Sir – In order to discourage confusions which have been constantly occurring, we beg herewith to state that neither of us is the other. Yours & c.,Russell (Bertrand, Earl Russell)Russell of Liverpool (Lord Russell of Liverpool) One of the stranger sights on the University College London campus is the clothed skeleton of the utilitarian philosopher… Read More The delights of mischief
NB: Iran’s vicious theocracy has never withdrawn the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. The practice of placing monetary rewards on persons heads, i.e., offering money for death, is repulsive and barbaric, no matter who does it. Contract killings are murder, and to for so-called believers to claim this is done for Almighty God is despicable. God… Read More Salman Rushdie has again instructed us in a profound lesson: great literature will always be a matter of life and death
The history of India is essentially a history of Bihar”, announced ‘comrade’ Daleep Singh, my Gandhian-Socialist colleague, as soon as he heard about Nitish Kumar’s decision to dump Bharatiya Janata Party and join hands with Rashtriya Janata Dal to form a new government. Enjoying his kite flying, he continued: “Ever since the days of Buddha, every major… Read More Yogendra Yadav: Bihar coup that changed India’s political landscape
Lisa-Maria Kellermayr, an Austrian GP, was a doctor who dedicated her life to her patients and was vocal about the risks of Covid-19 on Twitter and in the media. She had endured months of death threats from Covid conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers. Colleagues expressed frustration with the lack of support she received for dealing with… Read More Devi Sridhar: A scientist in the public eye has taken her own life. This has to be a wake-up call
The Soviet Union lasted less than 75 years even if reckoned from 1917. Independent India has now crossed that threshold and that is a reason for satisfaction. The Indian experiment has been no less bold than the Soviet if only because the challenges it has faced have been at least equally profound. Both Russia and… Read More Anil Nauriya: 75 Years of Independent India
Sir Salman Rushdie remains on a ventilator after being attacked onstage at an event in western New York state on Friday morning. Rushdie, the author whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was stabbed in the neck and torso as he was about to give a lecture in western New York. Rushdie, 75, was… Read More Salman Rushdie on ventilator after being stabbed onstage at New York state event
there are indications that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia may have had prior knowledge that the coup d’etat would take place. Both countries recognised the “Islamic Republic of Bangladesh” very soon after Mujib’s death. Clearly, this represented some level of coordination between Islamabad and Riyadh. The coincidence is simply too coincidental… Lawrence Lifschultz has been writing… Read More Conversation with Lawrence Lifschultz (2014): The reporter who investigated the assassination of Mujibur Rahman
I read a lot of biographies, these often set in other countries than my own. A book I have just finished is Benedetto Croce and Italian Fascism, by the Canadian scholar, Fabio Fernando Rizi. It uses the life of a great philosopher to tell a larger story of the times he passed through. Reading Rizi’s book,… Read More Ramachandra Guha: Reading about Mussolini’s Italy in Modi’s India
A report that FBI agents searched for classified documents related to nuclear weapons at Donald Trump’s Florida resort could explain the urgency of the unprecedented operation at the home of an ex-President and takes his showdown with the Justice Department to a grave new level. The account in The Washington Post could also undercut Republican lawmakers, who didn’t wait for details of the case… Read More Report that FBI sought nuclear documents sharpens Trump showdown with Justice Department
The loss of its coalition government with Janata Dal (United) in the state of Bihar underlines the shortcomings of the Bharatiya Janata party’s (BJP’s) newfound strategy of paramountcy. It earlier targeted only Opposition parties but now even its allies are not safe. Its increasing sense of entitlement manifests itself as greater disrespect towards other political… Read More Bharat Bhushan: Will Bihar Curb BJP’s arrogance?
