard in squadronseven though they see the beached skulls the song nobody knowsbecause anyone who has heard itis dead, and the others can’t remember. Shall I tell you the secretand if I do, will… Read More Siren Song
My article in The Hindustan Times, 6 December 2000. (For those who may not know it, this date is the anniversary of the destruction of the Babri Masjid) In the year of grace 1989, I visited the Wagah border [India Pakistan Border] with a friend. It was evening, time for the lowering of flags, for the BSF and Pakistan… Read More A WHITE LINE AND A MOSQUE (December 2000)
no one speaks, really, of their own crimes. Seventy-five years on, the ruling political elites of all communities – Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims – and the governments of both nations show a complete unwillingness to acknowledge their own misdeeds.. NB: I salute Amarjit Chandan for fearlessly upholding truth and humanity. Thank you Amarjit sb. Dilip AMARJIT… Read More It is time for Punjabis to atone for the sins of 1947
NB: The title of my WordPress blog ‘After the truth shower’ originates in this poem, which was written one evening in 2010. I posted it on Blogger on October 12, 2012, after unsuccessfully attempting to publish it. It was written for my close friend Rabindra Ray (Lalloo), who passed away in January 2019. Here it… Read More My friend
NB: The Iranian government has distanced itself from the attack, but a Iranian government-supported newspaper has hailed the attacker as a hero. Religious ‘hurt sentiment’ has become a precursor to contract killing. Religious leaders who call for murder are themselves satanic; does the Divine Creator requires his or her dignity to be defended by mere… Read More The Disappeared: How the fatwa changed a writer’s life
Narendra Dabholkar (1945-2013) ‘Remember Gandhi. Remember what we did to him’: last threat to Narendra Dabholkar PUNE: Well-known rationalist and anti-superstition crusader Narendra Dabholkar was on Tuesday shot dead by two unidentified assailants while on a morning walk near Omkareshwar temple here. The 67-year-old activist was shot from close range and died on the spot. Police said the… Read More Four Indian intellectuals who were murdered for their ideas (2013-2017)
Pankaj Mishra and Ali Sethi In a remarkable document from the 13th century, a Sufi writer records his epiphany about the prophet Muhammad granting permission to music in India. Quoting an enigmatic utterance of the prophet (“I sense the breath of the Merciful coming from Yemen”), he speculates that the “Yemen” in question is not just the… Read More On the anniversary of partition, let’s consign the pitiless logic of Hindu v Muslim to the past
NB: This was the first review of my novel, Revolution Highway, published in 2010. It also reviews Hari Kunzru’s My Revolutions (2007); and was written by Anjum Hasan. It appeared in Caravan in January 2011. More reviews are available here. My thanks and best regards to Anjum and all the other reviewers. DS Dilip Simeon,… Read More You Say You Want a Revolution
NB: I first posted this remembrance of my schooldays in 2018 (it was written in 2008). I dedicate it to my late parents as well as to all my schoolmates, especially those, like my friend Umang, who are no more. Salute! Dilip From Recess: The Penguin Book of Schooldays Palash Mehrotra (ed); New Delhi, 2008 This is… Read More Of Bagpipes, Horses and Golden Orioles (2008)
After the truth-shower 