we may very gently suggest that if Mahmudabad used his analytical mind to issue such an incredibly subtle dog whistle that we need three police officers to tell us where the whistle was and who the dogs were, then it was very clearly a really terrible dog whistle. You might as well close the case… Read More Tell me why; and how to read a sentence
Ashoka University academic’s arrest shows how rapidly universities, once spaces for debate and discussion, are pushed towards restraint and silences. Deepanshu Mohan Wilhelm von Humboldt, a great liberal reformer and a humanist, once defined the university as “nothing other than the spiritual life of those human beings who are moved by external leisure or internal pressures… Read More Criminalising thought?
Genocide is the currency of Western domination. Human history is defined by long periods of cultural barrenness and brutal repression. The fall of the Roman Empire led to immiseration and repression throughout Europe during the Dark Ages, roughly from the sixth through the 13th century. There was a loss of technical knowledge, including how to… Read More Chris Hedges: The New Dark Age
In this podcast, Purushottam Agrawal interviews Arun Shourie on his latest book “The New Icon: Savarkar and the Facts?“. Along with the book, they also discuss Savarkar – his ideas, his hatred for Gandhi and what he thought of himself. Prof. Purushottam Agrawal is a writer, historian, political commentator, public intellectual, former member at UPSC… Read More The New Icon? Savarkar and the Facts. Purushottam Agrawal & Arun Shourie
Avay Shukla Going beyond the nit picking about the number of “assets” lost by India and Pakistan, it is now clear that we have inflicted significant losses on the latter. In doing so our defence forces have also demonstrated the technological and air power to enforce the Prime Minister’s stated resolve to extract a heavy… Read More Our soldiers won the war for us – but politics and the media have undone their good work
Yossi Verter After the collapse of the Camp David talks in 2000, Yasser Arafat put in a phone call to U.S. President Bill Clinton. “You are a great man,” Arafat said. “The hell I am,” Clinton said he responded. “I’m a colossal failure, and you made me one.” He was neither the first nor the… Read More Trump’s Message to Netanyahu Is Loud and Clear: You’re Fired!
NB: Dr Mobarak Haider is a historian, writer and public intellectual. Here he writes about a very public tragedy. His capacity to speak unpleasant truths about his own society is to be appreciated. DS First posted February 05, 2013 War is a tragedy but a society at war with itself and everything around, with no objective… Read More Mobarak Haider: A society at war with itself
As drones and missiles shoot across borders, it’s worth thinking of Pahalgam as a cautionary tale. The final destination of majoritarianism is the complete dehumanisation of the Other Mukul Kesavan The residents’ association’s WhatsApp group was alive with information about mock drills and blackouts. This was gleaned from notices sent to condominiums in distant Gurgaon… Read More Noises off
Mawadda Iskandar / The Cradle In a major recalibration of its year-long Red Sea military campaign, the US has agreed to a ceasefire with Yemen’s Ansarallah-aligned armed forces, brokered by Oman. After months of escalating attacks under the guise of “protecting international shipping,” Washington now finds itself calling time on a conflict it launched – but failed… Read More US Ceasefire in Yemen: Retreat Masquerading as Restraint
Praveen Swami The new political movements do not seek secession. They demand a nation ruled not by generals, but by its constitution. Their grievances have not made them enemies of Pakistan. Nationalism continues to be a powerful force… A genuinely democratic Pakistan, however, would be one where the generals’ jihadist proxies no longer enjoy state… Read More General Munir is losing a far more fateful war within Pakistan / Arif Jamal on the Pakistan military and it’s misuse of Islam (2022)
After the truth-shower 