The city of Jerusalem is no stranger to invasion. The Babylonians were perhaps the first to siege Jerusalem. King Nebuchadnezzar’s army looted the city and reduced its walls to rubbles. The King Jehoiakim was executed ruthlessly and “commanded to be thrown before the walls”. Thousands of Jews were taken captive…

After months of demanding centralization of vaccines by experts and opposition parties alike, the Narendra Modi government has finally caved in. While announcing this, the Prime Minister claimed that earlier India had to wait for decades to procure vaccines while under his govt India is self-sufficient. This claim is grossly…

A few days ago, popular conservative/classical liberal commentator and talk show host Dave Rubin tweeted a thread outlining his reason for why our society is collapsing. There is, of course, an argument to be had about whether our society is collapsing at all. As Steven Pinker argues in Enlightenment Now…

One Hundred and thirty seven years after his death,Karl Marx remains one of the most polarizing figures in our political landscape. Everyone seems to have an opinion on Marx. His critics see him as an irredemable evil totalitarian thinker while his proponents see him as a modern day-prophet. After carefully…

There has never been a more apt time to talk about mental health. Nothing much has changed in our discourse on mental health since the last few decades. In India, mental health continues to remain a stigma. What shocks me today is that journalists,whom one would expect to know better…

In 1998, the Arabic newspaper Al-Quds-Al-Arabi published a document declaring “Jihad against Jews and Crusader”. The “fatwa” briefly listed out grievances against the United states, condemning US for “occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its…

I am writing this in the backdrop of a hunger strike started by the Islamic reformer Maajid Nawaz. Nawaz, a former Islamist, feels let down by his liberal counterparts for their reluctance to officially recognize the genocide of Uyghur Muslims unleashed by the authoritarian Chinese regime. What strikes me as…

The case of 19-year-old Amulya Leona as well as that of Safoora Zargar has reignited the debate on the right to dissent and freedom of speech in India. Leona was arrested under sedition simply for raising slogans while Zargar was arrested, without ample evidence, for inciting riots. Moreover, the Delhi…

Dear Mr. Prime Minister, I came across your letter to citizens of India(30/5/20)recently on your website. As you rightfully point out, your electoral win was indeed historic. The people of India trust you. Along with many citizens of this country, I’m proud to live in a country which has the…