Still Lives

by sepoy on June 30, 2009

in noted

I really don’t know what is going on here. or here. or here. or here. or here. or here. or here. or here.

But, I totally know what’s going on here.

Jack Wilkes for LIFE in India, 1945. There are some amazing shots of Jinnah, and perhaps the best visual depiction of the true colonial subaltern: Col. Haynes (L) and Keseri Singh waiting for tiger.

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Guns Optional

by sepoy on June 29, 2009

in not baseball, noted

Guns and Cricket

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We want to keep this American here

by sepoy on June 25, 2009

in homistan

Two inspiring Americans to read about today:

I. Saving a Kashmiri Village After Remaking His Life, NYT, June 25 2009, tells the story of Todd Shea and his hospital, Comprehensive Disaster Relief Services, in Chikar. There is a video-essay attached to the story that you should watch. Shea’s flickr stream. And a link for you to donate directly to his effort.

II. Kathy Kelly and a group of volunteers have just returned from a visit to Pakistan where they toured some of the IDP camps. They belong to Voices for Creative Non-Violence. You can read their reports on the site but I want to highlight Kelly’s latest, Now We See You, Now We Don’t. There are also photo galleries from their visit.

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imperial watch

They Serve Daal after Funerals

June 24, 2009

Beat extremists you can, says Obama, Anwar Iqbal, DawnTV, June 21, 2009
Any plan to visit Pakistan in the near future?’
‘I would love to visit. As you know, I had Pakistani roommates in college who were very close friends of mine. I went to visit them when I was still in college; was in Karachi and [...]

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homistan

Dard Vachor Da II

June 22, 2009

Shah Hussain (1539-94), known more popularly as Lal Hussain, was born in Lahore. He was a sufi in the Qadiri order, prone to expressing his devotion through song, mystical dance and exuberance. Naturally, he had a rough time with some of the elders in Lahore who looked askance at his public repudiation of beards and [...]

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not baseball

Pakistan Ka Matlab Kiya III

June 21, 2009

“I’m the second Khan winning a World Cup for Pakistan, so I’m very proud of my Khans,” said Younis. “This is my dream. I dreamed all the time of lifting the World Cup. My thinking in all my career is that I will be remembered for a team like 1992. I was not in the [...]

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not baseball

Pakistan Ka Matlab Kiya II

June 18, 2009

If it worked for Zia, it could work for Zardari.
Pakistan beat SA in ICC Twenty20 World Cup Semis.
Why not?
ps. I cannot believe my blood pressure still goes up watching these things.

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talkies

The Silver Screen War

June 16, 2009

(sepoy sez: you can find an introduction to purdah on the about CM page)
Greetings CM readers, Sepoy has generously offered me a spot on his soapbox, a turn at the helm, a cameo in his story? Um a chance to reach out to some gentle minds…I would like to begin by discussing the current South [...]

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noted

Just a Thought VII

June 15, 2009

Iran 2009 = US 2000 or maybe Iran 2009 = US 2006 or maybe Iran 2009 = US 2008 or maybe Iran 2009 = Pakistan 2007. I grow weary of all the punditry but the images are arresting. I especially love the one above, which appeared on NYT. The banner states: Patience, Dawn is Near. [...]

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noted

Berlin or Bust

June 14, 2009

Well, the Chicago adventure has run its course. Off to Berlin, where I will be joining the Freie Universität faculty as a Juniorprofessur of South Asia history in the Department of History and Cultural Studies and the Berlin Graduate School of Muslim Cultures and Societies.
Which means: Transitions!
The good news, I presume, is that CM will [...]

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noted

From the Inbox

June 13, 2009

I endorse both!

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homistan

Pakistan Ka Matlab Kiya

June 12, 2009

My new piece is up at The Review (National), State of Decay:
Twenty years of military dictatorships, under Ayub Khan and Zia ul Haq, cemented the rule of the few over the many. Their policies led to the emergence of specific grievances by sub-nationalist groups in Baluchistan and Sindh. In the decade of Pervez Musharraf’s rule, [...]

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homistan

Paleo-Talibothra Found!!

June 10, 2009

A chance conversation reminded me of something, which led to another trip down the ’stacks in Reg and Google Books and, lo and behold, I may have hit at the birthplace of TALIBOTHRA! Now, understand that this is an exercise in what professional historians call “speculative scholarship”. As a professional historian, I believe it is [...]

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homistan

Just a Thought VI

June 5, 2009

Via Babu, in re to this…
Refugees are easily radicalized, and if the Pakistani army, which carries out counterinsurgency with a bludgeon, continues to create thousands of new ones, with no government plan for their return to Swat and the reconstruction of their homes, it’s quite possible that the long-bearded men under the black-and-white flags at [...]

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imperial watch

Q is for the Qattara Depression

June 4, 2009

Via Moacir and thanks to the SMU digital collection, A Pocket Guide to Egypt, 1943.
Democracy is a free, open way of life that is threatened by a system of oppression. That’s why we’re in this war.
Democracy is built on the right of free choice – the right of man to worship God in his own [...]

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