Rounded Analysis On Contested Issues; Spotlighting Blind Spots; Politics, Religion, Travel, Books
Pakistani Parsis are far fewer but much like in India the Parsi community's achievements are extraordinary also in Pakistan, where they own the only brewery, the oldest shipping firm, and a chain of hotels besides being regarded as makers of the country's financial hub of Karachi
Pakistan's Westernized founding fathers and their successors loved to have a drink and sat on the periodic demands of a ban on alcohol until the 1970s when the prohibition—at least on paper—was imposed
The experience of being forced to drink a mixture of milk, clarified butter, curd, cow urine, and dung to purify him after touching a so-called 'lower-caste' woman's sari inspired Bindeshwar Pathak's lifelong commitment to improving sanitation
Tribalism, corruption, and the absence of modern institutions have been blamed for Afghanistan's troubles, overlooking political modernization and the creation of features of a modern secular state by the 1970s before foreign interventions unmade them
Made in Heaven Season 2 seemingly attempts to expose unsavoury customs but ends up promoting stereotypes that have been weaponised against a beleaguered community despite data to the contrary
The biradari system is among the crucial factors in Pakistan's elections particularly in rural areas of the Punjab province, which sends 55% of lawmakers to the National Assembly
The literalist obsession of the Taliban with criminal law violates basic Islamic mandate for egalitarianism based on kindness, mutual respect, and forgiveness
Pashtun nationalism was a serious challenge Pakistan faced in its infancy long before losing its eastern wing, which is now Bangladesh
Shah Rukh Khan, India's biggest film star, defines the potential of Indian soft power in unlikely places such as Iraq where hardly anyone even understands the language of his films
The inauguration of India's new parliament with Hindu symbolism has triggered murmurs of disapproval citing secular traditions although there is nothing new in the association of occupants of constitutional posts with such ceremonies since the republic was founded
