Real-life Soorma Bhopali was witty and large-hearted

September 23, 2024

In film Sholey, actor Jagdeep [ originally Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed Jafri] had played the role of ‘Soorma Bhopali’ to perfection. Jin the epic movie, Jagdeep as Soorma Bhopali is shown as narrating a tale of how on-screen criminals ‘Jay-Viru’ [ played by Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra] had begged before him...

Political will needed to Curb Mob-Lynching

September 6, 2024

“Law may not be able to make a man love him but it can keep the man from lynching him.” -Martin Luther King Jr. There is an urgent need to bring in a special law to deal with the menace of mob lynching. The special law dealing with the atrocities...

When admiration for Indira led to hijacking of a plane

August 26, 2024

The man who had hijacked an Indian airlines Lucknow-Delhi-Kolkata flight to protest against Morarji Desai government’s “vindictiveness” against Indira Gandhi died in Luckow last week professing to be a life-long Congressman. Bhola Nath Pandey breathed last on Friday, August 23, 2024 aged, 71. Priyanka Gandhi condoled his death on twitter...

When Mehmood wanted to cast Rajiv Gandhi

August 20, 2024

Rajiv Gandhi’s birth had drawn Jawaharlal Nehru’s attention towards the need for a “competent” pandit to draw his grandson’s horoscope. Rajiv was born on August 20, 1944 at Bombay (now Mumbai). His grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was in Ahmadnagar Jail busy finishing The Discovery of India manuscript. Nehru had reportedly been...

Holding A Mirror To Present Realities

August 9, 2024

The emergence of BJP as a potent political force, particularly after 2014, has not weakened secularism as a political ideal. A majority of Indians strongly adhere to religious harmony and ‘sarv dharm sambhav’ as an expression of secularism. This explains why Indian Muslims still find secularism as an important metaphor...

Looking Back At Birth Of Bangladesh, India’s Role

August 7, 2024

The dramatic events in Dhaka have shown the fragility of democracy in south Asia. Except for India, democracy has been facing constant threats in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan and the rest of south Asia. In 1970, the Awami League under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won 169 out of...

A Fresh Perspective On Modi’s Legacy

August 1, 2024

As the prime minister having secured a momentous third term with a clearly outlined vision for the next five years, Narendra Modi’s overarching legacy will be that of transforming his party into an electoral machine, a party that can win elections, says a new book. In ‘Indian Renaissance – the...

Katy Mirza, The Actress Who Played A Role In Unseating Indira

July 31, 2024

Playboy “Bunny, model, actress Katy Mirza had another claim to Bollywood fame: a role — albeit indirect — in unseating prime minister Indira Gandhi. Katy played a politician’s personal secretary in the controversial film Kissa Kursi Ka, a political satire perceived as an attack on the Emergency. The controversy surrounding...

‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ comes with lot of baggage

July 17, 2024

Narendra Modi government’s decision to observe June 25 as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ is a politically laced posture to create division among India alliance partners who have a legacy of opposing Indira Gandhi’s emergency. However, the move is fraught with danger to boomerang in Maharashtra where decisive state assembly polls are due within...

The story of Allah Bakhsh

July 10, 2024

A majority of Muslims in pre-independent India were opposed to two-nation theory and creation of Pakistan, argues a book titled, “Muslims Against Partition” [Pharos Media & Publishing Pvt Ltd] Author-scholar Shamsul Islam argues that the Muslim League under Mohmmad Ali Jinnah won a bulk of seats in the provisional assembly...