2007: Scramble Of Events

Remember how did we begin 2007!!!
…Reading and watching stories of two cannibals living in Nithari village on the outskirts of Indian capital New Delhi!!  
…Do you remember that children’s bones, skulls, clothing, shoes, tiffin boxes coming from the murky depths of a village sap were the front-page ‘items’ in our newspapers; while beautiful, albeit inexperienced, TV [...]

27.12.07 - 6:16 PM Pakistan Time, Benazir Declared Dead

In this picture taken in October 2007, Benazir Bhutto is seen in a flight from Dubai to Pakistan, a journey that ended her decade-long self-exile to London and Arab countries. But was that her last flight? Yes. She is dead. 
Muslim world’s first female leader was not immortal to survive yet another Thursday blast – the first [...]

Kasam Se Baani

Ask her to describe herself in five words… She would open up innocently and say: “I am 19, Naughty, Bubbly, Ambitious and like Baani (my character’s name in Kasamh Se).” 
She is unbearably excited today. Prachi Desai, the Indian television actress best known for her role as Baani in Ekta Kapoor’s family drama ‘Kasamh Se’ on Zee [...]

Why Is Sabran Standing Tall In Corporate World!

Over a decade ago, he had expected a red carpet welcome at New Delhi railway station, while shifting to the national capital from Varanasi to try his luck.  
“I was a kid then. I was foolish to expect from my friends that they will come to receive me at the railway station. How foolish of me to carry packets [...]

Global Warming Or Global Warning

For some people, the dancing bear on the street might be an entertaining sight but the gory fact is that these bears are mercilessly mutilated when they are barely one-year-old. … So, next time, you see a dancing bear, think of the pain and cruelty, it has to endure. …
The above fact, among other issues, [...]

Universally Popular Begum

When She Speaks, He’s Breaking All of Islam’s Taboos. Ali Saleem, aka Begum Nawazish Ali, aka BB - son of a retired army officer – is known to evoke strong reactions and hysterical laughter on Pakistani television.  
Hosting late night shows, the begum shot to fame mingling with the who’s who of the Pakistani literati, glitterati [...]

Shock Verdict on Iranian Threat

In the above picture, dated September 19, 2006, seats for the US delegation appear empty as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the 61st session of the UN General Assembly in New York. 
Well, the Iranian boss had then launched a timely attack on America and Britain in the General Assembly, accusing them of manipulating the United Nations [...]

Rahul Gandhi

 
Is Rahul Gandhi in terror radar? That is what the Indian media has been reporting since last fortnight, prompting journalists like me to question the ID of Rahul Gandhi - Who is he? What terror threat is he facing?
Indian media, which seems fanatical about Rahul Gandhi, has been hysterically quoting police that a plot by [...]

Nandigram - My Village, Your Village, Everyone’s Village

Land Grab, Bloodshed, Rape, Murder, Police Brutality, Flag March, Court’s Indulgence, High-Profile Visit, Demonstration, Debate in Legislature, Suicide, Editorial… …the list is endless. All these have happened in the recent past at NANDIGRAM (pronounced as nondigram by locals).  
Since then, the countryside area, 70 km south-west of City of Joy ‘Kolkata’, is no more a Bengali-speaking [...]

Taslima Nasreen

Controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has bowed to the orchestrated pressure from the fundamentalists in the Indian sub-continent.
She has agreed to delete some ‘objectionable’ phrase/pages from one of her books. This is serious.  
The Big Question: Should the Indian soil be allowed to launch raucous and insolent behaviour against freedom of speech and expression!!!
How can we forget the aggression Taslima [...]