Afzal Guru: a victim of strategy on April 25, 2016The ‘manufactured’ enemy of the Indian state, Afzal Guru (accused of attacking the Indian parliament in 2001), another hero of the Kashmiri narrative of struggle, was hanged to death on February 9, 2013 secretly at the Tihar jail without informing even his family. Guru’s death saw a violent reaction from the Valley, claiming three lives […]
Identity crisis in Pakistan II on April 21, 2016Pakistan is divided into four linguistic-ethnic groups and lacks a national ethos. Again these are irreconcilable trends leading towards two different poles, and the post-colonial state of Pakistan has failed to bridge gaps between them by taking recourse to secularism, the only alternative to end fragmentation. However, it is not easy under a conservative and […]
Identity crisis in Pakistan I on April 21, 2016The post-colonial state of Pakistan is faced with identity-related challenges, and is struggling to define its identity, particularly from the onset of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Parallel movements are running across the landscape of Pakistan, as some demand an Islamic state, some a multinational state, some fight for a secular one, and […]