Divided India – United Indians on December 20, 2020Non violent, mammoth protest by the Indian farming community without a relent has entered its fourth week . It is a protest by all ages, cuts across regional, ethnic, linguistic, gender and faith based identities, coalescing the protestor into one voice. They are braving the frosty winter at the inter state entry points to the […]
DUSK OVER THE MUSTARD FIELDS on September 14, 2020Dusk over the mustard fields,a maiden novel by Chandigarh based writer, Ranjit Powar, is a scintillating portrayal of a life in a village, Sahnewal. The sinew is of pre partition Punjab.The novel at the same time offers a powerful comment on the political and social landscape of the era. The writer deftly knits the life […]
South Asia — Cusp of Change on August 10, 2020It has been over one year now that Jammu & Kashmir groans under lock down with heavy Indian military presence and intermittent shoot outs. The state was split on August 5th 2019, with the status down graded as union territories, administered from Delhi. The planners of the move in their wisdom thought that the imposition […]
Karachi bounces back on July 8, 2020There has been marked decline in acts of terror ,sabotage and attacks on the civilians and vital installations in the country for quite some time. This has been possible by the unrelenting resolve by law enforcement agencies with a very clear road map under operation Zarb ul Azb and operation Radul Fasad. The ugly head […]
Saga of valour on May 14, 2020It is now nearly fifty years since the break up of East Pakistan raising unanswered questions in its trail about the causes and course of war resulting in the great tragedy. Writers and those in the midst of events are coming up with their versions. Lt. Col( Retired) Shujat Latif , in his autobiography, Shujat […]
The Dragonfly and other poems (Book review) on August 26, 2019Dragonfly, titled poem in the new poetic collection, is a poetic feat of Sahibzada Riaz Noor, unfolds a dilemma of a pakhtun, riven between an imminent existential threat and an irresistible yearning for survival. His maiden work covers varied themes but the title poem written in the genre of epic at times reminds of Odyssey […]
Polarised India on February 7, 2019The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India enters the crucial phase of electioneering with the country perhaps never being as polarised as it is now. Nudged by the extreme right, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the BJP has shown an exceptional penchant for accentuating divisions rather than building […]
Is 18th amendment irreversible? on January 29, 2019The 9th National Finance Commission Award is set to start its proceedings. At the same time, a debate has surfaced regarding the efficacy of 18th Constitutional amendment, with posturing by its detractors and supporters. The word amendment in the specific context is a misnomer as the whole package had amended many articles of the constitution […]
Bureaucracy — maze of uncertainty on November 20, 2018Bureaucracy as an institution is passing through a maze of uncertainty and a state of indecision affecting its over-all working. This is notwithstanding the assurance given by the Prime Minister in his earlier exhortations to the civil servants to stay above board with his keenness to de politicize it. Graft busters are in full spree […]