Srinagar: Sitting in the shade of a cracked wall, Waseem Khan keeps an eye on the Banta soda as he looks at the passersby. The heatwave in Jammu is too much for him to bear. But he shall wait for two more passengers before he can take off to Srinagar in his taxi. “Srinagar! Srinagar!” he shouted, roaming… Read More ‘We are Kashmiris’: Two friends, five non-local laborers, and a silent night
“Undo the harm” and “give me back my right to live without fear and in peace”. Breaking her silence for the first time after the release on remission of the 11 convicts who were convicted of gangraping her and killing 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter, Bilkis Bano said on Wednesday that she was… Read More Bilkis Bano speaks: ‘Trusted highest courts, faith shaken, give back right to live without fear’
Farmers Protest, Lakhimpur Kheri Live Updates: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) – an umbrella organisation of farm unions – is set to launch a 75-hour dharna in Lakhimpur Kheri starting 11 am on Thursday. Their demands include the sacking of Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni and the release of four farmers jailed in connection with the violence that… Read More Farmers to hold dharna in Lakhimpur Kheri, demand sacking of Minister Ajay Teni
by Alan Sokal The debate over objectivity and relativism, science and postmodernism, which for the past eight months has been rocking American academic circles — particularly those of the political left — has apparently now arrived in France. And with what a bang! Following Denis Duclos (Le Monde of 3 January), we now have the eminent sociologist… Read More Professor Latour’s Philosophical Mystifications
By B. D. McClay The Internet has only one currency, and that currency is attention… whataboutism solidifies the online sense that the appearance of paying attention is paramount – not actually paying attention… Remove the clowns from your sphere of attention, and keep the people whom you judge to be worth taking seriously. Repeat as… Read More What about Whataboutism?
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
