The Buddha advocated the middle path. Sufi saints advocated love. Ashoka advocated compassion. Today, this is no longer history for India. These are lessons we need to live.
...Full StoryThe 16th century monarch chose a name that respected secular values. What is a 21st century chief minister doing?
...Full StoryNeither life nor death could separate him from his beloved, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.
...Full StoryIts every stone is crying out to be loved.
...Full StoryIt should worry anyone who loves India.
...Full Story[Book excerpt] Abdul Qadir Bedil was considered a Sufi saint by many.
...Full StoryThey battled as a united force against the might of the British Raj.
...Full StoryA brief, wondrous history of skewered meat.
...Full StoryIt is also a month of detox, something we otherwise spend a lot of money on.
...Full StoryBefore getting into the controversy, let's understand Sufism, qawwali and sama mehfils.
...Full StoryWhile it can provide you clean toilets, it can't restore a world-class monument.
...Full StoryTo clear prevailing confusion, the corporate group will not be doing any conservation work.
...Full StoryHe spoke out against the use of religion as a tool to legitimise dictatorship.
...Full StoryThis is not the first time rape has been used as a tool of war to subjugate those who are considered a threat.
...Full StoryThough it’s still as majestic, I despair at its shoddy state.
...Full StoryHis instructions on keeping the army happy, selecting a chief justice are kept in the United Nations as an example.
...Full StoryWhen death is a time to rejoice, and not to grieve.
...Full StoryThe Lal Qila, as we we see it today, is a mere shell of its former self.
...Full StoryHe gave us the most defining verses about their emotions.
...Full StoryIt has roots in the war poetry of Arabia.
...Full StoryEnjoy it or ignore it, but don’t waste your energy in outrage.
...Full StoryIt’s the 'new normal' except that it is neither normal nor should it ever be.
...Full StoryHe has often been called the Tooti-e-Hindustan or parrot of Hindustan.
...Full StoryI came upon it in the book 'Lal Qila ki ek Jhalak', written by Syed Nasir Nazir.
...Full StoryUnlike the British, they did not colonise the subcontinent.
...Full StoryToday there are attempts to deny India's immense plurality when we talk of one culture, one nation.
...Full StoryThose that learn to sing and dance no longer sing Ghalib or Dagh’s ghazals.
...Full StoryI learnt there's much more to resisting.
...Full StoryAt a time when Muslim men are already living in fear, one more law would be added to harass, jail and demonise them.
...Full StoryZauq and Ghalib took digs at each other through a sehra penned for a prince’s wedding and the Red Fort reverberated with this clash of titans.
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