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

Noor Inayat Khan (1914-1944). Shrabani Basu on the spy who saved Europe

On Jan. 16, 1946, the French posthumously awarded Noor the Croix de Guerre, the highest civilian honor. Three years later, England awarded her the George Cross… In France, Noor is remembered as Madeleine, a heroine of the Resistance. There is a plaque outside her family home in Suresnes and a band plays outside her house… Read More Noor Inayat Khan (1914-1944). Shrabani Basu on the spy who saved Europe

Dilip

Rare colour photographs from London in World War Two / The Second World War in Colour – in pictures

First posted July 2015 The blitz: rare colour photographs – in pictures As the 75th anniversary of the blitz – Germany’s sustained bombing campaign of the UK in the second world war – approaches, these beautiful and striking pictures show the famous bombsites, the tin helmets, the victory rolls and the carry-on spirit http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/jul/10/the-blitz-rare-colour-photographs-in-pictures Battle… Read More Rare colour photographs from London in World War Two / The Second World War in Colour – in pictures

Dilip

Arun Shourie on Savarkar, Hindutva and polarisation in India | BBC News India

Arun Shourie on Savarkar, Hindutva and polarisation in India | BBC News India Arun Shourie, journalist, author, economist and former federal minister, speaks to the BBC’s Jugal Purohit about his new book ‘The New Icon: Savarkar and the Facts. Shourie revisits the controversial legacy of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, his ideological opposition to Mahatma Gandhi, and… Read More Arun Shourie on Savarkar, Hindutva and polarisation in India | BBC News India

Dilip

No Alternative?

Both Perestroika and Thatcherism, then, meant scaling back economic and social security to drive efficiency gains and shift labor and capital from declining to rising industries. If this similarity between East and West is unsettling to readers today, it is nonetheless one that, as Bartel’s archival work demonstrates, was recognized behind closed doors at the… Read More No Alternative?

Dilip

Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event disrupted by employee protests over AI use in Israeli military operations: ‘Shame on you’

At Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebration on Friday, the mood shifted dramatically when a company employee disrupted the event to protest Microsoft’s involvement in Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The demonstration took place while Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, was presenting updates on the company’s AI assistant, Copilot, at its headquarters. Videos circulating online… Read More Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event disrupted by employee protests over AI use in Israeli military operations: ‘Shame on you’

Dilip

In China’s debt

One of the revelations of this young Trump term has been the embarrassing servility of America’s European allies. It has fallen to China by a kind of default to restore geopolitical equilibrium Mukul Kesavan The economically illiterate reader (like me) browsing the headlines about Donald Trump’s tariffs looks to borrow the opinions of his betters.… Read More In China’s debt

Dilip