Notes in Anguish

My read of religions is that they follow a general trend of development which is common to them all. The original founders or sages or prophets in all cases seem to have been moved primarily by the need for socio-economic justice; though their advocacy of these values had an underpinning of theological support. But as… →

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A good sixty years back, dog fights in some of our villages were not unknown as a form of high entertainment. The one thing that topped this was when a bear was pitched against dogs. The dogs were never less than two but could go up to four in number. Even this was often not… →

The video in the link below is worth seeing. Indian nationalism seems bent on outdoing all national achievements claimed by others. The best examples of these claims are that in the Vedic age i.e a good 3000 years ago, Indians were making test tube babies; they were far in advance of stem cell research than… →

Modi’s was by no means a sudden swoop on Kashmir. The build up to this eventuality was long and its roots lay in Hindu-Muslim animus built up over centuries. And this in turn had its roots in Muslim invasions and conquest of substantial parts of the sub-continent. This brought together two systems of belief which… →

If there was ever a fig leaf to cover Indian designs on Kashmir, it came off on 5 Aug 2019, when India unilaterally abrogated article 370 of its constitution, and annulled article 35 A as well. This did away with the limited autonomy of Kashmir, which was a condition precedent to Maharaja Hari Singh signing… →

Maulana Fazal is a very broad man. He wears a beard which is the broadest of those worn by any of his competitors. And he is a broadminded man on all issues save those that concern his narrow self-interest. Ever since he lost in the elections, he is not as pleasant as he used to… →

It is a few months back that I heard this charge. It was made very seriously by Mr Talat Hussain, anchor at one of our TV shows. Since I did not notice this censorship in any of our papers and journals or the TV, as I saw the government roundly being taken to task, I… →

Between them and the crime machines being run by Asif Zardari and Mian Nawaz Sharif, there was no crime, they did not commit. That is quite an achievement. Given that ours is a third world country, it may be proudly asserted that at least in one field our leadership has excelled. But with the uncovering… →

That Arshad Malik was morally unfit to be judge is a compulsory conclusion for anyone watching Maryam Safdar’s airing of the first video. That the judge was a victim of threats and blackmail, as well as the target of inducements, is also not too hard to conclude. That in both cases the enforcer of the… →

Maryam Safdar has been angry for quite some time now. As the grating realization is dawning that her crown has been irreversibly lost to her, she is not just losing her temper; she seems to have lost the last fragments of good sense too. Flailing about in the darkness, she has come up with yet… →

Pakistan needs to do a lot to pull itself out of the hole it finds itself in. Among the things needed to be done is the utmost need for clarity on the following questions: Unless clear and precise answers to the above are forthcoming, the way forward cannot be determined. And losing our way in… →