I feel humbled by the large number of people, young and old, sharing their worries, anguish and pain over the recent tumultuous turn of events. In which, by an apparently queer but predictable coincidence, most painfully and utterly unnecessarily the Army seems to have lost a good part of its popular goodwill and moral space […]
Cotton-Pickers of Tibba Sultanpur
Bhag Bhari and Allah Ditta were born in the suburban village of Tibba Sultanpur within a larger family of struggling peasants who worked in the fields of the local Zamindars under varying conditions of involuntary commitment, binding, and obligations. Some had borrowed large sums from the zamindar for weddings, sickness, buying a buffalo or seeds […]
A Moment of Silence for Our NSA
National Security Advisor’s visited Washington, where he and our Intelligence chief seem to have been given a rap on the knuckles and sent back red faced over the expectations of US from Pakistan regarding Afghanistan. Apparently, the US has considered the reservations of Pakistan over being used as a ‘service provider on payment’, unworthy of […]
The Altar of Conscience
Conscience is invisible but a very strong notion and a formidable force when deployed to contest an inhumanity, injustice, discrimination or prejudice.Its application can be amazinglydifferent, unexpected and many a times irresistibly forceful.Much against the popular belief it does not always translate into armed resistance,destruction or chaos.Its silent determination is more daunting than its vocal […]
Noblesse oblige
Living societies evolve in multiple domains as their values take on a distinct form and are recognized by their members as standard practices for business, administration and social interaction. The scarlet thread that runs through the entire cross weave of our relations whether personal, state or business oriented is a strong sense of reliability and […]
The Perfidy of Prejudice
Prejudice, by itself, is mean but if it is perfidious, it becomes ugly. Add to it religious or sectarian sanction and what you have is a truly hideous instrument of discrimination based on caste, creed, race, the colour of the skin or what may be under the shadow of God, so to say. Moral prejudice […]
The privilege and perils of infidelity
Infidelity like most other traits, essentially, belongs to the moral domain and is invariably used in the comparative form of speech and reference. As soon as one imagines infidelity the mind begins a comparison with different levels of related conduct.It seems quite a comprehensive term that is ordinarily used to denote a roving eye in […]
Just why should it be so
There are billions of people on earth connected through a network of humanity, compassion and care. Dormant but thankfully much less visible are the base instincts of violence and the urge to hurt others. These gross instincts are those human reflexes which act as the proverbial pebble, lobbed in the lake and create unwelcome ripples […]
Pulwama an equilibrium of deterrence that fell apart
The February 14 Pulwama blast has turned out to be truly a defining moment in relations between India and Pakistan in more ways than one. The perspective canvas of the coming Indian elections for which this entire stage was seemingly set fades into relative insignificance compared to the momentous events that unfolded subsequently. We will […]
Good politics or good governance
Agreement reached with TLP after negotiations was a sign of good politics done with little fanfare and defused their agitation within four days before it could pick up pace. Unlike last time, occasion to pitch demoralized LEAs against determined TLP squatters was averted. Damage to public and private property and life was minimized except mob […]