Articles
Intolerance and Cultural Dissenters
Recently, a spate of artists, writers, filmmakers and scientists from different backgrounds came out and talked about rising intolerance in India. The Dadri incident where Muhammad Akhlaq was lynched after ‘rumours’ of him having stored beef in his refrigerator, the burning of Dalit children by upper caste men in Faridabad and the various sending offs […]
Selfies Can’t Capture Indian Streets
Modern day photography is digital and is available at a single click of the button. Almost every magazine or journal is available online. The posters and photographs in the magazines of the yesteryear are long gone out of fervour. They still manage to have a following, so do the photo stories in the newspapers and […]
India’s ‘Recep’tion of Erdogan
Recep Tayeb Erdogan’s resurgence in the Turkish Parliament election elicited mixed responses in India as it is everywhere. There are several ‘whys’ to be explained. The first why: Why resurgence? Because in the Parliament election held in the month of June, Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party got away with 40.86 percent of votes, which means […]
Haytham and the Naming of Islamic Science
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has organised a two-day conference that aims to explore the decisive contributions of Ibn Al-Haytham and Islamic culture to the history and evolution of sciences. The conference entitled “Islamic Golden Age of Science for actual knowledge based society – The Ibn Al-Haytham example” is part of […]
Islamic State and the Motif of Sacrifice
Last year, there was a discussion on violence with reference to Denis Vilenueve’s then recent film Prisoners. One of the important points I wanted to bring home was that the director wants to emphasize our being beholden to the idea of violence as something ‘others’ are doing on us. I put this point, for easier elucidation, […]
The Line Dividing Fatwa and Outburst
The evolution of AR Rahman, popularly referred to as the ‘Mozart of Madras’, is the stuff of a legend. From being listed in Time magazine’s ’10 Best Soundtracks’ of all time for debut composition Roja to winning the Oscar for the background score in Slumdog Millionaire, Rahman has reached dizzying heights in the world of […]
Islam and Local Customs: A Reflection on Onam and Lamp Lighting
One month ago, the Kerala public sphere had a hot topic to debate on. At a function organized on the readers’ day in the state, Education Minister Abdu Rabb, who belongs to the Indian Union Muslim League which is a party in the coalition that rules the state, was reluctant to inaugurate the function by […]
Cyber Space and Misanthropy: The Case of Kerala?
Two years back, Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh kicked up a row with his statement that ‘now’ India needed toilets rather than temples. Though this statement, which reflected the socio-political reality of the country, was not meant to incite communalism, the Sangh Parivar assailed him, terming the statement as anti-Hindu. Activists belonging to VHP and […]
The Bloody Cost of Placating Collective Conscience
Yaqoob Memon, days after uncertainty over whether he would (should) be executed or not, was hanged in Nagpur Prison in today morning. For a few days, a petition signed by activists, lawyers, politicians, writers, filmmakers etc. requiring the President to show mercy for Memon, has clogged the limelight. A curative petition filed by Memon, which […]
The Idea of Islam Today: Towards Non-Orientalist Genealogies
This is a transcribed speech of Talal Asad delivered at the American University of Beirut as part of an international symposium in honor of Talal Asad held by Arts and humanities initiative at the University. Tonight I will take up the concept of tradition and explore it in a more straightforward and elaborated manner. I […]
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