FIREWORKS ARE OVER, FIRING HAS RESUMED
Announced at Zero Hour GMT, the third round of strikes on Iran has begun, setting the Gulf on fire and the world in a tizzy, again. Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to the United States. We will never know who fired the first shot, and other compulsions, but death and destruction have […]
CONGRATS, AMERICA@250! BUT WE ARE DISAPPOINTED
Generations around the globe have known about, if not seen, the Statue of Liberty and felt inspired. The symbol of freedom, democracy, and justice kindled hope for millions who fought their colonial masters. Millions have been drawn to it, even illegally, to make it their home, where work counts and opportunities abound, to pursue their […]
OIL WAR, ISLAM & AN INDIAN “WORKING MOM” IN HOLLYWOOD
Viewing the world through headlines. The “tit-for-tat” bombing of and by Iran resumes the Gulf conflict. The military and diplomatic yo-yo over control of the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian oil continues. The US is loath to lose them after the cease-fire and agreement reached in Switzerland. The US-Iran truce cannot succeed because the Israel-Lebanon […]
Partition Nostalgia – Where To Draw The Line
Released this month, Imtiaz Ali’s Main Wapas Aaunga, a story of love, loss, and nostalgia, and of humans killing, or being killed, during India’s 1947 Partition, has won critical and popular acclaim. It is located in Sargodha, now in Pakistan. Journalist-writer Nona Walia, who traces her roots there but has not seen it, says of this […]
A WORLD IN WARS UNLEASHED BY ‘TUGHLAQS’
You may, or may not, call it a World War. But the world is indeed engulfed by several conflicts that refuse to end, each causing misery to innocent civilians, each causing destruction of nature-blessed resources that cannot be renewed. Technology has ensured that war-mongers can do this without crossing borders and losing men in uniform […]
Some Stray Thoughts To Chew On
A common sight on Indian streets is a tussle between stray cows and stray dogs. While scrounging for food in garbage dumps, the dogs, in defending what they perceive as their turf, bark the bovine animal away. One is considered sacred by the majority Hindu population, making it politically and emotionally sensitive, while the other […]
ESCALATING WARS & EXILED PRINCES
Violence escalated through this week. The US and Iran rained missiles even as they held talks to end the three-month war. Both Russia and Ukraine braced for a longer war, now into its fourth year. Russia will task bankers who dispense money to shoot down Ukrainian drones. Israel launched a full-scale war in southern Lebanon […]
TO TALK, OR NOT TO TALK, TO PAKISTAN!
hispers are getting louder, but the voice is still muffled. Are India and Pakistan talking peace and cooperation, and are they ready to usher in a new era in bilateral ties? The answer is difficult, but it is essential to explore. The only ‘visible’ source of information is former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba […]
WHEN AMERICAN PRESIDENTS AWED INDIANS
When John F. Kennedy was assassinated, an anguished Indian poet invoked the “Ma Nishada sloka,” the first verse (Adi Kavya) of Sanskrit literature, uttered spontaneously by Sage Valmiki in grief and rage after a hunter killed one of two mating sarus cranes (Krauncha). It curses the hunter to never be at peace for killing an […]
Allah, Army, America — And Asim Munir at the Centre of It All
The most prominent Pakistani at the Islamabad International Airport last month, looking dapper in civvies and uniform, brushing his epauletted shoulders with the VVIPs pushing for elusive peace in the Gulf, was Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah. He walked alongside, and not behind, his civilian boss, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Everyone knows that […]
