If Farooq Abdullah, who understands the inner workings of the powers that be in Delhi, is able to provide leadership to help the Kashmiri political class avoid the pitfalls, it will be a swansong he will be positively remembered for; his chequered past notwithstanding
Pakistan’s discriminatory constitution bars non-Muslim citizens from holding the top two political posts but they have quotas in jobs and legislature and Pakistani Hindus have excelled in different spheres of life
The cultural affinity between India and Pakistan is often framed in terms of cross-border Punjabis but there is much more to it with divided mercantile communities such as Gujaratis being a case in point
Twelvth-century Muslim saint Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani’s impact transcends time and geography and inspires devotees worldwide through his teachings and spiritual presence, fostering a sense of community and acceptance across sectarian and cultural divides through coexistence, empathy, understanding, truth, compassion, unity, and honesty.
Arthashastra, a two-millennia-old treatise on statecraft and the art of government, is believed to have been unread for almost a thousand years until its discovery in the early 20th century
Bharatiya Janata Party’s projection as the only bulwark against the belligerent neighbour Pakistan and its alleged allies within has paid rich political dividends to India’s ruling party, making any breakthrough in hostile ties between the two countries increasingly difficult
The stories with compassion as the moral that people like me grew up on as children need to be told and retold for a peaceful future of co-existence that growing Islamophobia threatens
The idea of ‘Sufism’, which in its present form in much of South Asia has little to do with Sufi saints and their teachings, has long mutated with the association of those helming shrines purely by heredity with corrosive power, patronage, and vanity
Many Nepalese conceded the constitution may be imperfect but is federal, republican, and secular and can be amended to accommodate the concerns of disgruntled ethnic groups but there was more to India’s disapproval
The love-hate relationship between the Abdullahs and Nehru-Gandhis across generations has defined frequent ups and downs in the ties between New Delhi and Kashmir
