I AND MY WORDS

The death of the Saudi King Abdullah has generated a lot of debate heat across the world. In love, as in death, the Kings have always been a point of much debate for a large number of those vying to be called intellectuals who decry Saudi Arabia's human rights violations. We are being three days enlightened over Rauf Badawi's shocking sentence, whereby a ten year prison term is to be supplemented with fifty lashes per week every Friday after evening prayers in public. Stories of daughters being imprisoned or of terrorists being funded in some way or the other keep surfacing. Much ridicule is hurled at the kingdom for its medieval thinking about women rights and the rights of modern day slaves. The problem with much of this much justified criticism is just one. What is sauce for the goose is just not sauce enough for the gander in the eyes of liberal intellectualism. 'Intellectuals' often talk glowingly about Iran's defiance of the West, particularly the ho

It is that time of the year again when the pullovers, shawls and trendy jackets come out in full flair, as people flaunt their stuff across the national capital of Delhi. People love to sit out and bask in the sun, and weekends can see popular destinations dotted by people across the city, like India Gate, Qutb Minar, Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Akshardham and Humayun’s tomb among other perennial shopping destinations like Chandni Chowk. But step aside from these popular jaunts, there are innumerable sites that few know about, and tend to be free of the crowds that throng the otherwise popular places. Chunnamal Haveli, Chandni Chowk Being the only preserved haveli or old bungalow in Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi, it belonged to Lala Chunnamal, a Khatri businessman who went on to become the richest man in Delhi and whose wealth was envied even by the likes of Mirza Ghalib. Do check it out for its beautiful architecture and lavish interiors, that take you back in time, thanks to the desc

Just when you think Rahul Gandhi cannot outdo himself, he comes out with another gem. On December 5, amidst one of the several Parliament gridlocks over the use of abusive language by a minister (as if it has happened for the first time ever), Rahul Gandhi stood next to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi placed outside the Parliament House, and sported a black band over his mouth, accusing the government of muzzling the voice of the Opposition, a charge that he has been repeating for a while now, as exemplified by his rushing into the well of the house on August 6, 2014. This protest was over the issue of Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, who was caught using the word haraamzaada (illegitimate child) in a public rally in Delhi. Of course, he seems to have forgotten how his own henchman from Uttar Pradesh, Imran Masood, threatened to chop Narendra Modi to pieces among other many gems that dot the internet.   Not just that, Rahul Gandhi had also found the time and gall to dare the

जिन समझ जुग बीत गया इक पल में यूँ समझाया भक्ति का इक नया स्वाद जिह्वा पे ऐसा चढ़ाया प्रेम भावना मन में राखी करुणा करना सिखाया धन्य है नानक महापुरुष के तू हम सब में आया पढ़न गया था अक्खर को पाठी को पाठ दिखाया राह चलन की सीख दियो मौलवी को राह दिखाइया जात पात के भेदभाव को अंकुश ऐसा लाया धन्य है नानक महापुरुष के तू हम सब में आया छोड़ घर बार चला फ़क़ीर संग चला दोस्त मरदाना ज्ञान की धुनी रमते निशदिन काबा भी धाम बनाया वाहेगुरु चहुँ ओर बसे ये चमत्कार है दिखाया धन्य है नानक महापुरुष के तू हम सब में आया जा हरिद्वार जो देखियो तो खेतों को पानी चढ़ाया दिव्य ज्ञान के अन्तर्रहस्य को सूरज यूँ है दिखाया शेषनाग को कहे के जा अब अमर हो तेरी माया धन्य है नानक महापुरुष के तू हम सब में आया बैठ जहां वहाँ नित स्थान धरम का पथ बनाया हिन्दू मुस्लिम नर नारी छूत अछूत मिटाया मात पिता जहाँ अपने पूत को गुरु का स्थान निवाया अकाल पुरख के नाम से करतारपुर धाम वसाइया अन्तकाल अंगद जी को गद्दी सौंप गुरु बनाइया करतारपुर धाम वसाइया काल के द्वार खड़े जब नानक लोगन करी लड़ाइयाँ हिन्दू के

There was a lot of introspection and self criticism yesterday with the joint awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Kailash Satyarthi. “Child labour is a curse”, “robbing childhood from the children”, “slavery”, “feudal mindset” - these and a thousand other charges have been flying around.  Grim stories of rescue missions were recounted by the dozen, and the State was held culpable for the crime of not taking care of its citizens. However, a large number of these arguments to my understanding are very lopsided, and typically amount to the welfare state paradigm that the economic right finds highly problematic for a host of reasons. Please do not for a minute think that I am promoting child labour as it is understood and depicted often in popular culture as an exploitative system. Often however we tend to drag children belonging to the teenage group into this whole cycle of ‘giving their lives a fair chance’. On the contrary, a careful assessment of what is happening in today’

Protests Inspire Creativity, and Ever More So in Hong Kong (courtesy BBC ) The recent upheaval with the Occupy Central movement, becoming more popular internationally by the name Umbrella Movement, has taken nearly everyone by surprise. This has happened because the silent majority decidedto stand up for what it believes in, sacrificing nearly everything that provided semblance to their lives in a mad, chaotic city state like Hong Kong (HK). Life is hard in Hong Kong, so the people standing up for greater democratic rights becomes even more appreciable in my personal opinion. There are a few trends that can be seen on the surface emerging from this movement so far, and a lot of them, far from being very pessimistic (as some Facebook posts being shared by HK-ers) are encouraging. The people of Hong Kong have been exemplary in the discipline and peaceful nature that has been maintained so far during these protests. It is Gandhian in nature, thus making many neutral observers like