… there is a more foundational reason why DeSantis and the far right are attacking education: it is the means by which our young people are made into citizens. Schools and universities are laboratories of aspiration, places where young people cultivate their own capacities, expose themselves to the experiences and worldviews of others, and learn… Read More Schools and universities are ground zero for America’s culture war
It was early evening, and people had gathered at a local pandal in Moe Dar Lay village, in Myanmar’s Sagaing Region, to prepare for a Buddhist novice ordination ceremony the following day. Just as they began to cook, fighter jets appeared in the sky. Then the sound of explosions boomed through the air. “The jets… Read More Myanmar junta increases airstrikes on civilians
There is always music, that deathless hope First posted January 22, 2013 When Barbara sings “Dis” to an absent lover, she is not just asking when he’ll return. She is showing she can get by without him. Alone is not that bad. There are other consolations. There is always music, that deathless hope. The post-war… Read More ‘But children are the same, In Paris or in Goettingen’: the song that made history. Will someone sing for us?
The outcry in Bareilly last month over students singing an Iqbal poem reminds us that we live in a hyper-nationalist time, where leaders glorify territorial nationalism beyond measure and deliberately concoct insidious ancillaries anchored in religion, language, race or colour. As I read about the furore in Bareilly over Iqbal’s poem “Bachche ki Du’a” (“A… Read More A child’s prayer. By C. M. Naim
Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett A baby looking at a Christmas tree in a shopping mall in Shanghai, China, 25 December 2020. Photograph: Alex Plavevski/EPA This mad, chaotic singular year, I have felt the meaning of Christmas more than perhaps any other. I am the very essence of joy to the world, peace on earth, good tidings etc,… Read More I’ve always felt a tug of sadness at Christmas – until this year
NB It is evident that the Taliban’s version of orthodox Islam treats women as second class beings, as children of a lesser God. All believers ought to either renounce these beliefs as inhuman, or hang their heads in shame. DS Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have ordered an indefinite ban on university education for the country’s women,… Read More Taliban ban Afghan women from university education
Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem Late on Sunday night, like almost every other night in Jenin, the fighting started. The Israeli army said it entered the occupied West Bank city to arrest three suspected Palestinian terrorists and militants responded by throwing firebombs and opening fire. According to two members of her family, 16-year-old Jana Zakaran ventured up… Read More Fears of full-blown Israeli-Palestinian conflict grow after bloodiest year since 2005
First posted September 23, 2019 NB: Thank you Ayush. You are a brave and conscientious boy. Many of us are proud of you – DS Ye kisne kahaa aapse aandhi ke saath hun // Main Godse ke daur me Gandhi ke saath hun If the Danish child who swam against the adult tide to speak the truth about… Read More Ayush Chaturvedi: Main Gandhi ke saath hun / Samar Halarnkar: A search for Hindus who will stand with Gandhi
Helena Smith in Athens Thousands of people have joined protests in Athens, Thessaloniki and other Greek cities to commemorate the fatal police shooting of a teenager, hours after violence erupted over a similar incident in the north of the country. Police estimated more than 11,000 protesters had joined protests on Tuesday amid fears of renewed clashes as… Read More Thousands take to streets in Greece in protest over 2008 shooting of teenager
First posted January 23, 2012 Irena Sendler (1910-2008) was a Polish Catholic social worker who served in the Polish Underground and the Żegota resistance organization in German-occupied Warsaw during World War II. Assisted by some two dozen other Żegota members, Sendler saved 2,500 Jewish children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto, providing them… Read More Remember this lady. In memory of Irena Sendler
