Even as the world learnt with surprise that US President Barack Obama has reached out to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for a nuclear deal and help in fighting the Dawlat al-Islamiyah f’al-Iraq w Belaad al-Sham (Daesh, or Islamic State), there are startling reports that self-proclaimed caliph Abu Bakr … Read More
The Election Commission of India’s announcement of elections to the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly even as the Chief Minister was pleading for postponement in view of September’s natural calamity, and the Supreme Court’s startling decision to intervene in the poll process by seeking relaxation of the model code of conduct … Read More
The presence of the grim black flags of the Islamic State (IS) or Dawlat al-Islamiyah f’al-Iraq w Belaad al-Sham (Daesh) in Jammu and Kashmir and other Indian States where jihadi cells nestle is testimony to Pakistan’s perseverance in undoing the civilisational framework and unity of India. New Delhi must realise … Read More
Even as the valiant Kurds of Kobane (Syria) continue their dogged resistance against the Dawlat al-Islamiyah f’al-Iraq w Belaad al-Sham (Daesh), the latter has overrun much of the Iraqi town of Anbar, causing 180,000 people to flee, according to the United Nations. By all accounts, the Daesh control 80 per … Read More
US President Obama’s decision to fight the Dawlat al-Islamiyah f’al-Iraq w Belaad al-Sham (Daesh) by air has come under fire as the heroic Kurdish resistance in Kobane (Kurdish for Ain al-Arab) threatens to crumble with mercenaries storming the northern Syrian city, across the Turkish border. Istanbul’s role in the humanitarian … Read More
Admonitions from professional Cassandras notwithstanding, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a successful visit to the United States. It was the climax of the diplomatic gauntlet he wielded on May 26 when he invited leaders of all SAARC nations, and Mauritius, to attend his swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Their arrival … Read More
In an extraordinary show of determination to defeat the Dawlat al-Islamiyah f’al-Iraq w Belaad al-Sham (Daesh) or Islamic State (IS), Riyadh deputed Prince Khaled bin Salman, son of Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, and an unidentified royal scion to join the military action against the terrorist group. On September 25, … Read More
Those cheering the revival of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s fortunes in the recent bye-elections must concede that if this is the defeat of the BJP’s ‘love jihad’, it is equally the victory of the ‘boys will be boys’ mindset bolstered by Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav at the … Read More
As Dawlat al-Islamiyah f’al-Iraq w Belaad al-Sham (Daesh or Islamic State) beheaded British aid worker David Haines [probably on Sept 13] and threatened to kill another British hostage, the West realises it cannot defer confronting this menace. Amidst its countless victims, the Daesh has beheaded two American and one Syrian … Read More
Whatever one’s assessment of Islam – Abrahamic offspring, way of life, Arab nationalism, post-Byzantine Arab empire, moderate, or outright murderous towards those outside the charmed circle of jihadi warriors – a bizarre facet of contemporary Islam deserves attention, partly because of its scandalous morality, but mainly because it is irreconcilable … Read More
