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Friday, May 10, 2024

Afterword

Young Muslim women fight to control their own stories in Ghazala Jamil’s new book

In 'Muslim Women Speak: Of Dreams and Shackles', activist-scholar Jamil tries to find these women's real voices, instead of just presenting them as victims.

Devil’s advocate Karan Thapar fails to acquit himself

In his rather salacious memoir, the journalist doesn't offer a nuanced perspective about the personalities and events that shaped India. 

Chidanand Rajghatta’s book combines memories of Gauri Lankesh with cultural controversies

‘Illiberal India’ is an eminently readable narrative, and is as close to a biography of Gauri as there is likely to be in English.

Evil in the Mahabharata deserves a book. This one is not it

US-based professor Meena Arora Nayak’s take on the epic seems to push an agenda. Readers ought to rather read the original text.

The making and unravelling of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Born to be Hanged, Syeda Hameed’s biography of Bhutto, is a valuable contribution to the existing corpus of research on political figures of South Asia.

A curious way to define national security

The Oxford Handbook might have enabled deeper engagement if it had a narrower conception of national security

Never mind the title, ‘The Most Dangerous Place’ is an absorbing read

Srinath Raghavan’s broad and detailed swathe of the US-South Asia relationship beautifully brings out the inherent contradiction in the heart of US policy.

Judges’ appointment: Putting the debate in historical and political contexts

‘Appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court of India’ comes at a moment when the contours of independent judiciary are consistently being contested.

How the early Europeans perceived the Indian subcontinent

Sanjay Subrahmanyam’s Europe’s India: Words, People, Empires 1500-1800 is a rich experience for its detailed source of information and analysis.

Why a new encounter with Adi Shankaracharya, India’s greatest intellectual, is essential

In his book, Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduism’s Greatest Thinker, former diplomat Pavan K. Varma explores the continued relevance of his teachings by revisiting the sites he frequented.

On Camera

What’s Xi Jinping doing in Europe? His goal is more strategic than economic

India should aim to get European investments that are clearly no longer going to China. That is where the dots of its efforts to save Asia from China’s dominance converge at its most basic.

Day after mass sick leave by employees, Air India Express fires crew members, cancels 85 more flights

About 300 employees had called in sick Wednesday, allegedly in protest against mismanagement of airlines. Remaining staff given ultimatum to rejoin work by end of Thursday.

SC to take up over 400 SSC officers’ plea seeking post-retirement benefits — ‘breach of Article 14′

The Short Service Commissioned officers are demanding pension and contributory provident funds rights. The plea also questions disparity with Permanent Commissioned officers.

Frontrunner is letting the challenger define this poll campaign. Modi still hasn’t found a big theme

A theme has not yet emerged for BJP & people see lack of a contest, which makes it unexciting. For all these reasons, 2024 is turning out to be an unexpectedly theme-less election.