The Brothers Hasan
The last couple of years have been devastating on multiple counts; we lost many activists, journalists, intellectuals and writers. Mubashir Hasan and Mehdi Hasan – cousins – were two of…
Discussing South Asian peace: Part – II
In the 1980s, multiple civil society organisations emerged in Pakistan that stood for democracy, gender equity, human rights, peace and social justice. Some of them promoted their ideals through art…
Discussing South Asian peace: Part – I
The Black Hole is a community centre in Islamabad that holds engaging discussions, conducts informative sessions, and offers entertaining performances nearly every day. Established in March 2022, it will soon…
The ‘aubash’ hand in India’s pain
‘AUBASH’ is a Persian word whose meaning, if grasped correctly, could help explain the runaway success of Hindutva as an Indian phenomenon. Japanese scholar Hiroshi Kan Kagaya’s insightful work on the…
Ramdas for peace
Peace activists come in a hundred and one varieties. Some are diehard peaceniks from their student days, others are new converts who spend their early lives fighting and then realize…
Constitutional amendments – Part I
This year, Pakistan is marking 50 years of the 1973 constitution that has experienced many mutilations at the hands of both civil and military rulers. Having remained in abeyance a…
Climate threat over South Asia
HOW badly are Saarc countries already affected by climate change, and what is the hope the damage could be contained before it becomes an unmitigated disaster? With these paramount questions,…
Cartel dreams
OUR story starts in the spring of ’68, in the 10th year of our field marshal Ayub, when economist Mahbub-ul-Haq made a speech in Karachi. Less than two dozen industrial…
Sindh: challenges ahead for the PPP
The seed that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto planted in Lahore at the residence of late Dr Mubashir Hasan in the late sixties in the form of the Pakistan People’s Party has…
Farewell, Rehman Sahib
How do you dissolve that lump in your throat when you begin to write the obituary of I A Rehman? Possibly by first remembering what a wit he was. His…
