First posted January 29, 2015 Ahara-nidra-bhaya-maithunam ca // samanyam etat pasubhir naranamdharmo hi tesam adhiko viseso // dharmena hinah pasubhih samanah (Hunger, sleep, fear and sex are common to men and animals / What distinguishes men from animals is the knowledge of right and wrong) (Bhagwadgita; Tr S. Radhakrishnan, 1948, 1971, p 79) For the Hindi version… Read More The Abolition of truth
NB: There are millions of decent peace loving American citizens. But there have been more mass shootings this year, even before January is complete, than in any comparable period; and now this. This kind of behavior makes one realise that the impulse toward cruelty has overtaken American state and civil society. I can only hope… Read More Beaten to death for a traffic violation: the irredeemable brutalisation of America
Israeli forces have killed nine Palestinians in a West Bank raid, officials in the occupied territory said, while the Israeli military said troops traded fire with Islamist militants during a “counter-terrorism operation”. The Palestinian health ministry accused Israeli forces of deliberately firing teargas inside a hospital’s paediatric ward, leaving children choking, a claim denied by… Read More Palestinians say nine killed in Israeli raid on Jenin refugee camp
THE THIN EDGE | The BBC documentary on Narendra Modi Ruchir Joshi The recently broadcast first part of India: The Modi Question, BBC’s documentary on Narendra Modi and the Gujarat killings of 2002, makes for curious viewing. For any Indian engaging with the news since 2002, much of the material is familiar, the ground the film explores… Read More Lingering shadow
Bharat Bhushan The airing of part one of a BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question” has raised political hackles in India. It suggests that the then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi was directly responsible for the riots, which left 2,000 people dead, mostly Muslims. It has since been taken down from YouTube and other social media… Read More Gujarat riots documentary: BBC’s motives are less clear
First posted November 01, 2014 The violent events of 1984 signify the breakdown of consensual politics and the ideal of composite Indian nationhood. When communal animosity spreads across society, it corrodes the social conscience and (directly or subliminally) produces a genocidal consensus. In the aftermath of 1984 we also witnessed the decay of a reliable… Read More The Broken Middle
Jeremy Corbyn Hell is a teargassed scrubland crawling with infectious disease. Hell is toddlers scavenging to survive. Hell is a refugee camp in Calais. Each time I visit, I learn more about the diabolical conditions that human beings are forced to endure in the camp. Having fled the horrors of war, environmental disaster and destitution, refugees… Read More If you ever doubt the hateful effects of Tory migrant policy, go to Calais and see what I’ve seen
URMI CHANDA A lot of literary writing recognised as peace literature is retrospective, as few writers set out with the intention to write about peace. However, in a couple of new releases, the intention is rather palpable. Sahana Ahmed’s Amity, which released in December 2022, is an anthology of 95 poems by 47 writers from France,… Read More Peace literature is the new boom in South Asia
Mehrub Moiz Awan. Welcome to the Incel Republic of Pakistan. We have 210 million citizens in our country, and many non-citizens: some men, some women, and some “transgenders.” Previously, we used to call them “shemales,” as that is what porn had taught us. Now, they call themselves “transgender” in English and “khwajasira” in Urdu, but… Read More An uncensored guide to the republics of Pakistan
By Tania Branigan In an age of increased repression, few air their concerns. But as the party congress opened in October, a lonely figure protested in Beijing: among the demands on his banners was “Reform, not the Cultural Revolution”. That call was taken up by others at the remarkable protests against the zero-Covid policy that swept through cities weeks later.… Read More A tragedy pushed to the shadows: the truth about China’s Cultural Revolution
After the truth-shower 