Archive for February, 2008
Rushdie on Jodhaa Akbar
Really, Salman Rushdie should stop butterflying among his numerous muses and write more such delightful prose. It’s an 8-part article. It is not without its faults though. Rushdie alternates between showing Akbar’s cruelty and his own fascination for the "secular" Akbar.
Ah! And he shows how Jodhaa was merely Akbar’s love-phantasm.
Presenting a few excerpts.
There was […]
Arsenals for the People’s Revolution
Guns, tanks, swords, knives, and bombs are not the only weapons to carry out the People’s Revolution. The CPI-M shows what else is required.
CPI-M cadres who were denied jobs in local factories ransacked a party office, beat up leaders and later locked them up in a shop in the Sagarbhanga area today. The district party […]
Jodha Akbar: Does it Deserve the Attention?
I didn’t want to blog about the controversy around Jodhaa Akbar simply because it doesn’t deserve the attention it is getting. The opinion I’ve heard about the movie is that it is an expensive and lengthy bore–at the least. Taking liberties with history is nothing new to Bollywood. Jodhaa Akbar is just the latest after […]
…till the Blood Spills in the Cities
Is this latest Red attack in Orissa a precursor of sorts?
A day after Naxals launched massive attacks in Orissa killing 15 people, security forces are intensifying pressure on them
But the Naxals now seem to be shifting targets. The Tata Group is now at the top of their hit list. And as recent attacks show, so […]
Does Only Violence Work?
Two news items. Similar theme, different content. Starkly different reactions.
Item 1:
Over 100 Hindus staged a noisy mock-slaughter of a cow outside the British parliament to highlight legal loopholes that they say allowed authorities to euthanise a temple cow last year.
The protestors staged the mock-slaughter on Wednesday as Hindus in India’s holy town of […]
Thumping for Thampu
Like most minority institutions, St. Stephens is consistent with the tradition of audaciously flouting legal norms. The controversy surrounding Valson Thampu has resurfaced.
The management of St Stephen’s College is working overtime to ensure that there is no competition for illegally appointed Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Valson Thampu. This fact is illustrated by an advertisementpublished […]
Asymmetry in Words and Practise
Many thanks to a reader who brought to my notice M.F. Hussain’s interview with Tehelka. Readers of this blog know my views on Hussain. The interview is interesting because this is the first piece I have read where Hussain gives us a bit of insight on his own understanding of his art. This is a […]
He is at it Again
Just when we were saturated reading about farmer suicides, P Sainath assaults us unawares. He changes the tack slightly for effect.
The NCRB figures show an unrelenting uptrend in what can be termed the ‘SEZ’ or (Farmers) ‘Special Elimination Zone’ States. These States, which account for nearly two-thirds of all farm suicides in the country, include […]
More on the Squandered Legacy
Ramesh Rao’s analysis on the recent Arun Gandhi fiasco is right on the target. Posting from the Pioneer in full.
Not Gandhian, or is it?
Ramesh N Rao
Mahatma Gandhi sired four sons, and his family history has become as rich and complex as any fable in Hindu mythology and may be more colourful and mixed than any […]