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
Six-month-old Palestinian girl’s painfully emaciated body symbolised starvation in Gaza Malak A Tantesh in Gaza and Julian Borger Siwar Ashour, born in November, has only known war. Her mother, Najwa Aram, 23, gave birth in the one surviving room of a house that was otherwise destroyed and which 11 other people were sharing. Photograph: Doaa Albaz / Anadolu/Getty… Read More A picture that shocked the world: the story behind baby Siwar Ashour
Who saved israel in 1947? The usual answer is Truman—but it could just as easily be Stalin A truck with the faces of Soviet Communist leaders Lenin and Stalin stuck to it, at the labor day (1 may 1949) parade held in Tel Aviv. Wikipedia Commons NB: On 29 November 1947, the partition plan for… Read More Stalin, the USSR and Israel: 1947-49 (2017)
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
As India assesses Pakistan’s possible next steps, it needs to review its strategic achievements so far, and assess whether they will have lasting consequences for curbing terrorism originating from Pakistan against India Bharat Bhushan Given the army’s high profile in Pakistan, it was unlikely to call it quits after its government made unconfirmed claims that… Read More India-Pakistan military conflict will not end terrorism in J&K
The heroism of soldiers from India, Africa and the Caribbean is too often airbrushed, as is the struggle of those who resisted colonial powers… About 2.5 million personnel from the Indian subcontinent, more than 1 million African-Americans, 1 million people from Africa and tens of thousands of people from the Caribbean fought for the allies during the… Read More On VE Day, remember the war – but can we resolve to honour all who fought in it?
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)
At the pogrom in the West Bank Palestinian village of Hawara, they torched homes with their occupants inside. The rioters, horrifically, took a short break in the middle of the pogrom for evening prayer, to the light of the rising flames… The late Rabbi Shlomo Goren, who served as chief rabbi of Israel, ruled, “We… Read More I Was Once Shocked by the Term Judeo-Nazi
By Juan Cole / Informed Comment Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said Friday that “Malnutrition is … on the rise. More than 9,000 children have been admitted for treatment of acute malnutrition since the beginning of the year.” At least 10 NGO aid kitchens have closed in recent weeks for lack of food, and 25 UN… Read More Juan Cole: As Israelis Blockade Food to Gaza, 9,000 Children have been Admitted for Acute Malnutrition
After the truth-shower 