2017

by Ashok Celly
Thanks to the BJP and its sister organisations, the media is buzzing with the discourse on nationalism. The ruling party has emerged as the self-appointed champion of nationalism. Convinced that it is on a strong wicket when it comes to nationalism, it is adopting aggressive postures and trying to push the others—political parties, minorities—on the back foot by raising slogans like ‘Vande Mataram Kehna Hoga’. In the prevailing surcharged atmosphere it is absolutely (…)

by Bhartendu Kumar Singh
Aircraft carriers have, for long, symbolised great power prestige and power projection. China also recognised the centrality of aircraft carriers in its military modernisation programme, more so, after the area denial from the US carriers during the 1995-96 Taiwan Straits crisis. Unlike India, where all the past three aircraft carriers were purchased, China has increasingly domesticised the carrier building since the purchase of Liaoning as an incomplete carrier (…)

With a glistening young body,
shiny trimmed manes, slender legs,
the colt gracefully cantered
into the glittering world of celluloid.
It grew into a steed, galloping
along dusty roads, sandy tracks,
with a gun-wielding hero
or a sabre-rattling heroine
astride on the saddle.
Its steeplechases were captured,
flashed on sliver screens,
though sidelined by riders’ heroics.
Silently it carried another load:
the burden of its master’s livelihood.
And it went (…)

The showmanship displayed in reshaping and reorienting Indian foreign policy in the first few months of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ascendancy to power in 2014, which had dazzled diplomats and scholars across the world, has long given way to sober assessment and consequent disappointment. Today’s consensus in assessing Modi’s foreign policy is dramatically shorn of euphoria, as it should have been in the first instance.
But perhaps the unkindest cut of all has come from a man who is (…)

When the world is a stranger,
Go humanise it;
When the world is a dictator,
Go democratise it.
When the world will not look
Into the kindness in your eyes,
Sing a song of togetherness
That callousness defies.
When justice becomes an empty word,
Be as just as you can;
When an epidemic of hate strikes,
Be your own medicine.
When gods defect to the money-bags
Take them on as well;
When creeds deface creation,
Be boldly spiritual.
Badri Raina

by L.K. Sharma
The Great India Show covers even science in India. It has been blessed by the two governments. Britain is out on a mission to rediscover India.
Those wanting to take a condensed course in India’s heritage and contemporary culture would do well to spend this year in Britain.
They will benefit from a massive exposition of a wide range of performing and visual arts, literature, films and rich collections from the national archives. The Great India Show covers even science (…)

TRIBUTE
by Masoom Moradabadi
Words fail to express the loss caused by the demise of Saeed Suhrawardy Sahab to the Urdu world. As he was laid to rest on March 10 at the burial ground, Mehendiyan, near the Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), the view expressed by most Urdu journalists gathered there was: “He was a doyen, a strong pillar in his domain. His demise is like the end of an era he strongly represented through his writings.”
A Masters in Economics (English Medium) from (…)

by H.K. Dua
Several prominent citizens from different walks of life have called for a declaration of ceasefire in Kashmir during the month of Ramzan, beginning on Friday (May 26). Their appeal needs to be immediately heeded, both by the Centre and the State Government.
Those who have appealed for a ceasefire include Yashwant Sinha of the NDA who recently led a citizens’ team to J&K to make a bid for the restoration of peace there. The other eminent people include Air Marshal Kapil (…)

Age:
‘This wind, this storm, this furious flow
This thunder and lightning, this frightening show
The night is dark, the ocean heaves
No torch to guide, or star aglow
Traveller, stay where your are, fight not this flow.”
Youth:
‘For him is the guide, for him the shore
Who fights the flood without awaiting the oar
The pitch-dark night, the heaving ocean
Are but a whimper in comparison to resolve’s roar
How long can you walk clinging to the shore?’
Kaifi Azmi (…)

The recent video clip of a civilian strapped to the front of an Army vehicle deployed in internal security (IS) operations in Kashmir has made headlines. Many Army veterans are defending it as a tactical means to avoid stone-pelting and thus permit operations with minimal bloodshed of protestors and Army personnel alike. Some journalists aver that this tactic is “effective”, thereby obliquely justifying it, and there are of course journalists and citizens who outrightly approve of it. (…)