They Questioned India–Israel Ties. Now the trolls want to destroy their lives

NB: In India today, a section of opinion considers any criticism of Israel to be equivalent to ‘anti-nationalism’. This is similar to what has taken place in the USA; where even academic rersearch on Palestinan history is censored. It’s ridiculous that criticism of another country should be seen as betrayal of my country. Why? What… Read More They Questioned India–Israel Ties. Now the trolls want to destroy their lives

3rd January 20263rd January 2026 Dilip

Stefan Zweig’s The World of Yesterday

This is no book; who touches this touches a man: Walt Whitman Zweig and his second wife, Charlotte Elisabeth Altmann, committed suicide on February 22, 1942; the day after he submitted the manuscript of this book to the publisher. His farewell message read: I think it better to conclude in good time and in erect… Read More Stefan Zweig’s The World of Yesterday

2nd January 20262nd January 2026 Dilip

Begum Khaleda Zia, the walking contradiction

Netra News obituary for the first female prime minister of Bangladesh She became only the second woman ever elected prime minister in a Muslim-majority country, leading a party that liked to cast itself as the centre-right antidote to the Awami League’s secular nationalism. By the time her Bangladesh Nationalist Party returned to power in 2001,… Read More Begum Khaleda Zia, the walking contradiction

1st January 2026 Dilip

‘Hope is an embrace of the unknown’: Rebecca Solnit on living in dark times (2016)

Memory produces hope in the same way that amnesia produces despair,” the theologian Walter Brueggemann noted. It is an extraordinary statement, one that reminds us that though hope is about the future, grounds for hope lie in the records and recollections of the past. We can tell of a past that was nothing but defeats, cruelties and… Read More ‘Hope is an embrace of the unknown’: Rebecca Solnit on living in dark times (2016)

1st January 20261st January 2026 Dilip

Wallace Stevens: Meditation Celestial and Terrestrial

NB: The bitter pain inflicted upon the Palestinian people over the past two years, and indeed for over eight decades remains with many of us. It continues to unfold. We can only hope that the people of the world will see this terrible and undeserved fate for what it is; and (especially) make amends to… Read More Wallace Stevens: Meditation Celestial and Terrestrial

1st January 202631st December 2025 Dilip

Jairus Banaji on his book A Marxist Mosaic

Interview with the author November 11, 2025 There is a whole agenda out there waiting for a younger generation of the left to lay out in a rigorous and comprehensive way. But that is an agenda that will simply collapse if it subscribes to “orthodoxies” and other forms of intellectual snobbery. Historical materialism as Marx… Read More Jairus Banaji on his book A Marxist Mosaic

28th December 2025 Dilip

Nawada lynching mocks ‘The rule of law’ / Bangladesh Lynching Condemned

NB: This heinous incident is one of many such, that have been visible in India and the countries of South Asia for many years. It indicates nothing less than the blatant encouragement and deployment of mob rule by the ruling classes of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. Pakistan is now not just a… Read More Nawada lynching mocks ‘The rule of law’ / Bangladesh Lynching Condemned

27th December 202527th December 2025 Dilip

Shashank Shekhar Sinha wins the 2025 Karwaan Book Award for ‘Casting the Buddha’

NB: Shashank is a former student of history at Ramjas College, the University of Delhi. He can be assured that his erstwhile teachers are very proud of him. DS The 2025 Karwaan Book Award has been awarded to Shashank Shekhar Sinha for Casting the Buddha: A Monumental History of Buddhism in India. The Jury also awarded… Read More Shashank Shekhar Sinha wins the 2025 Karwaan Book Award for ‘Casting the Buddha’

26th December 202526th December 2025 Dilip

“Freedom Of Worship Being Attacked”: Shashi Tharoor On Christmas Vandalism / Hindu extremists try to shut down Christmas in India

The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant & regular employment of violence: Adolf Hitler NB: This is what is happening in India. A concerted assault on simple human decency. It is not aided by the ruling establishment, it is the policy of the ruling establishment – regardless of partisan affiliation. There is… Read More “Freedom Of Worship Being Attacked”: Shashi Tharoor On Christmas Vandalism / Hindu extremists try to shut down Christmas in India