David Painter and Gregory Brew, The Struggle for Iran: Oil, Autocracy, and the Cold War, 1951–1954 Reviewed by MARC MARTORELL JUNYENT Munich (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – The figure of Mohammad Mosaddeq, Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, is an uncomfortable one for both sides of the US-Iran rivalry. For the US, Mosaddeq… Read More The Origins of the West’s Iran Crisis: Oil, Autocracy and Coup
The U.S. government’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s annihilation of Gaza – torrents of heavy weaponry, diplomatic and political cover, and vast majorities in Congress swearing fealty to Netanyahu’s extremist regime – is usually attributed to AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), the powerful domestic pro-Israeli government lobby, organized in every Congressional District, with its abundant… Read More Ralph Nader: The Mutually Reinforcing US and Israeli Empires
(NB: In 2022 alone, 7.5 lac Indian students migrated abroad for higher studies. By 2025, Indian students studying abroad are expected to spend up to $70 billion. Those curious about Sardar Patel’s proficiency in English and also his views on V. D. Savarkar’s role in Gandhiji’s assassination, could check volume 6 of Selected Correspondence of Sardar… Read More Ruchir Joshi: Out of depth – India’s anti-knowledge brigade
Rouven J. Steeves Introduction: “The Light Shines in the Darkness . . .“ The study of politics presupposes the study of man. The study of man demands we consider the nature of being as ensouled flesh. This leads us into the realm of philosophy and, by extension, given that we are interested in man as… Read More Psychologists of Evil: Nietzsche and Dostoevsky on the Darkness of the Soul
Rohini Hensman Introduction Myth and reality are intertwined in accounts of how Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka. According to the Mahavamsa, a 6th century CE epic, the Buddha himself visited Lanka on three occasions, but this myth has effectively been demolished by scholars[1]. There is more evidence for the story that in the third century BCE, when Ashoka ruled… Read More Sinhala Buddhist Nationalism & Women In Sri Lanka
Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, April 6, 2024 BOOKS: IMAGE & SOUND: Editor’s Picks
Bechan Baba has dedicated his life to Varanasi’s Anarwali mosque, where Hindus and Muslims come to pray – despite the historical disputes raging outside Jyoti Thakur and Hanan Zaffar in Varanasi In the heart of Varanasi, where the sacred Ganges meanders by and incense smoke mingles with the faint echoes of prayers from a myriad… Read More The Hindu caretaker and his mosque: symbol of harmony amid India’s religious discord
* (Coverpage Artwork Credits: Yuri Annenkov – Portrait of Boris Pasternak (1921)) Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, March 30, 2024 BOOKS: IMAGE & SOUND: Editor’s Picks:
By shutting the door to any peaceful resolution and leaving no other option for Palestinians, Israel created its own nemesis in Hamas. GAZA casualties live statistics Hamas, like all resistance groups, from the African National Congress to The Irish Republic Army, are as demonized as they are misunderstood. Hamas is a religious, nationalist political movement.… Read More The Chris Hedges Report: Hamas: How Israel Created Its Own Nemesis
In the early 1930s, the Indian-born physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-95), who was then studying at the University of Cambridge in the UK, proposed that not all stars become white dwarves at the end of their lifecycle. Instead, the brilliant young scientist argued, when stars were of a certain mass, they would form something denser than… Read More The Indian astronomer whose innovative work on black holes was mocked at Cambridge
