Mukulika Banerjee: Remembering Bacha Khan. The beleaguered legacy of Frontier Gandhi, Abdul Ghaffar Khan

First posted January 20, 2016 The non-violent soldier of Islam, Bharat Ratna, died 28 years ago, on January 20, 1988. The assault on the university named after him in Pakistan is yet another attack on his legacy. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988) is better remembered in India as Frontier Gandhi, and in Pakistan as Bacha… Read More Mukulika Banerjee: Remembering Bacha Khan. The beleaguered legacy of Frontier Gandhi, Abdul Ghaffar Khan

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The Republic of Silence: Jean-Paul Sartre on the Aftermath of War and Occupation

First posted December 18, 2016 Total responsibility in total solitude – is this not the very definition of our liberty? Jean-Paul Sartre was one of the most important philosophers and writers of the 20th century. He lived through World War II first as a French prisoner of war, then as a professor of philosophy associated… Read More The Republic of Silence: Jean-Paul Sartre on the Aftermath of War and Occupation

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Look at what hedge funds really do – and tell me capitalism is about ‘rewarding risk’

Brett Christophers Coming up with economic policy is a difficult, unforgiving task. To make the best of it, it helps to work with an accurate model of how the economy works. If you use a misleading model and act on it, you can’t reasonably expect good outcomes: in that scenario, we end up, as JM… Read More Look at what hedge funds really do – and tell me capitalism is about ‘rewarding risk’

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Madhavan Palat: The Sengol Is a Symbol of ‘Divine Right’ to Power. It Does Not Belong in Parliament. सेन्गोल के रास्ते नेहरू की एंट्री | Sengol debate & Nehru’s return

NB: The RSS and BJP are inventing ever new avatars of communal politics, mixed with a generous dose of an Orwellian nightmare. A theocracy is the use of the state by religious leaders (self-styled representatives of God); and civil religion the use of religion by the state as in Japanese State Shinto. However, Caesaropapism (Caesar+Pope)… Read More Madhavan Palat: The Sengol Is a Symbol of ‘Divine Right’ to Power. It Does Not Belong in Parliament. सेन्गोल के रास्ते नेहरू की एंट्री | Sengol debate & Nehru’s return

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How Big Oil is Manipulating the Way You Think About Climate Change

NB: To begin with, its global warming, not ‘climate change’, the term is itself an example of Orwellian manipulation. DS By Kathleen Dean Moore / Salon In medieval times, gamekeepers trained dogs to the hunt by setting them on the trail of a dead rabbit they had dragged through the forest. Once the dogs were baying… Read More How Big Oil is Manipulating the Way You Think About Climate Change

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‘Orwell’ Review: A Fresh Biography of Truth’s Champion

To transform himself from imperial policeman to writer, Eric Blair set aside both his name and the trappings of respectability his family cherished. Orwell: The New Life; By D. J. Taylor Reviewed by Dominic Green George Orwell, the inventor of the Ministry of Love and Room 101 in “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” was married for the second… Read More ‘Orwell’ Review: A Fresh Biography of Truth’s Champion

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BJP Govt Making Systematic Effort to Change Character of Civil Services, Say Former Officers

The former civil servants, as part of the Constitutional Conduct Group, in an open letter to President Droupadi Murmu said The Union government is making “noticeable attempts” to pressure officers to “show exclusive loyalty to the Union. New Delhi: Over 80 former civil servants have written a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, saying attempts are being… Read More BJP Govt Making Systematic Effort to Change Character of Civil Services, Say Former Officers

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Ireland’s oldest woman turns 109: ‘I’m rich in the company I have’

Ireland’s oldest woman has marked her 109th birthday by sharing two tips on how to enjoy a long life: don’t waste time, and live it to the full. Máirín Hughes follows her own advice by bird-watching, reading newspapers and novels, doing crosswords, listening to music, playing Scrabble – and enjoying the fuss every time she… Read More Ireland’s oldest woman turns 109: ‘I’m rich in the company I have’

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Message from Karnataka: Mallikarjun Kharge must take centre stage

He invites respect, not rivalry. He is seasoned in politics and experienced in governance  Rajmohan Gandhi As has been said a million times, a year is an eternity in politics. Any one of a hundred different things can upend the calculations of the smartest visualiser of the 2024 election scene. All, however, will agree that Karnataka has… Read More Message from Karnataka: Mallikarjun Kharge must take centre stage

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