Maharaja of the skies upsets NRIs on ground
By Kul Bhushan, IANS
Most NRIs travelling on Air India have horror stories to tell about their experiences. NRIs may well tolerate more hardships on other airlines but not on Air India, which they think is their own airline and so must treat them much better. The airline responds by saying that NRIs behave better on other airlines than while travelling with them.
Where are the peers?
By Vishnu Makhijani,
About a decade ago, 2004 or thereabouts, I found myself at the media launch of a British certifying institute that was offering a staggering 250 courses ranging from Pitman's Shorthand to oil exploration. The two Brits on stage waxed eloquent on how in a changing world, conventional degrees were not worth the paper they were printed on and what school-leavers needed to do was to focus on vocational courses. In the midst of all this, the buffet was being laid out and this was all the more irritating as I had skipped breakfast.
Attack on Taslima: love of Islam or love of power?
By Asghar Ali Engineer
It was shocking that three MLAs of Majlis Ittahidul Muslimin in Hyderabad gate crashed into the book release function of her book “Lajja” translated into Telugu on 9th August and tried to beat up Taslima and shouted slogans using unbecoming words, even using abusing language. And all this in the name of Islam as if Islam stands for such hooliganism.
Violence in Muslim societies
So what kind of societies Muslims, its rulers and clergy class want to build in the world? What kind of messages they want to...
Team Manmohan has a settled look, despite faltering start
By Amulya Ganguli, IANS,
If the Manmohan Singh government appears to have made a faltering start, the blame falls on the unavoidable exigencies of coalition politics. However, of all its partners, it is the regional ally from Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which must be held responsible for creating most of the problems.
Its antics started with its ailing leader, M. Karunanidhi, leaving Delhi in a huff and returning to Chennai with his band of relatives and party members because he was unhappy with the ministerial berths being offered to the party.
March of Fascism, across the land
From the world’s oldest democracy to the largest -- and from America to Australia, fascism has been on the rise. Liberal democracies have been...
The History Column: Spies amidst saints & scholars
By Ayub Khan, TwoCircles.net
TwoCircles.net introduces “The History Column.” This fortnightly column will feature narratives, incidents, stories, from the past and not so recent past of Indian Muslim history. Columnist Ayub Khan is a student of history and Political Science.
Superiority of faith, an impediment in solidarity
By Md. Aariz Imam
The response world over to Christchurch terror attack has been historic. For the first time since the start of America's war on...
Modi Wave nullified anti-BJP Muslim voting in UP
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net,
Bihar was a surprise with NDA winning 31 of the 40 seats but it was Modi tsunami in Uttar Pradesh that helped BJP cross the required 272 mark. BJP and Apna Dal won 71 and 2 seats respectively from the state that sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha. I find it intriguing that of the seven non-NDA seats in UP two was won by Gandhi family (Sonia & Rahul) and rest five was grabbed by the ruling Yadav clan of Samajwadi Party.
True meaning of the Coalgate Judgement
By Jaspal Singh,
Few days ago the Supreme Court of India delivered a judgement in the case that has come to be known as Coalgate....
NRIs support charities to brighten Diwali
By Kul Bhushan, IANS
While celebrating Diwali, NRIs do not forget the less fortunate in their countries and in India. In every country they have settled, NRIs share the joy of their most important festival by donating to charities in cash and kind; and directly assisting the less fortunate through their organisations or as individuals to share the brightness and light of Diwali.
‘Messiah’ politics around Uniform Civil Code and Triple Talaq must come to an end
By Mohammed Umar for Twocircles.net
State driven acculturation of minorities is often deemed as impinging upon the civil liberties, for the reason that it chokes...
Captain Abbas Ali: a true patriot and son of the soil
By Qurban Ali,
Captain Abbas Ali was born on 3rd January 1920 at Khurja, Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh in a Muslim Rajput Zamindar family. He belonged to the family of freedom fighters and one of his grandfather Rustam Ali Khan was hanged at Kala Aam in Bulandshahr district of then United Province now Uttar Pradesh after the mutiny of Great revolt of 1857. His father Janab Ayyub Ali Khan was Dafadar in British Army during First World War and served in Aden (Yemen). From his early days Captain Abbas Ali was inspired by the revolutionary ideas and somewhat romanticized towards the freedom movement.
There should be no problem in saying ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’: Najma Heptullah
By Sushil Kumar
New Delhi : Terming the controversy related to chanting of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' as "unnecessary and uncalled for", Minority Affairs...
Bring legislation to ensure no one faces the same fate as my son: Radhika...
By TCN Staff Reporter
Thiruvananthapuram: Radhika Vemula, the mother of Rohith Vemula, called for political unity among Muslims, backward communities and Dalits and said she...
No cakewalk for anyone, Bihar votes from Monday
By Imran Khan
Patna : Some 66.8 million people will be eligible to vote from Monday in staggered assembly polls in Bihar in the...
10,000 NGO registrations cancelled, foreign aid set to drop
By Abhishek Waghmare
Foreign funding for Indian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) doubled in 2014-15 over the previous year, but with 10,000 NGO registrations cancelled in...
Muslims in Indian economy: interview with Dr. Omar Khalidi
Dr. Omar Khalidi is the author of well-researched book 'Muslims in Indian Economy.' This book is a study of conditions of Muslims at all...
उपचुनाव के नतीजे और सच का सामना
By सिद्धान्त मोहन, TwoCircles.net,
‘अच्छे दिनों’ का बयाना लेकर आई भारतीय जनता पार्टी ने शायद सोचा भी नहीं था कि लोकसभा चुनाव में मिली इतनी करारी जीत के बाद उपचुनावों में लगभग उतनी ही करारी हार का सामना करना पड़ेगा. दस राज्यों में तीन लोकसभा और 33 विधानसभा सीटों पर हुए उपचुनाव के नतीजे सामने आ चुके हैं. इस उपचुनाव को बतौर प्रधानमंत्री, नरेन्द्र मोदी के इम्तिहान के तौर पर देखा जा रहा था. ऐसा इसलिए क्योंकि लोकसभा चुनाव में इतनी जबरदस्त जीत दर्ज करने के बाद भाजपा को उम्मीद थी कि प्रधानमंत्री की ‘करिश्माई ताकत’ की बदौलत वह इन चुनावों में कुछ कमाल कर दिखाएगी, लेकिन मौजूदा परिणाम कुछ और ही कहानी बयां कर रहे हैं.
Older MPs declined in BJP, increased in Congress
By Sneha Alexander
The number of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members of parliament (MPs) in the current Lok Sabha above the age of 70...
Born in free India and hence entitled to equal rights and share in governance
By Abdul Hafiz Gandhi,
We have no hatred for Hindus or Indians: Ghulam Hasan Majrooh
Ghulam Hasan Majrooh is the Press Secretary of the All-Parties' Hurriyat Conference (Mirwaiz), a conglomerate of various political parties in Jammu and Kashmir supporting the right to Kashmir self-determination. He is also the General Secretary of the Ittihadul Muslimeen, a largely Shia political party, whose Chief Patron is the senior Kashmiri leader, Maulana Abbas Ansari. J&K BJP looks set to defy High Court’s directions to hoist state flag
By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court’s direction asking the state government to hoist the state flag on...
दम है मायावती बनने का!
आस मुहम्मद कैफ़, TwoCircles.net
बहुजन समाज पार्टी की अध्यक्ष बहन मायावती हमेशा से ही अपने फ़ैसलों से राजनितिक पंडितों को आश्चर्यचकित करती रही हैं. शुरुआत...
Scale of AAP victory too much for friend and foe
By Saeed Naqvi,
The stunning victory of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on February 10 in Delhi coincided with the global liberal order in disarray.
Far left Syriza had come to power in Greece. Southern Europe was likewise threatened. Gone was the Berlusconi tamasha in Italy. The Nordic North was taking to racism like duck to water. Britain and France, liberal citadels, were besieged and may fall. Western economies are in such disrepair that Chinese slowdown is, to the protagonists, heartening speculation.
हेट स्पीच के बरअक्स सामाजिक समीकरण
By राजीव यादव,
चुनाव आए और गए, पर सवाल उन विवादास्पद बयानों का है जिनसे ‘हेट स्पीच’ के नाम से हम परिचित होते हैं. ऐसा नहीं है कि हेट स्पीच से हमारा वास्ता सिर्फ चुनावों में होता है पर यह ज़रूर है कि चुनावों के दरम्यान ही उनका मापन होता है कि वो हेट स्पीच के दायरे में हैं. हम यहां इस पर कतई बात नहीं करेंगे कि ऐसे मामलों में क्या कार्रवाई हुई? पर इस पर ज़रूर बात करेंगे कि उस हेट स्पीच का हम पर क्या असर हुआ, वहीं उनके बोलने वालों की प्रवृत्ति में क्या कोई बदलाव आया?
Disturbing and Contradictory: A Timeline of the Events at R.G. Kar Medical College
Utsa Sarmin, TwoCircles.net
Kolkata: The brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College on August 9 has sent...
Why Muslims in India no longer need to answer for composite culture
The article is the author’s rebuttal to Ajai Gudavarthy's article titled Mobilisation and Composite culture published by The Hindu on 21 January.
By Md. Aariz Imam
Contrary to...
Modi and soft power: No substitute for traditional diplomacy
By Amit Dasgupta,
When the chief minister of gujarat became the prime minister of India, the personal interest he demonstrated in foreign affairs confounded everyone. But what caught everyone by surprise was the ease with which he brought his personal style to bear on his interaction with world leaders. Establishing a one-to-one rapport became his distinctive hallmark.
Sentiment, India Inc. score via ‘Satyameva Jayate’
By Rohit Bansal,
In May 2012, sitting with a borrowed iPad, a few metres from the White Nile in Juba, I saw a show aiming to flow against the current of television advertising. The Nile, as we know, flows from south to north!
CPI-M plenum to stress deepening links with people: Yechury
Kolkata : Describing the CPI-M as a "revolutionary party with a mass line", its general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday said the five-day party...
Omissions in Rajya Sabha Select Committee Report on Waqfs
Commentary on Waqf Bill 2010 - Part I
Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood,
America deserves Trump!
By Mansoor Durrani for TwoCircles.net
Never interrupt your enemy, when he is making a mistake. - Napoleon Bonaparte
Although, I had planned to write this article...
Modern Builder of Jamia: Prof. Mushirul Hasan
By BadreAlam Khan and Imran Ahmad
Last evening (15 th December,2018) civil society groups, academicians and social
activists have gathered at the India International Centre and attended...
Islamophobia and the professed Indian Left
In India, cyberspaces are predominant domains where the manifestation of ‘left Islamophobia’ is obvious and demands attention and redressal. Muslim assertions on cyberspaces and...
Is nuclear Pakistan really dangerous?
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov) - The world panics whenever Pakistan conducts a test of missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
A Muslim state with nuclear weapons and extremists is also testing missiles? But this criticism is hardly justified. What should Pakistan do if it has nuclear warheads? It couldn't possibly carry them by aircraft.
India’s creative class evolves
By Amit Kapoor,
According to a leading economist and social scientist Richard Florida, the creative class is the key driving force for economic development. It’s the class of workers who engage in problem finding and problem solving at various levels of our society. This creative class could be from any background - scientists, engineers, university professors, poets and architects. It also includes people in design, education, arts, music and entertainment whose economic function is to create new ideas, new technology and creative content. Another section of the creative class includes positions that are knowledge intensive; these usually require a high degree of formal education. Examples of workers in this sector are health professionals and business managers, who are considered part of the sub-group called creative professionals.
A call for second freedom struggle
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
15th August is the celebration of an independent India. Schools, colleges, and government offices mark the day by parades, speeches, and unfurling of the Tricolours. For children it is a holiday and a day when they get lots of candies. It has been 62 years since we gained independence from the British and this month we should contemplate what we have achieved and where we as a nation want to go.
SIO और BHU के बीच लटकती साम्प्रदायिक सौहार्द्र की हक़ीक़त
सिद्धांत मोहन, TwoCircles.net,
वाराणसी: कम्यूनल हार्मोनी यानी साम्प्रदायिक सौहार्द्र पर बात करना या उसे किसी चर्चा का विषय बनाना उतना आसान नहीं, जितना सोचने में...
Pakistani nukes and global hazards
By Alexander Koldobsky, IANS
The word "nuclear" has a way of quickening people's pulse. The recent earthquake in Japan would have been just another earthquake, but the fact that it set off a fire at the world's most powerful nuclear reactor, which subsequently leaked radioactive material, grabbed the headlines.
Pakistan, which has recently experienced a metaphorical earthquake in the form of Islamist terror, would also barely merit a mention on the inside pages if it were not for that country's nuclear arsenal.
Gangsters luxuriate in Bihar jail
By Imran Khan,
Patna: Gangsters lodged in a jail in Bihar were found to be enjoying a lavish lifestyle, with mobile phones, liquor, air-conditioners in...
Manipur ambush village lies totally deserted
By David Mayum
Paraolon: More than a fortnight after the fateful separatist ambush on an Indian Army convoy that left 18 soldiers dead, Paraolon looks...
News channels and coverage of Mumbai terror nights
By M. Burhanuddin Qasmi
These were horrendous scenes on all news screens for as long as 60 hours. Our two kids- Bushra and Ammar were asking childish questions. We wanted them away from these scenes for which we did not have much to reply. Yet I couldn’t help keep my eyes off the TV screen.
‘Haiya alal falaah – come towards Success’
Which success does it mean, the success in the world or hereafter? Why haven’t we realized yet that Allah (SWT) has chosen ‘success’ to...
The Kerala HC order in Hadiya’s case brutally exposes the prejudices of the judiciary
By Umair Azmi for TwoCircles.net
The case of Hadiya, who converted to Islam and married a Muslim youth, has been in the headlines for months....
India home to most poor, but poverty rate lowest: World Bank
By Arun Kumar
Washington: India was home to the largest number of poor in 2012, but its poverty rate was one of the lowest among...
Challenges before women activists working on minority women’s rights
By Anjuman Ara Begum, TwoCircles.net,
BJP’s Controversial Agenda for Jharkhand: Promises of Reform Amid Identity Concerns
"BJP proposed to tackle pressing economic challenges, detractors warn of a profound erosion of indigenous cultural heritage and the weakening of local governance structures....
Interaction with a warrior in the battlefield of Muslim reservation
By Faisal Fareed, TwoCircles.net,
Indian Waqf Service: Impeccable remedy of waqf mismanagement
Commentary on Waqf Bill 2010 - Part II
By Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood
Media gets up, close and too personal – again
By Minu Jain, IANS,
That same question of space again. From Sania-Shoaib to Shashi-Sunanda, it has been a seamless transition for the gossip hungry reader being fed by large sections of the media that have once again decided to go up, close and too personal, in the reporting of what should actually be nothing but a minister and his alleged involvement in a multi-million-dollar cricket franchise.
Obama’s day and Martin Luther King’s day
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Dmitry Kosyrev) - Such coincidences are not accidental. Nobody aligned Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 19 with the first Black American President's inauguration on January 20. King symbolized the struggle for Black America's civil rights.
Social media feminist activism – movement for elite by elites
There is an elitism and selectivity in the discourse which happen on the social network. Generally issues related to the lower strata of the society are sidelined in these discussions.
By Mohammad Zakir Riyaz,
In recent years, a new trend of online activism has taken birth where online campaigns against various issues are launched and taken forward to make changes. In this direction the first such campaign in my memory was the Pink Chaddi campaign launched in 2009 as a protest against the right wing extremist group Shri Ram Sene’s attack on women in a pub at Manglore. In this campaign, people were mobilized online and asked to send pink panties to the leaders of this extremist group.
Turkish reforms aimed at the European Union membership: An Analysis
By Dr. Arshi Khan,
New Delhi: Turkey is the only Muslim country which is the member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and of many other Western regional groupings.
Nandigram to Nasreen: the scene gets murkier
By Amulya Ganguli, IANS
There was yet another twist to the Nandigram affair when a Muslim organisation engaged in running battles with Kolkata police over demands relating to the recent events in Nandigram also called for the expulsion of Taslima Nasreen from India.
This was the first time that the 'attack' by cadres of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on opposition strongholds in Nandigram was mixed up with the stay of the controversial Bangladeshi writer in India.
BSP in Maharashtra: Struggling to make a mark
By Vanya Mehta, TwoCircles.net,
After the polls closed in Nagpur, where competing factors include the Brahmin BJP candidate Nitin Gadkari and the incumbent Congress MP Vilas Muttemwar, around 30 male supporters of the Ambedkarite pro-Dalit Bahujan Samaj Party scattered around in groups at the BSP’s Nagpur office discussing the elections.
Varanasi, Allahabad air over WHO pollution limits on most days in August
By Charlie Moloney
On more than 90 per cent of the days in August this year, pollution levels in Varanasi and Allahabad exceeded World...
Akbar Jehan: An Intimate History of Kashmir
By Masood Raja
Khan, Nyla Ali. The Life of a Kashmiri Woman: Dialectic of Resistance and Accommodation. New York: Palgrave Pivot.
Many of us in the...
Jaipur blasts: a blessed occasion for B.J.P.
By Dr. Mustafa Kamal Sherwani
The investigation into the Jaipur blasts is now almost complete. The pattern of the bombings was identical with those of earlier similar occurrences, and it has further been confirmed by the statement of the so-called owner of the cycle shop from which the persons, speaking with Bengali accent, had purchased seven cycles used in the terror strike.
Lessons to be learned from Kerala Muslims
Muhammad Iqbal is a 30-year old social activist. Originally from Silchar, Assam, he shifted to Kerala some years ago, where he now works with several Muslim organizations in the field of community service. He narrates his story to Yoginder Sikand.
Building support for public intellectuals in times of cultural intolerance
(Courtesy: Hindustantimes)
Badre Alam & Sanjay Kumar
It will not be an exaggeration, to say that extremism and cultural intolerance has not been growing...
Asma Nama: P for Preaching; P for Practice?
Are Today’s Muslims Only Talking Toms?
By Dr Asma Anjum Khan for TwoCircles.net,
Whenever I read George Bernard Shaw saying, ‘Islam is the best religion and Muslims are the worst people’, it makes me angry. Be it the international scene or our closed communities, does Shaw metaphor stick to us (and stinks too?)
Shibli Academy: gearing up to face the challenges of the 21st century
By Salman Sultan, TwoCircles.net
Azamgarh: Darul Musannefin Shibli Academy is a 95-year old institution based in Azamgarh. Established by Allama Shibli Nomani, this academy was a unique experiment in housing writers so that they can focus on research and write books that will advance human understanding and knowledge.
Innovative NGO-Ulema collaborative effort for Muslim Education
The Jeevan Talim Project in Kutch
By Yoginder Sikand, TwoCircles.net,
There is nothing progressive about the ideology of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind or Jamiat Ahl e...
Dr. Lubna Sarwath for Twocircles.net
Jyoti Punwani’s Nov 27, 2016 interview with a woman activist who had recently resigned from the All India Muslim...
Presidential poll: messier than ever
By Amulya Ganguli
If the presidential race has become messier than any previous contest, the reason is the petty antics of the Indian political class.
Where are the nurses in the HIV response?
Dr Ian Hodgson
Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, nurses have been at the forefront of the response to this once fatal infection. The...
What has happened to my beloved Mangalore?
By Maxwell Pereira, IANS,
Is it a curse that's hit Mangalore? Why is it so much in the news in just the last two years for all the wrong reasons?...for vandalism, desecration of religious places, molestation and moral policing over young girls, for rent-a-riot shockers, and now for the deaths of 158 in a colossal tragedy caused by the ill-fated Air India Express crash at its Bajpe airport?
Do you want to be a Lab Rat?
If not, stop Bt Brinjal: assert your right to safe food & food choices
By Kavitha Kuruganti,
Genetically Modified (GM) foods are created unnaturally by taking genes from unrelated organisms and inserting them into the cells of our food plants like brinjal, rice, bhindi, tomato, cauliflower, potato etc. The science and technology of Genetic Engineering is imprecise and irreversible and is documented to cause many health and environmental impacts.
Why top global rankings elude Indian universities
By Amit Kapoor,
One of the biggest issues confronting Indian universities is their absence from the list of top-ranking varsities across the world. The best...
Obituary: Mufti Abdul Latif Qasmi, Shahar Qazi of Bhopal
By Manzar Imam,
Mufti Abdul Latif Qasmi, city qazi of Bhopal died of cardiac arrest on 4 April 2010. Mufti Sahab complained of chest pain around 4am following which he was rushed to Chirayu Hospital where he was declared brought dead. He was 63 and is survived by wife, three sons and six daughters. For some time he had been suffering from diabetes.
Falling oil prices may spur Modi for more reforms
By Saroj Mohanty,
One single international development that has not received the kind of play it deserves in the Indian media but is keenly watched in policy-making and strategic circles is the falling prices of oil - despite the geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East and Nigeria - whose impact could be felt in government finances, business, trade and consumer spending, if the trend continues.
Delhi HC to hear another sedition plea against Kanhaiya
New Delhi: A petition was filed in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday seeking action against JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar on a...
TCN special: Misra Commission report excerpts- Part 11
By TwoCircles.net news desk,
Misra Commission report excerpts - home page
Institutional Structures for the Development of Minorities
Indian Muslims and renaissance
By Asghar Ali Engineer,
It is often asked why Indian Muslims did not go through renaissance? By implication it is suggested Islam prevents any such possibility. I think it is quite simplistic assumption. Religion by itself neither obstructs nor helps the process of renaissance. To understand possibility of renaissance or otherwise one has to understand the complex processes at work in the society.
Cherishing Jacinda Ardern as NZ ushers in new world order of high public morality
By Dr Syed Zafar Mahmood
I cherish Jacinda Ardern as my daughter. At her very young age she has catapulted herself to the likes of...
An interview with Mr. Muij Uddin Mahmud, Advocate, Guwahati High Court
By Munize Ali, TwoCircles.net,
We are capable of making a comeback: Kiwis’ Jeetan Patel
By IANS,
Hyderabad: New Zealand spinner Jeetan Patel believes his team is capable of making a comeback in the first Test against India.
Khurram Parvez’s organisation wins Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award
By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
Srinagar: Philippines-based Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) headed won the Democracy and Human Rights Award for its...
Sad for Yahoo, gain for Microsoft
By Prasanto K. Roy, IANS,
A sad day for Yahoo! That's the consensus -- a rare one -- across both global technology and investor communities. Yahoo stock dropped 10 percent, Microsoft rose one percent. For once, the markets may have got it right. The decision to work together on their search engines is a big mistake for Yahoo, and a small gain for Microsoft.
But it was coming, even if we didn't see exactly this 10-year deal in which Microsoft's Bing will power Yahoo Search.
AIMIM vs secular parties discourse: Time to accommodate, not split apart
By Mohammad Shekaib Alam
The sea of confrontations Muslims of India are facing today are such that if Muslims do not change their status quo...
This is not a credit crisis
By Mansoor Durrani,
Past:
When Mr Warren Buffet, the richest man in the world, called some financial instruments like the Derivates and Credit Default Swaps (CDS) ‘financial weapons of mass destruction’ over three years back, few of us took notice. The world economy was on the roll. European realty and financial markets were booming. US was winning ‘the war on terror’. And rest of the world was blindly aping this mirage called ‘American Dream’.
Prime Minister needs to speak up on beef killing
By Tajinder Bains
The brutal killing of a man in Bisada village in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, not far from the Indian capital, on suspicion...
Arvind Kejriwal: A politics of articulated angst (Book Review)
By M.R. Narayan Swamy,
Title: The Disrupter: Arvind Kejriwal and the Audacious Rise of the Aam Aadmi; Author: Gautam Chikermane with Soma Banerjee; Publisher: Rupa; Pages: 225; Price: Rs.295
Economic and social condition of Mewat
Series on Mewat – Part V
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
Husain’s ‘Mahabharata’ record – irony for India
By Uma Nair, IANS
M.F. Husain's epic work "Mahabharata: The Battle of Ganga and Jamuna" fetching a world record of $1.6 million at the Christie's sale is the best example of situational irony in a nation that has virtually exiled its finest living artist. The world record can perhaps silence hardline Hindu groups.
Modi sends Advani, BJP old guard into exile
By Amulya Ganguli,
In the Hindu way of life, old age entails exile from home and hearth. As the Manu Smriti says, when a man sees "his skin wrinkled and his hair gray and when he sees the son of his son, then he should resort to the forest".
Fathima Latheef: Public memory versus memory of the margin
By Raniya Zulaikha, TwoCircles.net
Memory is often a construct. There are many factors influencing the popular memory such as movies, newspapers, books and so on....
Election Commission row can cause its credibility serious damage
By Amulya Ganguli, IANS,
The Election Commission, like the judiciary, has been a symbol of India's success as a democracy in a region of authoritarianism, unstable popular governments under the thumb of military juntas or embroiled in civil strife.
Manmohan Singh: short-term politician with a long-term vision
By Mayank Chhaya, IANS,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has emerged triumphant from the firestorm of nuclear politics and in the process discovered a true politician in himself. Let no one any longer dismiss Singh as a brilliant but staid policy wonk/ bureaucrat who was pushed into India's highest and most politicized office by a quirk of fate.
Politics of exodus
By Sadiq Zafar for TwoCircles.net
It is claimed that the exodus is happening in Kairana of Shamli district since the communal inferno of Muzaffarnagar...
Quick swearing-in of CM to avoid crisis in J&K: Expert
Srinagar : A constitutional crisis in Jammu and Kashmir will be averted if someone is quickly sworn in as the new chief minister after...
Muslims should join hands to eradicate evil influence of terrorism that is staining Islam
By Kaleem Kawaja,
In Qoran, the holy book of Islam, God says very clearly that He sent the religion of Islam through Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) as a mercy to mankind, to remove oppression, injustice, mayhem, violence and anarchy from the earth.
Four Indians arrested with huge foreign currency cache
By Anil Giri ,
Kathmandu: Nepal police have apprehended four Indians from Nepalgunj along the India-Nepal border Friday evening with a huge cache of foreign...
Under Modi, record rise in unspent funds for Dalits/tribals
By Nikhil M. Babu
In the run-up to the 2014 general elections, then prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, while addressing a gathering of Dalits and...
Left behind, but not left out: How women in Birbhum took to handlooms to...
By Mirza Mosaraf Hossain, Twocircles.net
Migration in India is neither a new event nor a region-specific issue. In fact, it would not be wrong to...
Darul Musannefin Shibli Academy: Present needs and future Plans
By Prof. Ishtiyaq Ahmad Zilli,
Auditing Aligarh Muslim University faculty: Lock over Research in Talagarh?
By Dr. Omar Khalidi
Sultanpur Lodhi: the site where Guru Nanak attained enlightenment
This is first part of a two-part Travelogue. Read here Part Two Sultanpur Lodhi: the site where Guru Nanak attained enlightenment
By Jaspal Singh,
It has been an amazing day. For years I have been planning to go to Sultanpur Lodhi, where Guru Nanak lived for 15 years and where, as the legend goes, he achieved enlightenment and felt the need to travel and inform himself, learn and teach.
Himachal CM tries to catch BJP on slippery wicket
By Vishal Gulati,
Shimla: The Congress-led Virbhadra Singh government in Himachal Pradesh is trying to bowl out its archrival BJP with a googly ahead...
An illegal war is state-terrorism
By Yamin Zakari
“we were convinced that all the fissile material that could be used for any weapons purposes had been taken out of Iraq, and we knew that we had eliminated and destroyed the whole infrastructure that Iraq had built up for the enrichment of uranium.”
- Hans Blix, in a BBC Interview, Jan 2003
A basti that presents scene of mela everyday
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: Yes. And this basti is not in a nondescript town in the backwaters of India but in the heart of the nation’s heart – the National Capital called New Delhi. Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin – the area owes its name to the Sufi saint whose shrine it has in its lap – gives you not only a feeling but also look and feel of a festival or mela everyday in the 365-day calendar.
Arbitrary land acquisition in the name of Sports University at Manipur
By Noorshafi A K for TwoCircles.net,
The Narendra Modi government’s recent decision to set up national-level Sports Academies has been highly appreciated and is being welcomed with applause and happiness in the sport loving state of Manipur.
The heated debate on climate change
By Dmitry Zamolodchikov, IANS
Hurricanes in Russia, scorching heat waves in the US and snow in Argentina... The Earth is being assailed by all kinds of climatic anomalies - indisputable signs of global warming. Nobody knows for sure what is happening with the climate. Scientists continue to discuss the problem and are coming up with new explanations.
Here's the conventional view.
Khilafat Committee survives to promote education and national unity
By Abdul Hameed, TwoCircles.net,
The Caliphate or Khilafat is long gone, but the All India Khilafat Committee formed in India to protest its abolition continues to exist. In its heydays it organized several meetings against the British government and birthed the Indian independence movement. These days Khilafat Committee’s main public programme is organization of a procession on Prophet Mohammed’s birth day.
Jagjit Singh: a musical demiurge
By Sreeram Chaulia, IANS
With the release of the Gujarati ghazal album "Jeevan Maran Chhe Ek", Jagjit Singh has reasserted his position as a living musical genius of the entire Indian subcontinent. Multitudes of his fans across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, for whom Gujarati is like Greek or Latin, are seeking out lexical aids to decipher the deep philosophical lyrics of Mareez, which Jagjit has rendered in simultaneously sombre and uplifting moods.
Mehnaaz Nadiadwala: A Silver lining in the clouds
For Mehnaaz, helping the needy, irrespective of caste or religion is a way of life. And that is Islam. And it is this that Muslims need to introspect about.
By Nigar Ataulla,
Chandy to hold reception for Ghulam Ali in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will lead a reception here for Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali on January 14 ahead of his performance.
Ali...
Understanding Jinnah: How he succeeded in getting Pakistan
By Balraj Puri,
MR JASWANT SINGH’S expulsion from the BJP for writing a book on India’s Partition and Jinnah’s role raises a number of issues. First is the manner in which it was done. He was conveyed the decision by party President Rajnath Singh on the telephone when he arrived at Shimla for the Chintan Baithak of the party which he was asked not to attend. Could this not be done before he left Delhi? Or he could be dropped from attending the meeting like Mr Yashwant Sinha and Mr Arun Shourie.
India’s interest in Latin America must go beyond World Cup
By Dave Ramaswamy, IANS,
There is an important reason why enthusiasm for South America should persist beyond the World Cup: The Mercosur countries of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay are global agriculture superpowers as well. They are already shipping their surpluses worldwide and, as farm outsourcing hubs, have the potential to meet India's food needs in the coming decades.
Progress with Nitish but Bihar still on lowest rungs-I
By Prachi Salve & Saumya Tewari ,
New Delhi: Bihar has the second-highest economic growth among poor states.
It has India’s third-highest level of poverty.
Unemployment in...
Remembering the Nellie Massacre of 18 February 1983
By Nilim Dutta,
Even after three decades of the Nellie Massacre, Muslims in Assam continue to face violence and displacement. Muslim villagers in the Amguri Relief Camp in Chirang District of Assam in September 2012.
Some out of the box thinking about AMU
By Omar Peerzada,
The issues and what can be done:
Minus:
The University (College) has been functioning since 1920 (1876) and there has been hardly any change in its style of functioning and attitudes. The modern world has changed drastically and unless and until AMU regenerates itself it would be left behind. AMU alone may not be alone in this predicament since most of the traditional universities in Northern India are suffering from the same ennui and obsolescence.
AIMPLB’s holds meeting in Thane as part of campaign to “save Indian constitution”
By TCN News,
Mumbra (Thane): Continuing its country-wide campaign of upholding and strengthening secular aspects of the country, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board...
Chidambaram, Jihad and Congress politics
By Paluvakka Mohamed Ameen,
By expressing his biased or uninformed views on Jihad, India’s Home Minister P Chidambaram seems to be deliberately playing a political game in order not to lose the votes of the mainstream Hindu masses. A few weeks ago, he had described the demolition of Babri Masjid as a terrorist act by the RSS-backed groups. He might have thought that this has humiliated the Hindu voters and hence he has to attack Islam in order to equalise his party’s pretentious neutral stand.
PDP-BJP coalition is rocking, slowly but surely
By Sheikh Qayoom,
Srinagar: There seems to be no end to the troubles plaguing the uneasy BJP-PDP coalition that governs Jammu and Kashmir.
No one had...
UPA government’s financial inclusion policy and economic empowerment of Muslims
By Tameemuddin Humble
The vast majority of the Muslim population in India is chronically poor and destitute and cannot avail the welfare schemes of the government meant for them through the formal financial institutions.
Muslim access to banking services
Rights of Minorities under the Constitution of India
By Irfan Engineer
The recent Judgment given by Justice S. N. Srivastava of Allahabad High Court to the effect that, Muslims in UP are not a minority within the state, came as a surprise to many. The media – both electronic and print media gave prominent coverage to the judgment. The Judgment has now been stayed by the Division Bench of the same Court. The legal and Constitutional merits and demerits of the proposition will be gone into by the Appeal Courts upholding or overruling the judgment of the single judge of the Allahabad High Court in the coming days.
Life sentence for Tariq Qasmi, bail for Sadhvi Pragya
By Masoom Moradabadi,
A court in UP has sentenced the accused of Lucknow and Faizabad bomb blasts, Maulana Tariq Qasmi, to life imprisonment. A fine of Rs100,000 has also been imposed on him. Another co-accused in this case, Maulana Khalid Mujahid, had already died in 2013 while in police custody.
Expectations high as Mukherjee readies for national budget
By Sushma Ramachandran, IANS,
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee faces a tough job July 6 as he rises to present the first budget of the newly-elected United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, during which he will have to try and keep fiscal deficit under check while meeting the many promises made by the Congress party and its coalition partners during the elections.
Manmohan Singh: He ended with where he began
By Arvind Padmanabhan,
The seven-nation Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation should hold special significance for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as...