homistan

HRCP Raids

November 4, 2007

An email from Lahore confirms the crackdown on HRCP and other related groups:
Today at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan a meeting of lawyers and human rights activsits (around noon) was held to discuss the present situation. A statement from Asma Jehangir who has been detained for 90 days was read and subsequently the compound [...]

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homistan

The General Speaks

November 3, 2007

The printed text is a bit off from what he actually said. Below the fold, is my hasty translation. I have tried to stick as close to his formulations as possible. It is a surprising speech (in many respects). Reading between the lines – ie, the english and urdu lines, I venture an opinion [...]

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homistan

Tick Tock VIII: The Emergency Plus Edition

November 3, 2007

The wag will say that the nation has never left the state of emergency, but that is just being silly.
We now have a legal State of Emergency in Pakistan. Actually, it is officially being called “Emergency Plus” – more than “Emergency” but less than “Martial Law”. Just right.
The move is hardly surprising considering the [...]

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univerCity

Examining Iqbal

November 2, 2007

Naim Sahib forwarded a correspondence in which he answers a question about the Urdu poet and intellectual Iqbal (1877-1938). I reproduce it below without his consent. He can yell at me later:
Q: I have a question for you. Attached is (supposedly) Iqbal’s Tarana-e-Hindi (The Song of India) written out in his own hand. What [...]

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noted

Historian as a Political Citizen

November 1, 2007

Peter Nadas gives us some clues:
But then, can someone in, say, Boston, “pouring sweet maple syrup over sizzling bacon” understand “from such ambiguous sentences how deformed the thoughts and actions of someone can become who for years has used their mother tongue for hiding thoughts rather than for expressing them?” he asked. “How meaning slips [...]

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noted

Go Hari

October 29, 2007

I get really annoyed at this “authenticity” business (see an old complaint) about who has the rights to do exactly what for which community. So I really enjoyed this letter to the Guardian about their nonsensical op-ed, The Trouble with Brick Lane:
As a mixed-race novelist (hell, just as a novelist), I would like to say [...]

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homistan

Becoming Bibi

October 29, 2007

Benazir Bhutto has always been less than the sum of her parts – ah, but what spectacular parts! Just go look at this amazing series on Benazir done by CM Chief Artist-in-Residence lapata.
Perhaps no memory of my childhood in the 80s can compare to her triumphant return to Zia’s Pakistan – the mantle of the [...]

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optical character recognition

Sunday Reading for Bazaaris

October 28, 2007

Thanks to my main man, Rajeev, we enjoyed a sunday afternoon at Soldier’s Field watching John Kitna decimate the Bears with his precision prayers. NFL is way more the carnival then any other sporting event – and perhaps much more taxing on the senses. Still, it seems though that watching a football game live is [...]

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homistan

The Boy Who Got Tired of Posing

October 21, 2007

Those of you in the Toronto area should check out an interesting new show by artist Bani Abidi. The exhibition runs from October 25th to November 24th at Toronto’s Gallery TPW. Here’s a brief description:
At the center of Abidi’s piece is the story of Mohammad Bin Qasim, an 8th century Arab general [...]

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imperial watch

O Mere Humsafar

October 20, 2007

The White House maintains a special website for Barney.
_____________________________________________________________________________

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homistan

The Return of the Native

October 18, 2007

I was going to say something but the …

She was on her way to Jinnah’s tomb. Happened around 12:15 local, over 125 dead, over 540 injured. Went off near a few police vans and PPP security cars. Benazir Bhutto was riding in a fortified, bullet-proof truck. That may have saved her life.
The twin blasts [...]

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portraits

To Us

October 18, 2007

When President of South Korea visited with Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army, Kim Jong-Il of North Korea, they toasted their pact with blueberry wine and Kim played the eccentric and charismatic host, as is his wont. President Roh presented the Commander with many gifts, including the DVDs of “YMCA Baseball Team, Strokes [...]

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better with tablas

Rhymes

October 16, 2007

Saira Banu weirds out the all-too precious ode to motherland by Manoj Kumar. All I know is that Pran and Prem Chopra are _both_ in it – the baddest bad men ever.
Don’t believe me? Check this clip from the same, sampled and tweaked by Dan The Automator Nakamura and DJ Shadow in Bombay the Hard [...]

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imperial watch

Objects in the Mirror

October 15, 2007

I.
But, another inflection, if the testament is always made in front of witnesses, a witness in front of witnesses, it is also to open and enjoin, it is also to confide in others the responsibility of their future. To bear witness, to test, to attest, to contest, to present oneself before witnesses. For Mandela, it [...]

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holydays

عید مبارک

October 12, 2007

Eid Mubarak.
To all my gentle readers, a very delightful and happy Eid ul-Fitr. It is either today or Saturday across the Muslim world … it is fun everywhere.
I will try and get some Maamool and some firni. Good Stuff.
Oh, and Congratulations to Al Gore!

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