Even if it is realised by some individuals that India is a nation-state by virtue of being a living civilisation, this realisation is seldom reflected in our public discourse. Inevitably this lacuna influences our general approach to the problems we face. As in the case of Europe and the Arab … Read More
It has long been a commonplace that behind the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute looms the question of interpretation of history. But by and large this issue has been discussed in the rather limited terms of whether or not there stood a Hindu temple on the site of the Babri Masjid … Read More
Iranian leaders must be smiling over the establishment of a ‘no-fly zone’ by the US, Britain and France over southern Iraq. Whatever the outcome of this, Iran cannot but benefit. There are two possibilities. First, this ‘first step’ will be followed by others for sustaining a rebellion in southern Iraq … Read More
Four points should be obvious to any discerning observer in relation to the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue in the relatively quiet atmosphere Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s deft handling of the crisis last month has produced. First, the consequences will be grave if the problem is not resolved during the brief respite … Read More
With colleagues like Arjun Singh, the prime minister doesn’t need an Opposition Mr Arjun Singh’s reputation for Realpolitik notwithstanding, it is not utterly inconceivable that he does not approve of Mr PV Narasimha Rao’s recent handling of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid crisis in the larger national interest. But even if … Read More
While it remains to be seen whether Mr MJ Akbar, journalist – author – politician, will succeed in putting the question of a ‘redefinition’ of majority and minority on the country’s agenda, it has to be said to his credit that he is trying to do so. Clearly Mr Akbar … Read More
Whichever way we may visualise the post-cold war world, we cannot ignore the possibility that we may be moving into a period of great uncertainty and disorder. After all, the talk of the dawn of the age of democracy, globalisation of the economy and a new world order based on … Read More
Though their credibility among the intelligentsia has suffered to an extent, the two communist parties, the CPI and CPI(M), have survived the worldwide collapse of communism both as theory and practice. Indeed, they have managed to retain their acceptability among the intelligentsia as well. As socialism, with its emphasis on … Read More
Amidst growing concern over the wave of fundamentalism in the Muslim world, it is necessary to note that orthodoxy still remains the dominant feature of Indian Islam. Orthodoxy shares two features with fundamentalism. It too idolises the ‘golden age’ of early Islam and rejects liberal Western values such as the … Read More
In the wake of the militant challenge to Prof Mushirul Hasan just because he has dared express doubt regarding the effectiveness of the ban on Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, there has arisen among Muslims in Patna a controversy on whether the central Islamic concept of kafir applies to Hindus in … Read More
