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May 2015
The following is a list of columns by A.G. Noorani in Frontline. As per Wikipedia "Abdul Gafoor Abdul Majeed Noorani, known popularly as A.G. Noorani, (born 16 September, 1930) is an Indian lawyer, historian and author. He has practised as an advocate in the Supreme Court of India and in the Bombay High Court. He is one of the few remaining experts on the Constitution of India from his generation."
Kant once remarked that it was Hume who awoke him out of his dogmatic slumber (and to which Bertrand Russell commented that Kant invented a soporific (metaphysic) that enabled him to sleep again). I believe that the spirit of Kant's comment is applicable to the following articles. Luckily, as most of these articles touch upon issues that can concern an average Indian citizen, they do not need to resort to any complexity (especially of the metaphysical kind) and thus they are immune to an attack in the spirit of Russell's comment.
The reasons these articles are worth collating in one place and their subject worth giving attention and importance to is because they confront the myths that a lot us have been schooled in: literally in the schools and then later on in the larger society. There are several subjects today in modern India that lend themselves to merry myth-making. They are: China, Pakistan, Muslims, Indian History, Gandhi / Nehru / Patel, Hindutva.
There can be two ways to explode such myths: one is by putting the perceptions in one column and for each perception arraying a set of counter-facts on the other. Then the difference between the perception of a subject-matter and the subject-matter itself becomes clearer. The second is by comparing the subject-matters of this nature against the principles and values enshrined in the Constitution. Then the gap is easy to see. Once the gap is visible it remains to accept only one thing: that deep down we are all children of hypocrisy that is borne of ignorance than deliberate intention.
This is because, by definition, if we label ourselves an Indian citizen then it is mandated upon us to make genuine attempts to align our conduct in the civic sphere over time with the constitutional principles. Any divergence, from the point of an alien visiting the earth, is sheer hypocricy between the promised and the practised.
If the above two tests are rigourously and persistently applied then the subject matters the following columns cover are easy pickings. But it takes considerable knowledge, scholarly effort and somewhere deep down a nagging, annoying and persistently troubling feeling that "there is something that is deeply flawed and troubling in our society and the solution to that is a humane approach based on unrelenting reason as opposed to an uncouth discourse borne of passion or subjective preferences dressed in impeccably refined language" to be able to keep probing these subjects in the manner in which A.G. Noorani has done.
What makes these articles special is that they are in the nature of a pin-prick taking the air out of a balloon: incisive and sarcastic. For those who cherish views opposite to those presented in these articles, these articles may rile them. For me, my general bent of mind towards things stated in these columns is one of agreement. So I am spared that agony. For those who may be a little upset, I would advocate remembering Russell's comment to the effect that: I would rather be written by an intelligent enemy rather than a dear friend. For those whom Noorani points his pen towards, they should be thankful that it is the right person pointing the right pen.
The question really is why would someone get riled in the first place? On the subjects discussed here, very few of them really touch the fabric of existence of most of us. Yet, all of us have very strong views on them which leads us further and further away from the truth on these. It is worthwhile for each one of us to ask ourselves why do we possess such strong views on things that in reality should be viewed with a certain objective detachment? One answer that emerges is that because we link subjects such as these with our own sense of right and wrong. It is the very nature of the human mind to do so, so it is not easy to escape from it. What can, however, be a mitigating factor is to remember that before we form the linkage we should ask ourselves: do we know what is there to really know about the issue to absorb it within our value framework? It is to this question that the following articles will help supply, if not answers, facts and information.
But there is a deeper question: what really frames our sense of right and wrong with respect to 'civic' issues? I think at some level it is an instinctive tendency of 'loyalty by land and happenstance'. Many are inclined to cheer the Indian cricket team because we happen to be Indians and not because it is the most qualified, capable and ethically sound one deserving of one's note of approval. The tendency that characterizes the difference between encouragement under rules of fair-play, and feverish shouting from the stadium seats is destructively large when applied to other arenas of our life as citizens.
Why be overtly knowledgeable and judgemental about the 'fundamentalist terrorists' in the Middle East when we have yet to understand, and come to terms with, the events that have transpired in the name of national integration in post-independence India, including the AFSPA and its fallouts in North-east, Kashmir and other parts of the country? Why an undue emphasis and debate on tragedies that befall middle-class and upper-class societies as compared to those that the more marginalized sections face everyday? One does not like to take specific examples in such cases: but the general awareness and recollection in the consciousness of drawing room conversations regarding the Nirbhaya case is far likely to outweigh that of the Bhotmange family in 2006. The latter by all accounts is yet to be fully absorbed for what it is: a popular example of caste-related atrocities carried out in full public view in 'modern' India. It is a tragedy that is at pains to set itself into our memory. And it is to be borne in mind, it is the one most covered. What would happen if the ones which are not covered are all one by one extricated out of their graves? We would be left with a sense of dejection and desperation that no amount of consumer indulgence in the malls will be able to mitigate.
One wonders whether the silence on these topics is one of deliberate refrain and avoidance, or one due to lack of due knowledge. One hopes it is the latter but one knows that an element of the first is also adequately mixed in.
At this point, it is relevant to insert the opening paragraph of the editorial article in the The Hindu titled "The commodification of Violence" dated May 18, 2015 by Shiv Visvanathan. To quote "From Partition and Emergency, to displacement by dams, the Bhopal tragedy, agricultural suicides and riots, we realise that India is a great body that digests violence and is content to live with the logic of it. ... As I struggled with my narratives, I realised that one has spent too much time analysing the production of violence. One day I found myself on the back foot when a friend of mine said, "Violence is not merely manufactured, it is a ritual of consumption. Today, in India, it is the spectator and the consumer who thicken the sources of violence. Victims of violence are rarely violent. Studies of Partition will show you that victims of Partition are rarely as violent as those who consume stories of Partition. It is the consumer of violence who is the true communalist. It is the spectator who is truly blood thirsty as he tries to rectify history."
Indeed, it is not out of place to entertain the thought that, at the end of the day, the gladiator may have a greater right to stake a claim to God's grace than the spectators who pay to sit, watch and encourage him to entertain themselves. The tendency of 'loyalty by land and happenstance' may be appropriate for a man in the military and allied professions. Is it indeed suitable for an average citizen whose defined duty is to stay as close as possible to a constitutional conduct? Fortunately, for us in India, we are blessed with a Constitution with a spirit that discourages 'loyalty by land' and allows us to look at the larger picture. Given we have had the opportunity to be born under the right constitutional architecture, it is to our benefit to take the fullest advantage of the environment it confers.
The hope is that, ultimately, our modern national collective unconscious is freed from the dogma of the myths around these subjects. If such a day does come, then one may be able to breath a more just air, albeit one that will be far more polluted than the undemocratic air that we and our fathers and grand-fathers have been breathing since Independence (and some would say extending to generations much, much, much beyond that). Society ensures, by means unjust, that the taste of societal justice, especially of the benevolent kind, remains as ever a bitter one. With passing of time, the bitterness is moving from the emotional to the level of the physical senses.
What the articles below do is to put a stop to two extremes in the drawing room salons of the educated elite: either absolute silence or mis-guided chattering. Even if one chooses to be silent, it is hoped that it is out of mournful respect and a sense of dejection and not out of a sense of careless or selective indifference. And if one wishes to speak and act, then it is with a complete acceptance (without an iota of denial) about the state of our nation and its history. Action borne out of such a knowledge can lead to an armed revolt or a cathartic reform. For those whom circumstances and understanding permit, the hope is that they would exert themselves upon the latter.
It need not necessarily mean carrying the burden of history on our shoulders always and trying to change society. Though that is very much welcome. But it can simply mean an increased mindfulness and a gradual modification of our own day to day conduct in the civic sphere so as to not contribute any further to history repeating itself with a ferocious tenacity.
Essay: "Our swadeshi McCarthy", Modi's divisive politics and hateful rhetoric during the final phase of the campaign for the Gujarat elections have profound legal, moral and political implications. Volume 35, Number 01, January 04-19, 2018.
Essay: "Supreme Court on trial", The Supreme Court should consider seriously whether it should proceed with the appeals on the Ayodhya case at all after quashing the partitioning judgement of the Allahabad High Court, rejecting decisively its view that faith prevails over the law and that any object worshipped becomes an object of legal protection. Volume 34, Number 26, December 23 - January 05, 2018.
Book review: "Impeaching Trump", The book is an invaluable guide to the drama unfolding on Capitol Hill as a series of exposures threaten to derail the Trump presidency. The Case for Impeachment by Allan J. Lichtman, HarperCollins. Volume 34, Number 26, December 23 - January 05, 2018.
Book review: "Britain & Arabs", Three books of high scholarship together establish the enormity of the crime of the Balfour Declaration on establishing "a national home" for the Jewish people by placing it in the proper historical context. volume 34, Number 24, Novmeber 25 - December 08, 2017.
Book review: "The Army in Kashmir", A valuable first-hand account of the start of the militancy in the Kashmir valley in 1988-89, showing how the Army's ruthless high-handed role sent the situation spiralling out of control; Kashmir Intifada: A memoir, A.M. Watali, Gulshan Books, Srinagar, Kashmir. Volume 34, Number 16, August 05-18, 2017.
Essay: "Rape of Article 370", To empower New Delhi with collection of taxes on goods and services "with the concurrence of the Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir" is to surrender the exclusive powers enjoyed by the State to the Centre. Volume 34, Number 16, August 05 - 18, 2017.
Essay: "Human shields & pellet guns", It is a particular outlook that shuns conciliation in and on Kashmir, resolves to "settle" the matter by brute force condoning pellet guns and hostage-taking, and launches a fight to the finish, leaving the Army free to act "helter-skelter". Volume 34, Number 14, July 08 - 21, 2017.
Cover story: "Ambedkar's warning", Proponents of Hindu supremacy knew that democracy could be used to establish a Hindu Raj. They and their followers have sought to use the vote for ends of power using the Hindutva card. Volume 34, Number 14, July 08 - 21, 2017.
Books review: "War on Indus Waters?", The Indus Waters Treaty was not unfair to India, and the belligerence over it under the present regime is harmful for peace between the two nations; Indus Waters Treaty, Political and Legal Implications, Ijaz Hussain, Oxford University Press, Karachi. Volume 34, Number 13, June 24 - July 07, 2017.
Essay: "A blot on India's secularism", The country failed to give the Jamia Milia Islamia University its dues as an institution founded by a minority community with the objective of serving India's Muslims as well as the ideals of independence and nationhood. Volume 34, Number 12, June 10-23, 2017.
Book review: "Glimpses of a rich life", These volumes of the Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru are a useful record of Nehru's talks with Ayub Khan on the bounary question; Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Second Series, Volumes 62 to 66; Editor: Madhawan K. Palat; Jawaharlal Memorial Fund, New Delhi; Distributed by Oxford University Press, New Delhi. Volume 34, Number 12, June 10-23, 2017.
Essay: "The roots of 2017", Lord Mountbatten did his best to work out a realistic solution regarding Kashmir in the months preceding and following the 1947 Partition, but first M.A. Jinnah and then Jawarhlal Nehru scuttled all moves to find a sane course of action. Volume 34, Number 11, May 27 - June 09, 2017.
Freedom of speech: "The gag order", The Supreme Court's ban on the press in the Justice Karnan case is a standing affront to the citizen's right to freedom of speech and a threat to the media and to the democratic process. Volume 34, Number 11, May 27 - June 09, 2017.
Essay: "Flawed hearing", The panama papers shattered Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's image, but the court proceedings against him were not founded on solid evidence. Volume 34, Number 10, May 13 - 26, 2017.
Kashmir's autonomy: "Myths and falsehoods", A.B.Vajpayee, often thought to have genuinely attempted to resolve the Kashmir impasse, hawkishly derailed dialogue and made sure that the dilution of Article 370 could not be reversed. Volume 34, Number 10, May 13-26, 2017.
Book review: "Killer's impunity", The Bhagalpur riots and the Gujarat pogrom had common features which still persist. Splintered Justice: Living the Horror of Mass Communal Violence in Bhagalpur and Gujarat, Warisha Farasat & Prita Jha, Three Essays Collective, Gurgaon. Volume 34, Number 08, April 15-28, 2017.
Essay: "Ayodhya:Deceit and force", The record of court orders on the proposal for a temple where the Babri Masjid stood shows insidious attempts to sanctify the conversion of the mosque into a temple in 1949 and flouting of a Supreme Court ruling that the rule of adverse possession applies in this case. Vol. 34, Number 08, April 15-28, 2017.
Essay: "Patriotism and Dissent", Can the cries of azadi be suppressed by recourse to the Unlawful Act, 1967? Lawmakers have opined that rather than serving the purpose of fighting centrifugal forces, it will become a weapon in the hands of the ruling party to fight its opponents unscrupulously. Volume 34, Number 07, April 01-14, 2017.
Essay: "Nationalism in peril", The Sangh Parivar's band of patriotism connotes a perverted concept of nationalism and intolerance of dissent. Its aim is to erase the national consensus that sustained the freedom movement and prevailed in India for decades after independence. Volume 34, Number 07, April 01-14, 2017.
Book review: "Want a 'strong' leader?". A book relevant to our times as it shows, through historical examples, how "strong" leaders often end up as a peril to democracy; The Myth of Strong Leader, by Archie Brown, The Bodley Head. Volume 34, Number 01, January 07-20, 2017.
Perspective: "The decline of Modi". Narendra Modi is not a strong leader. He is an incompetent one whom failures drove to dwell in a bubble. Volume 34, Number 01, January 07-20, 2017.
Essay: "A monstrous wrong", There is no Quranic sanction for triple talaq at all. Muslims of India cannot avoid or evade the stark choice that faces them. Do they want their law to be based on the Quran and the hadith or on misinterpretations by British judges? Volume 33, Number 26, December 24, 2016 - January 06, 2017.
Books: "Chasing the middleman", A searing look at the pervasive role of middlemen in the financial dealings of the country and the nexus between industrialists and politicians. Volume 33, Number 23, November 12-25, 2016.
Essay: "Limits of Diplomacy", The law on diplomatic practice and behaviour remains uncertain and uncodified; practice abounds in contradictions."Volume 33, Number 23, November 12-25, 2016.
Essay:"Vajpayee's 'insaniyat'", Vajpayee's use of the slogan was of a piece with his evasion of specifics and was not informed by any real intent of conciliation. Vol. 33, Number 19, September 17 - 30.
Essay:"Bankruptcy of Policy", The alienation of Kashmiri people has already reached a point of no return, but politicians continue to mouth platitudes and try to hide the hollowness of their policies with slogans. Vol. 33, Number 19, September 17 - 30.
Books in Review: "Jinnah's heirs", A thought provoking containing pen portraits of Pakistan's leaders, written in an engaging style. Vol. 33, Number 17, August 20 - September 02, 2016.
Essay: "It is a revolt", As the Third Kashmir Crisis unfolds, Kashmiris seek a new order by a new compact and not redress of their grievances. But with India firm on not conceding anything, the fear is that the worst is yet to come. Vol. 33, Number 16, August 04 - 19, 2016.
Essay: "Libel is no crime", The Supreme Court's recent judgement pronouncing defamation as a criminal offence is out of sync with the law in the democratic world, where it is essentially a private affair and entails damages in a civil suit. Vol. 33, Number 15, July 23 - August 05, 2016.
Books in Review: "Modi's U.S. ally", The Modi government seems to be flattered because the U.S. has chosen India as its foot soldier in its confrontations with China and Russia. Vol. 33, Number 14, July 09-22, 2016.
Essay: "The secret accord", What are the terms of the deal that Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded with President Barack Obama and what do they mean for the country? Modi should explain. Vol. 33, Number 14, July 09-22, 2016.
Essay: "Discrimination in housing", It is now firmly established that the meaning of the word "life" in Article 21 of the Constitution also explicitly includes the right to housing. Therefore, the law can provide redress against discrimination in housing, provided judges exert themselves. Vol. 33, Number 13, June 25 - July 06, 2016.
Essay: "Roots of the Kashmir dispute", Reflecting popular opinion, Sheikh Abdullah was against Kashmir's accession to India. Reflecting Indian opinion and his own preferences, Nehru would have nothing but accession. Both knew how the Kashmiris felt, hence India's initial hesitation in forging the opinion. Vol. 33, Number 09, May 13 - 27, 2016.
Essay: "Relevance of U.N. Resolutions", Though most of the U.N. resolutions on Kashmir have been overtaken by recent events, two that define the contours of the conflict are still relevant: Kashmir is a dispute between Pakistan and India, and no solution to the dispute will be legitimate without the participation of the people of Kashmir. Volume 33, Number 02, January 23 - February 05, 2016.
Books in Review: "Facts of a carnage", An important addition to the documentation of the 2002 Gujarat pogrom, the book deserves a wide readership. "Gujarat Behind the Curtain", By R.B. Sreekumar, Manas Publications, New Delhi. Volume 33, Number 02, January 23 - February 05, 2016.
Essay: "Constitution and secularism", The 42nd Amendment made formal the Constitution's basic commitment to the idea of a secular state --- quite contrary to the BJP position that the amendment incorporated the idea in the Preamble. Vol. 33, Number 01, January 09-22, 2016.
Essay: "India's Sawdust Caesar", It is futile to expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein in the so-called fringe elements because they form the core of his constituency. He neither can nor wants to silence them. Vol. 32, Number 25, December 12 - 25, 2015.
Essay: "Zeal and Poor Scholarship", The cure to the malaise is not the imposition of a hated uniform civil code but a strong agitation for respect for the sharia and rejection of the Anglo-Muhammadan law. Vol. 32, Number 24, November 28 - December 11, 2015.
Essay: "Hindutva's Stick", Hindutva groups use the idea of a uniform civil code as a stick to beat the minorities with, an enterprise that finds an answering echo in judicial zeal informed by poor scholarship. Vol. 32, Number 23, November 14 - 27, 2015.
Essay: "The Doval Doctrine", The National Security Adviser's policy prescription is marked by three themes: irrelevance of morality, extremism freed from calculation or calibration, and reliance on military might. Vol. 32, Number 22, October 31 - November 13, 2015.
Books in Review: "Gujarat's internal refugees", The book revisits the Gujarat pogrom on Narendra Modi's watch and warns of a past that lies behind the success he has achieved. "Communal Violence, Forced Migration and the State, Gujarat Since 2002", By Sanjeevini Badigar Lokhande, Cambridge University Press. Volume 32, Number 20, October 03-16, 2015.
Essay: "How to settle the Kashmir issue", In 2007, Pervez Musharraf and Manmohan Singh brought the Kashmir dispute to the very threshold of a settlement. A draft agreement still exists, awaiting finishing touches, which could resolve the decades-old dispute. Vol. 32, Number 20, October 03-16, 2015.
Essay: "Supreme Court and Yakub Memon", It is important to note the course that the Yakub Memon case took in the fateful days from July 22 to the execution on July 30 and the attitude of the judges concerned to please from a death-row convict. In such cases, it is the judges and the country that are on trial before history. Vol. 32, Number 19, September 19 - October 02, 2015.
Essay: "Yakub Memon's execution", The Supreme Court of India's record on Yakub Memon will long be recalled for its denial of justice to him by a consistent stretching of the law and evidence against him at every single stage. Vol. 32, Number 18, September 05-18, 2015.
Essay: "Two flags, one state", By allying himself with the BJP, Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has betrayed the ideals for which Kashmiris fought the Dogras. Vol. 32, Number 17, August 22 - September 04, 2015.
Books in Review: "A false dawn", The dynamics of diplomacy as demonstrated in the Camp David Accords and the lessons that the peace process associated with them hold for all strife-torn regions. Vol 32., Number 16, August 09-21, 2015.
Essay: "Servile Sangh", Letters written by RSS leaders to the Prime Minister seeking release from jali during the Emergency reveal the opportunistic side of the Sangh ready to make compromises to stay on the right side of power. Vol. 32, Number 16, August 08-21, 2015.
Essay: "Godmen and libel", In 1862, the head of a religious sect filed a defamation case against a newspaper for exposing his sexual exploitation of female devotees. In a remarkable judgement that has special relevance for our times, the judges held that it was the duty of the press to expose such misdeeds and that what was morally wrong cannot be theologically right. Vol. 32, No. 13, June 27-July 10, 2015.
Essay: "Squandered Heritage", For 65 years, media and academia have failed to do justice to the towering intellect that Ambedkar was. Successive governments have undermined the Constitution he so admirably piloted and his role in its framing has been either exaggerated or underestimated. And now, in a cruel irony, the Sangh Parivar is seeking to usurp his legacy, distorting everything he stood for. Vol. 32, Number 12, June 13 - June 26, 2015.
Essay: "Ambedkar, Gandhi & Jinnah", The inner history of the negotiations to give recognition to the untouchables as a separate political entity. Vol. 32, Number 11, May 30-June 12, 2015.
Books in Review: "Xi's initiatives", Conscious of China's cultural "soft power" and keen to enhance it, Xi Jinping within a year of becoming President, launched two major diplomatic initiatives whose impact will be felt for years to come. "Xi Jinping", The Governance of China, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing. Vol. 32, Number 11, May 30-June 12, 2015.
Essay: "Integrity & Intelligence", No intelligence service can perform well if its political masters lack the integrity which alone can inspire it to act straight. Vol. 32, Number 10, May 16-29, 2015.
Books in Review: "Shout-show TV", On the need for journalists to maintain the quality of public discourse on politics in political talk shows on television. "In-Your-Face-Politics", The Consequences of Uncivil Media, By Diana C. Mutz, Princeton University Press. Vol. 32, No. 09, May 02 - 15, 2015.
Essay: "Patel the non-Bismarck", It was Lord Mountbatten who went out of his way to secure the accession of the princely states to India, not Sardar Patel, though the latter played a supportive role. Vol. 32, No. 08, 18 April - 01 May, 2015.
Essay: "AFSPA: Licence to kill", Politicians, by focussing the discussion on militancy, have successfully deflected attention from the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, a colonial relic that has no place in a civilised nation even at the worst of times. Vol. 32, No. 7, April 04 - 17, 2015.
Essay: "Dynasty in Democracy", In democracies governed by a dynasty, the leader is the prime fund raiser with control over the party machine and sees to it that the leading members remain divided. South Asia presents a vivid example of the baleful consequences of dynastic rule. Vol. 32, No. 6, March 21 - April 03, 2015.
Books in Review: "On the Brink", The relations between India, China and Pakistan are poised on the cusp of complex and shifting equations. But India seems bent on repeating the mistakes of the past. "The China-Pakistan Axis", Asia's New Geopolitics, Andrew Small, Hurst & Company, London. Vol. 32, No. 5, March 07 - 20, 2014.
Essay: "India's sordid record", India's relation with Sri Lanka will heal only if there is a sincere realisation of past mistakes and of the grave damage that India inflicted on a hapless neighbour too small to retaliate. Vol. 32, No. 4, February 21 - March 06, 2015.
Essay: "Soldiers of the Swastika", The RSS' current fascist rhetoric is not surprising given its historical links with fascism in the 1930'S, which have been established convicingly using authentic archival material. It is a legacy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as a pracharak for most of his life identifies with and believes in. Vol. 32, No. 1, January 10 - 23, 2015.
Controversy: "Conversion to Hindu Raj", The ghar wapsi campaign, which follows from the purification theories proposed by Golwalkar and Savarkar, implies a clear rejection of Muslims and Christians as equal citizens unless they become Hindus. Vol. 31, No. 26, Dec 27 - Jan 09, 2015.
Essay: "Persecution of Chinese Indians", The least the Indian State can do is offer an apology for sending 3,000 people of Chinese descent to a detention camp in the Rajasthan desert after India's war with China in 1962 and take effective ameliorative measures to improve the lot of the Chinese Indians in the country. Vol. 31, No. 26, Dec 27 to Jan 09, 2015.
Books in Review: "Mystics & music", The books (sic) takes the reader to the heart of the Sufi tradition and reveal its little-known musicial forms. "Jashn-e-Khusrau", A collection, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Lute Press, Roli Books. Vol 31., No. 24, Nov 29 - Dec 12, 2014.
Essay: "Muslims & police", Enduring "institutional prejudice" --- this conclusion of a famous inquiry report in the U.K. holds good for India's minority situation as well. Vol. 31, No. 24, Nov 29 - Dec 12, 2014.
Books in Review: "BJP's India", The two books look at how the rise of the BJP, with its antagonism towards Muslims and its priorities on security, is reshaping India. "Bhartiya Janata Party and the Indian Muslims" by Muhammad Mujeeb Afzal, Oxford University Press, Karachi. "Hindu Nationalism and the Evolution of Contemporary Indian Security", Portents of Power by Chris Ogden, Oxford University Press, New Delhi. Vol. 31, No. 23, Nov 15 - 28, 2014.
Essay: "What is Sufism?", Rooted in the Quran, Sufism is the quest for the Divine within man. There is a rich record of interaction between Sufis and Hindus, a large number of whom believe in Advaita [non-duality]. Vol. 31, No. 23, Nov 15 - 28, 2014.
Essay: "Surveyor or Statesman?", Is Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself agreeable to a boundary settlement with China which inevitably must be based on compromise?. Vol. 31, No. 22, Nov 1 - 14, 2014.
Books in Review: "Crises at Sea", The books provoke serious thought on the neglected subject of the freedom of the high seas. "The Interception of Vessels on the High Seas", Contemporary Challenges to the Legal Order of the Oceans, By Efthymios Papastavridis, Hart Publishing Oxford. "The Law and Practice of Piracy at Sea", European and International Perspectives, Edited by Panos Koutrakos and Achilles Skordas, Hart Publishing, Oxford. Vol. 31, No. 21, Oct 18 - 31, 2014.
Essay: ""Ruffling Feathers", Prime Minister Narendra Modi has perpetuated the Indian bullishness in border relations with China by raising hostile questions during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit, which was supposed to boost bilateral trade. Vol. 31, No. 21, Oct 18 - 31, 2014.
Books in review: "The Army in Pakistan", Two accounts on the Pakistan army deliver a mixed bag --- an objective history by one and sweeping conclusions by the other. "A History of the Pakistan Army", Wars and Insurrections by Brian Cloughley, Oxford University Press, Karachi; Fourth edition 2014. "Fighting to the End", The Pakistan Army's Way of War by C. Christine Fair, Oxford University Press, New Delhi. Vol. 31, No. 19, Sep 20 - Oct 03, 2014.
Essay: "Playing to the Gallery", India will not become a "great power" by courting "great powers". Its greatness will be recognized and lauded only if it succeeds in resolving its disputes with the neighbours and establishes an atmosphere of civility and relaxation. Vol. 31, No. 19, Sep 20 - Oct 03, 2014.
Books in Review: "Law unto itself", Israel has no plans for surrendering the occupied territory to the Arabs. But the Arabs are a brave people and will not submit. "Cursed Victory", A History of Israel and the Occupied Territories" by Ahron Bregman, Allen Lane, Penguin Books. Vol. 31, No. 18, Sep 06 - 19, 2014.
Essay: "Parivar & Partition", The lust for communal hegemony rendered impossible a sharing of power that could have preserved the precious unity of a great country. The Sangh Parivar and its sympathisers in the Congress bear a heavy responsibility for Partition. Vol. 31, No. 16, Aug 09 - 21, 2014.
Essay: "Roots of Indian secularism", The battle between Indian nationalism and Hindu nationalism must continue to be fought, and not by politicians alone. The roots of Indian secularism lie in the 19th century, as an inseparable part of India. Vol. 31, No. 15, July 26 - Aug 08, 2014.
Essay: "Modi is accountable", The crimes of 2002 cannot be forgotten. It is still not too late for Narendra Modi to make amends by a sincere, thorough programme of rehabilitation of the victims and by a sincere apology, however belated. Accountability brooks no exception. Vol. 31, No. 14, July 12 - 25, 2014.
Essay: "Modifying Democracy", To reduce the members of the Council of Ministers to ciphers is to subvert the Constitution. The trend has been set afoot. Vol. 31, No. 13, June 28 - July 11, 2014.
Essay: "Impossible Agenda", The BJP's long-running pledges for the abrogation of Article 370, for a Ram temple on Ayodhya and for a uniform civil code are constitutionally impossible to fulfill, politically divisive and morally outrageous. Vol. 31, No. 12, June 14 - 27, 2014.
Essay: "Boundary Disputes and Supreme Court", The Government of India's affidavit in the Katchativu leans on three Supreme Court rulings that distinguish between the settlement of boundary disputes and cession of territory. They could also show the way in settling the boundary dispute with China. Vol. 31, No. 11, May 31 - June 13, 2014.
Essay: "Spheres of Influence", The strong and constant Anglo-American tradition of maintaining spheres of influence continued all through the last century and exists still. Yet, all hell broke loose when Russia claimed its own sphere of influence in areas adjoining its own territory. Vol. 31, No. 10, May 17-30, 2014.
Books in Review: "War of Ideas", A book that brings to life the clash of intellectuals in the time of the Cold War through its tracing of the contest between Isaac Deutscher and Isaiah Berlin. "Isaac & Isaiah", The Covert Punishment of a Cold War Heretic by David Caute, Yale University Press. Vol. 31, No. 9, May 03 - 16, 2014.
Books in Review: "Partition Truths", The partition of India was a consequence of calculations gone wrong, on the part of both the Congress and the Muslim League. "Towards Freedom", Documents on the Movement for Independence in India, 1947, Part 1, Edited by Sucheta Mahajan, Oxford University Press. Vol. 31, No. 8, April 19 - May 02, 2014.
Essay: "India-China war: the true story", Now that the Hendersen Brooks report is out in the public domain, are we at least now prepared to accept the historical truths, swallow false pride, alert the nation to the truths and make an earnest, determined bid for a solution to the boundary dispute with China? Vol. 31, No. 7, April 05 - 18, 2014.
Controversy: "Penguin & the Parivar", It is truly amazing that the attack on Wendy Doniger's book The Hindus: An Alternative History succeeded as it did because the sections of the law invoked in the complaint against the book do not at all apply to the facts of the case. Vol. 31, No. 6, March 22 - April 04, 2014.
Essay: "Snooping in Modi land", The Narendra Modi Government will have egg on its face if the Govt. of India were to set-up a commission of inquiry with the terms of reference that fill the gaping loopholes in his Commission. Vol. 30, No. 26, Dec 28 - Jan 10, 2014.
Lead story: "Amit Shah's history", The Sangh Parivar's pathological hatred for Nehru drives it to distort his record. If Kashmir is a part of India, it is almost entirely because of Nehru. 15 August, 2019.
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Initial draft proof-read and corrected with help from Bibhas Mondal. The errors, if any, may be on account of subsequent modifications and are all attributable to the author.
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