The Poila Defence

Bangladesh won’t give up its hard-won fight against intolerance

The Takeoff Point

He was a refugee with no memory of the Punjab and no experience of the grime of old Lucknow.

Nelson’s Friends

It was a world-historical moment. The only way to breach the iron curtain back in 1990, during Mandela’s...

Tripoli Diary

At a summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, Prince Abdullah (now King of Saudi Arabia) screamed across the table,...

A Puzzling Syrian Spring

Making sense of the W. Asian fragment in the light of offshore oil

Cairo Diary

It is pointless to resist participating in one gigantic bash, which is what Egypt is these days. The party...

Bile In The Billets-Doux

Atiya Begum, aristocratic, cosmopolitan and educated, meant the world to a miserable Mohammed Iqbal

How Fire Works

There is a great deal of “inside” information to make this essential reading for those trying to make...

The Mahdi On His Steed

A search for the Semitic binary of good and evil, messianic longing, and its uses in modern conflict

Mazar-E-Sharif Diary

“You are our brothers: after all, Babar was our king, he was also your king.” She had no idea about the...

Bollywood Diary

Naseeruddin Shah on the one actor he looks up to: “Shammi Kapoor! Yes, Shammi saab, such fun; I grew up...

Kashmir Diary

Srinagar is particularly popular because it is a hub of several beautiful destinations. In total defiance of...

Moscow Diary

Try talking about “Stalin’s follies” today! Your tourist guide will snap back, as she did with me:...

Looking Into The Abyss

The blood-feud between India, Pakistan presides over the chasm between them. These essays flesh it out.

Paradise Spied

Sadia Dehlvi has, by her own admission, quoted Annemarie Schimmel extensively in her book. She also quotes...

Message In A Chambered Lebanese Bottle

"Exit polls often go wrong," I said. "In fact, I have a magic machine that produces equally reliable...

Land Of The Glorious

Scotch The Soda

Counterhistory

Gypsy Trails