India
Migrant Tales in Malayalam
When the novel “Goat Days” was published in 2008, it set a new tone for writing in Malayalam on the Gulf, partly by casting an Arab as a villain. Since then, many stories have followed its template.
The Goat Life
The film adaptation of a popular Malayalam-language novel has sparked an unexpected controversy in Saudi Arabia, as many think it shows the country in an unfair light. The story follows a migrant from India who ends up in slave-like conditions at a goat farm.
How America’s Philosopher of Democracy Influenced India’s Leading Caste Reformer
Bhimrao Ambedkar helped write the Indian Constitution, campaigned against caste oppression, and remains a household name for many in the country. His democratic vision combined the pragmatist ideas of the American philosopher John Dewey with his novel Navayana or “new vehicle” form of Buddhism.
History’s Long Afterlife — with Priyamvada Gopal
“I tend to use the word ‘afterlife’ rather than ‘the past’, because I think that things that have happened in history have a life in the present. It’s ongoing.”
A Tattooed Community in India Is Dying Out
The Ramnamis are considered Dalits — untouchables, lower-caste people whose place in life deserves the least respect. In fact, Dalits are traditionally not allowed to worship the god Ram, who is considered a “high-class” deity, which makes this tradition even more unusual.
The Long Shadow of Deobandism in South Asia
The new Taliban government in Afghanistan represents the realization of the 155-year-old Deobandi movement’s objective of establishing a regime led by religious scholars. Over this time, and possibly much like the Taliban today, these religious clerics oscillated between jihadism and pragmatic politics.
In Second Regime, Both the Taliban and the World Face a New Reality
Afghanistan itself was a sideshow in which money and careers could be made and repatriated. In the meantime, an artificial economy was created there to service birds of passage, from diplomats and aid workers to military officials and outside contractors.