All posts
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Good news
…one more step towards secular law for all, in an atmosphere where the anti-secular forces are on the rise everywhere. …a separate question however for the truly informed. Why are…
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Under the Magic Tube-Light: A Fantasia
I am a big fan of Musharraf Ali Farooqi’s “Magic Lantern” fables, but magic lanterns are for civilized places like Abbasid Baghdad or Fatimid Cairo. In Pakistan, we look for…
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Taking on the TTP, part X
Postscript: I have had a lot of comments from friends on this piece and here is a summary: 1. The deep state has a coherent Afghan policy that requires maintaining…
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Brown in space
Science in India has to some extent a reputation for lassitude. Mind you, not Indian scientists, but institutional Indian scientific culture. So what explain’s the space program? From India, Proof That…
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Why the elite in the Rest yearn for the West
I’ve become an old hand in the developing world since I’ve done a fair bit of travelling. I’ve noticed that elites throughout the world (and middle classes) dream of the…
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Baloch terrorism?
A train has been derailed by a bomb in Southern Pakistan and it seems the Baloch Republican Army may have claimed responsibility (I am relying on twitter here, I have…
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Saffron-Washing in Gujarat
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Hello from Baroda
It’s my fourth visit to India since Dec’12. I’m very find of the place but it seems the Indian economy is definitely in slow-down mode, most of the bill boards…
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Hello from Calcutta
It’s a wonderful place.
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The Islamic System of Government
The opening of the farcical (probably intended as such) “negotiations” between powerless pro-Taliban negotiators selected by the government of Pakistan and equally powerless pro-Taliban negotiators selected by the Taliban (2…