Anusha Rizvi’s JioHotstar film The Great Shamsuddin Family offers an intimate, unexoticised portrait of ordinary Muslim life, a rarity in Indian cinema, set amid family banter, work, relationships, fear and uncertainty, exploring identity, vulnerability and resilience without reducing its characters to stereotypes
Britain’s imperial border-making, from Ireland and the Sykes-Picot settlement in West Asia to the Radcliffe Line in India, carved through communities and territories, disrupting longstanding social and economic ties, causing displacements, sectarian tensions and conflicts whose consequences continue to shape Ireland, West Asia and South Asia today
Despite evidence that polygamy is marginal, declining, and not specific to a religious group, it has been weaponised against Muslims to fuel Islamophobia, even as the Quran, the primary source of Islamic law, backs monogamy as the preferred model of marriage, underlining how polygamy can never be fair and just
The British rule over India left behind more than partitioned borders. It entrenched the politics of division. From the census categories hardening identities to the stereotypes that demonise, colonial tools of control have been repurposed into modern-day conflicts. What began as a means to consolidate imperial rule survives in the form of fault lines. The Empire ended, but its divisions endure
India played a significant role in the British Empire’s globalized trade, investment, and migration, explaining the presence of around 2.75 million Persons of Indian Origin, who make up about 9% of Malaysia’s population and hold key positions in government, business, and politics
Indian pilgrims reinstalled Hindu deities at Lahore’s Krishna Temple in 2007, marking a significant moment during a thaw in India-Pakistan relations (2003-2008) which also coincided with the restoration of Katas Raj temples and cross-border pilgrimage to Mata Hinglaj amid willingness to move beyond past conflicts for peace
Bangladesh has lifted the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami while an offshoot of the party originally founded in British India has fielded five independent candidates in Jammu and Kashmir, marking its return to electoral polls in the Himalayan region after 37 years and turning the spotlight on the organization that was among the most vocal in its opposition to Pakistan’s creation
The camaraderie of Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra despite the strained India-Pakistan ties highlights enduring cross-border bonds built on mutual respect that transcend nationality, religion, and politics, highlighting the deep-rooted cultural and historical connections and shared common heritage
Jinnah once dismissed India’s potential Hindu domination as a bogey before Gandhi’s emergence marginalised and transformed him from the ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity into the ‘sole champion’ of Muslim rights
The Dawoodi Bohras, a branch of the Ismaili Shia Muslim sect, have for centuries been unified under a supreme spiritual leader or Dai Syedna that has helped them remain well-knit and maintain a unique cultural identity
