Faithful idols
THESE days some people go about introducing themselves as ‘thought leaders’. This claim is neither determined nor tested by the number of followers they may have; it is completely self-assessed…
Fascist threat to Hinduism
So this is how the cookie crumbles. Who would have thought India would find itself at this dangerous crossroads so early in its democratic journey after all those historic sacrifices…
Fear and triumph as Indian holy city mosque dispute heats up
As Hindus began prayers at a mosque in one of India’s holiest cities, the building’s elderly custodian Syed Mohammad Yaseen wondered how much longer he would be permitted to worship…
Climate refugees flee as Bangladesh villages washed away
For generations Paban Baroi’s family guarded a temple to Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, until Bangladesh’s mighty Padma river wreaked havoc of its own, wiping out the shrine, their…
Freedom parties
THE role of political parties in winning freedom is well known. But how many of them, on attaining the goal of freedom, put their nations on the path of progress?…
For God’s sake, stop the war
WE are now into the month of Ramazan, a period of piety and self-reflection for Muslims, though one can’t tell that by the unravelling of the mayhem in Pakistan. It…
The Viksit Bharat era of India
Pakistan-India ‘talks’ have been stalled for years, but this doesn’t mean that the two countries don’t talk. In 2016, during a security incident at the Pathankot Airbase in India in…
Why civility matters
About a week ago, Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb was accosted and harassed in London by a group of PTI supporters while on her way to a coffee shop. She…
Ledger book of Modi’s tenure
AAKAR Patel’s book on Narendra Modi took me to an acerbic poem by Gorakh Pandey, JNU’s resident Marxist poet from the anti-Emergency struggle of 1975-77. The pithy lines uncannily capture…
Change and revolutions
Part - III If history is any guide, change can be either backward-looking or forward-looking – both reflecting a dissatisfaction with the present. Interestingly, backward-looking changes inculcate a distrust of…
