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

Mahesh Chitnis – Landslide lessons: Kinnaur villagers vow to protect their hills from hydro projects

A massive landslide that struck National Highway number 5 near Nigulsari of Kinnaur district on August 11 killed at least 23 people and several people are still believed to be trapped under debris. Teams from National Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, and other agencies are engaged in rescue operations. The increasing incidence of landslides… Read More Mahesh Chitnis – Landslide lessons: Kinnaur villagers vow to protect their hills from hydro projects

Dilip

Politics and Vision – By Professor Sheldon Wolin (1922-2015)

Professor Sheldon Wolin’s Politics and Vision is two volumes in one, by an author whose  interview / lectures I have suggested before. The first part appeared in 1960, the second in 2004. The contents will convey the range of themes. Of especial significance today is his concept of ‘inverted totalitarianism’. Here are a few lines from p… Read More Politics and Vision – By Professor Sheldon Wolin (1922-2015)

Dilip

LAURA ADKINS: The last Jews in Afghanistan argued so much the Taliban kicked them out of prison and stole their Torah

As the old saying goes, two Jews, three opinions. Add one headache for the Taliban. Meet Zabulon Simentov, 66, who is believed to be the last remaining Jew in Afghanistan. Emran Feroz recently profiled Simentov for Foreign Policy and uncovered some incredible stories about the feisty Afghan — including that the Taliban once imprisoned him… Read More LAURA ADKINS: The last Jews in Afghanistan argued so much the Taliban kicked them out of prison and stole their Torah

Dilip

The Bush administration made a catastrophic mistake in Afghanistan in 2001 / Afghanistan: The End of the Occupation

At a U.S. Special Forces camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan, on December 5, 2001, the Taliban offered an unconditional surrender. Furthermore, they would disband and disarm: a military force would no longer exist. George W. Bush ignored the offer and continued attacking the Taliban until the end of his term. If only in self-defense the Taliban… Read More The Bush administration made a catastrophic mistake in Afghanistan in 2001 / Afghanistan: The End of the Occupation

Dilip

SALMAN RAFI SHEIKH – Military creep: Pakistan’s federal system is being undermined by militarisation

In 2008, when Pakistan transitioned from nine years of military rule under Pervez Musharraf to an elected civilian government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), many believed that Pakistan’s ‘culture of military coups’ was headed in a decisively more democratic direction. The transition came about as a result of the ‘Lawyers’ Movement’, a mass… Read More SALMAN RAFI SHEIKH – Military creep: Pakistan’s federal system is being undermined by militarisation

Dilip

Jonathan Steele: I came to Russia a political correspondent and left a crime reporter // Rafael Behr: 30 years after the Moscow coup, democracy is in a crisis of self-esteem

When Jonathan Steele moved to Moscow for the Guardian in 1988, the story of Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms was getting “hotter and hotter”. But with all the restrictions on foreign journalists in the Soviet Union, the question was how to report it. The sources were mainly local journalists authorised to speak to foreigners or dissidents. The… Read More Jonathan Steele: I came to Russia a political correspondent and left a crime reporter // Rafael Behr: 30 years after the Moscow coup, democracy is in a crisis of self-esteem

Dilip

It’s now or never: Scientists warn time of reckoning has come for the planet

Heatwaves and the heavy rains that cause flooding have become more intense and more frequent since the 1950s in most parts of the world, and climate change is now affecting all inhabited regions of the planet. Drought is increasing in many places and it is more than 66% likely that numbers of major hurricanes and typhoons have risen since the… Read More It’s now or never: Scientists warn time of reckoning has come for the planet

Dilip

Mort Report: Non-Prophet Journalism // Covid 19: A Cri du Coeur From a Doctor-Diplomat Who Knows

Mort Report is a labor of love by old-style correspondents with lifetimes on the road and young ones with fresh eyes. Our philosophy is simple: we report at first hand with analysis based on non-alternative fact, not opinion.  If we get something wrong, we fix it. https://www.mortreport.org/ Covid 19 – A Cri du Coeur From a… Read More Mort Report: Non-Prophet Journalism // Covid 19: A Cri du Coeur From a Doctor-Diplomat Who Knows

Dilip

Mariam Veiszadeh: As an Afghan Australian, I watch in despair as the west cuts and runs / Afghanistan – “We Tried to Tell You” / Polly Toynbee: The Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan has laid bare the magnitude of western hubris

The anger and hurt many of us feel is palpable as the reality is that the Taliban would have not risen to have such power and influence, had they not had initial backing from western forces. Combined with a complex multitude of ethnic factions, a power vacuum, an already largely corrupt government weakened further by… Read More Mariam Veiszadeh: As an Afghan Australian, I watch in despair as the west cuts and runs / Afghanistan – “We Tried to Tell You” / Polly Toynbee: The Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan has laid bare the magnitude of western hubris

Dilip