I claim Tagore and Iqbal. I claim the music of Lata Mangeshkar and Mehdi Hassan.I claim the shared cultural inheritance of South Asia in all its richness and contradictions. History divided states. It could not divide memory. The food we eat, the stories we tell, the languages we speak, and the melodies that move us still carry echoes of a shared past.
It does not ask anyone to abandon their religion. A Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jew, or secular humanist can walk the path of Dharma without contradiction. Dharma is not a replacement for religion. It is a shared ethical foundation beneath all religions — the ground on which they all, at their best, already stand.
Inspired by the Jaipur Lit Fest, Pakistan’s first literary festival took place in the country’s largest city Karachi in 2010. Subsequently replicated in Lahore and Islamabad, such festivals now take place around the country, from the agricultural and industrial hub of Faisalabad, formerly Lyallpur, to the port city of Gwadar on the Balochistan coast.
While the overall picture is depressing, Ramaswami also describes hopeful strands within the social fabric of workers’ lives such as the mutual support and 'bhaichara' (fellowship) between men across ethnic, religious and caste boundaries that become more fluid within the city. The inter-religious and inter-caste ties forged between workers can be seen as small glimmers of hope in the context of the rising tide of Hindutva politics over the past decades.
Bangladeshi author Shaheen Akhtar has been awarded the 3rd Asian Literary Award for her novel Talaash (Mowla Brothers, 2009), which depicts the lasting suffering of Birangona women—survivors of sexual violence during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war
More than 100 people stranded overseas have returned to their homeland thanks to the efforts of Syed Abid Hussain, 36, popularly known as Bajrangi Bhaijaan in real life after the Salman Khan-starring blockbuster
A relic showing Gautama Buddha meditating under the tree of awakening was among the 45 antiquities that the Manhattan District Attorney’s office IN New York returned to the people of Pakistan this week
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extolled a four-year-old girl in Mizoram for singing a contemporary version of the national song "Vande Mataram"
Cricket is now offering the youth of Haphruda in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir new innings
Science is often considered a male-dominated field, even though women have made significant strides in science
Coated in a gorgeous combination of red and golden amid the greenery of its surroundings, the one-storey structure with tiled floors, huge columns and a large throne for the founder Bhadanta Sharanangkar Thero in one corner is a sight to behold
With the easing of restrictions and decreasing fear of COVID-19, the people of Delhi are moving back to the markets to shop for festivals and the wedding season
