One nation, many religions
Lingayat leadership is under an erroneous belief that recognition of a religious community depends on law
By: Faizan Mustafa “It was not in contemplation of the framers of the constitution to add to the list of religious minorities,” said the Supreme Court in the Bal Patil case (2003) refusing recognition of the Jains as a religious minority. In one of the most regressive judgments, the court, following the oft-repeated rightist argument, […]
Egypt Looks to Sufi Sheikhs to Counter Extremism
Al-Shadhiliya Al-Uliya is a new Sufi order in Egypt that will be launched officially during the holy month of Ramadan (May-June), according to a source belonging to this new order, who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. The Supreme Council of Sufi Orders in Egypt and the Ministry of Awqaf approved Feb. 21 the […]
Ontic Structural Realism
The physical world and the scientific change which can occur in its manifold paradigms and ontologies is often gripped with divergence of views, contradictions and metaphysical dimensions. The impressive range and normative description of these deterministic trajectories and tendencies creates a niche for the emancipation of several moral criteria and hyper-norms. The metaphysical explanations drawn […]
Anti-Muslim Riots in Sri Lanka
Irfan Engineer The recent anti-Muslim riots in Kandy, Sri Lanka, once again demonstrate that religion is becoming more salient in public domain, including politics, in South Asia. My recent visit to Sri Lanka and talking to a cross section of people from different religions, including some people in the Government underscores this fact. Anti-Muslim […]
BJP’s Forays in North Eastern States and its anti Minority Agenda
BY: Ram Puniyani From last couple of decades one is coming across the pamphlets, leaflets and other material containing the propaganda that Christian missionaries are converting the people at rapid pace and the examples mostly cited have been those of the North Eastern states. This propaganda has been extensively used at pan India level, particularly […]
After Gorakhpur
he BJP's losses in the bypolls have created new possibilities
By: Mukul Kesavan The Bharatiya Janata Party’s defeats in the by-elections in Gorakhpur, Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh and Araria in Bihar are significant because these two provinces alone elect more than a fifth of the Lok Sabha. With a general election imminent, these results from the Hindi heartland inevitably raise questions about the BJP’s chances […]
Liberals, sadly
In promoting individual freedoms, India’s liberals must take on both Hindu and Muslim communalists
By: Ramachandra Guha Harsh Mander is a friend of some 40 years’ standing, and on many issues we have stood on the same side. It is, therefore, with some sadness that I must dissent with his recent piece in The Indian Express on Muslim politics. Mander (‘Sonia, sadly’, IE, March 17) quotes a Dalit […]
Khalistan and Hindu rashtra
The men and women who fought and died for a homeland were also fighting to honour Bulleh Shah, Kabir, Namdev and Ravidas.
AS liberal dreamers go on the back foot in India and Pakistan, having reneged on their promise to deliver an open, equal and just society, it may not be unwise to probe other like-minded people. The Dalits and the powerful middle- caste Yadavs have shown the way in Uttar Pradesh by abandoning their traditional aloofness […]
Palestine’s arduous struggle for liberation
The harsh reality is, that both Fatah and Hamas actually represent the Palestinian elite's factions
By: Lal Khan Prime Minister Hamdallah, who heads the Palestinian Authority ‘government’ based in the West Bank town of Ramallah, survived a bomb blast attack during his visit to Gaza on March 13. This incident exhibits the convoluted and chronically disrupted struggle for the ending of Israeli occupation and the socioeconomic liberation of ordinary Palestinians. […]
Battle against climate change can still be won
Lawmakers can now help co-create, and implement, what could be a foundation of global sustainable development for billions across the world
By: Andrew Hammond The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) closed its 30th anniversary meeting on Friday with darkening storm clouds gathering around international efforts to tackle global warming. Not only did last week see United States President Donald Trump install climate sceptic Mike Pompeo as US Secretary of State, but the IPCC moved closer […]
