Founding Editor: Daya Varma (1929-2015)
Editors: Vinod Mubayi (New York) and Raza Mir (New Jersey).
Editorial Board: Ram Puniyani and Irfan Engineer (Mumbai); Pervez Hoodbhoy (Islamabad); Dolores Chew (Montreal); Vamsi Vakulabharanam (Amherst); Ajay Bhardwaj (Vancouver).
Circulation/website: Feroz Mehdi (On behalf of Alternatives, Montreal).
RIP ASMA JAHANGIR
Vinod Mubayi and Raza Mir
Gaye dinon ka suraagh lekar kidhar se aayi, kidhar gayi vo
Ajeeb maanoos ajnabi thi, hamen to hairaan kar gayi vo Read more…
AGAINST DEIFICATION
Maryam Hussain
The progressives are mourning the passing of Asma Jahangir. For many the loss is personal, a friend has gone. It follows the loss of Lala Rukh and Nigar Ahmed last year and brings home once again, the enormity of losing Shehla Zia over a decade ago. Though Asma was more visible, and her fame undeniable, the connections are clear. Read more…
FROM THE ARCHIVES: A CONVERSATION WITH ASMA JEHANGIR (2001)
Asma Jehangir, lawyer, human-rights advocate and activist in the women’s movement in Pakistan, passed away on 11 February 2018 at the age of 66, following a cardiac arrest. Her first tilt at officialdom was at 18 when she filed a writ of habeas corpus for her father who had been arrested by General Yahya Khan in 1971, for being a member of the Awami League. Read more…
THE BJP GOVERNMENT’S LAST BUDGET: SLOGANS FOR WORKING PEOPLE AND PROFITS FOR THE RICH
NTUI Statement
The BJP, like all parties of the far right, claims to serve the peoples’ interest. Its success lies in getting its slogans right. In reality it serves only the rich. In the last two years, the wealth of India’s richest 1% population increased from 58% in 2016 to 73% of the total wealth generated in the country in 2017, according to a new survey by an international rights group. Read more…
RESIST BIGOTRY, RECOVER SOLIDARITY: SAY NO TO “HINDUS FOR TRUMP”
India Civil Watch
We, the members of India Civil Watch (ICW) reject unequivocally the rank opportunism of “Hindus for Trump” (henceforth HFT) that leads them to offer to pay for President Trump’s proposed wall at the Mexican border as long as it will facilitate their own presumed ability to stay in the U.S. Read more…
AN IDEA OF JUSTICE
Ishtiaq Ahmed
On 15 February 2018 I had the privilege of visiting Sahiwal on the invitation of the Principal of Government College Sahiwal (established in 1946 as Government College Montgomery) Prof Dr Akhlaq Hussain. Read more…
THE SHEEN AROUND MODI IS QUICKLY FADING
Swati Chaturvedi
The BJP’s bypoll defeat in Rajasthan and West Bengal will likely be a big cause of concern for the Modi-Shah duo. Read more…
LESSONS FROM A ‘SCAM’: THE ARGUMENT THAT PRIVATISATION WILL REMEDY BANKING FRAUD IS SPECIOUS
EPW Editorial
The Punjab National Bank (PNB) “scam” is the latest addition to the list of scams, real and imagined, that have rocked India in recent years. In the case of PNB, two things should be highlighted upfront. One, it is clear that a bank fraud was perpetrated. Read more…
BIGOTRY AND ISLAMOPHOBIA IN BHANSALI’S “PADMAAVAT”
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s highly controversial historical drama “Padmaavat” was released a day before the unfortunate Kasganj incident when the country was celebrating Republic Day. A vicious narrative of nationalism in the small town in Uttar Pradesh resulted in a communal feud and led to the death of a young man. Read more…
FROM THE ARCHIVES: TERROR AND POLITICS IN BANGLADESH (JULY 2016)
For the past year, Bangladesh’s government and political commentators have spent a lot of time speculating about whether the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has a presence in the country. This month’s bloody attack at an upscale café in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone registered telltale signs of the form of terrorism common to transnational terrorist organizations such as ISIS. Read more…
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