Ideas News - Page 11

Reminded of Jallianwala Bagh: Arun Gandhi remembers 9/11

People may say the two were very different but Arun Gandhi thinks there were many parallels worth considering between what happened on 9/11 and what happened in Jallianwala Bagh in 1919.

9/11 in pop culture: Failure of the American imagination

The best-known post-9/11 books, movies, and TV series can be described as macho, sentimental, over-rated or, at its best, funny. But where the imagination failed, humour and truth-telling came to the rescue.

Terror, Gandhi, Pinochet: Three 9/11s that changed the world

2011 marks the tenth anniversary of 9/11. But really it is the anniversary of two other 9/11s, earlier ones, that in their own way altered the course of history. P. Sainath writes about the three 9/11s that changed our world.

9/11 has been exploited by some politicians and media: Aasif Mandvi

Actor and comedian Aasif Mandvi remembers being on the phone with his agent as the planes hit the World Trade Center.

Witness to history: Sarasota, ten years later, still left behind

Avirook Sen visits the now famous preschool where President Bush first got the news of the attacks. His experience reveals a nation grappling with 9/11's bitter legacy: recession, budget cuts, war, and ever-present paranoia.

Remembering 9/11: 'The sense of invincibility is gone'

Ten years later, I believe we still face some of the problems and tensions that erupted after 9/11. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have taken their toll on the economy, on morale, and on the many soldiers that have been scarred by them.

Amitava Kumar remembers 9/11: 'It was as if I arrived drunk at a funeral'

The first piece I wrote on September 11 contained some angry words for the US, at its neglect for what the rest of the world thought of it.

'Wearing the turban suddenly made us the enemy'

The first casualty after the 9/11 attacks was a Sikh man in Arizona. Turbans had suddenly become the uniforms of terror in the eyes of many Americans. A Sikh mother recounts how she learned to stand up for her faith.

From terrorism to comic book hero: Story of a jihadist in Indonesia

The real life adventures of former al-Qaida-linked militant Nasir Abas have become a new comic book in Indonesia, chronicling his transformation from foe to invaluable ally in the fight against terrorism.

Anna versus the Empire: Our own desi Star Wars

It happened not in a galaxy far far away but right there in our capital. And it happened with candles and fasts not light sabers. But Anna Hazare's great battle was just like Star Wars, says Rajyasree Sen. Then who was Jabba the Hutt?

Remembering 9/11: An Indian view of 'America's suprabhatam'

The 9/11 attacks are no longer an event, but a religious liturgy, played again and again like a record. The distance of time reveals America's follies of interpretation — and also ours.

After Delhi, let's learn from Bush's folly, Obama's U-turn

It's easy to raise the battle cry of a war on terror when something like the Delhi bomb blasts happen. But as Bush's "war on terror" after 9/11 proved, that could become a Frankenstein's monster that we'll never be rid of.

Delhi blast: It's India vs terror, not Congress vs BJP

As the coverage of the attacks unfolded on television, it became a game of the Congress party vs the Rest of India. And that's wrong-headed and unfair.

Arab chick-lit gets naughty: Desperate housewives of Dubai

Oozing with men, money, and Maseratis, Dubai is the ultimate playground for the woman who knows her Louboutins from her Louis Vuittons. Desperate in Dubai, tels the tale of four women as they struggle to find truth, love, and themselves.

Why private owners must be involved in conservation strategy

The forest block adjacent to a plantation matters most in fostering biodiversity. Under these circumstances, what conservation strategy should be pursued?

Dravid, not Sachin, should be the benchmark for success

If Sachin is God and Sehwag a Magician, they are the wrong benchmarks for our budding cricketers. Rahul Dravid is the one to emulate, for he personifies the attainable

The landscape of an artist: Remembering Jehangir Sabavala

Jehangir Sabavala and his beautiful landscapes were sometimes dismissed as too romantic, too removed from India's turbulent reality. But he was just as much a part of the "real India" as his contemporary MF Husain.

Newspapers can't afford 'no papers' days anymore

No newspapers day are no longer no news days, thanks to Twitter. Newspapers should indeed be worried.

First Look: A more human, younger superman

Next week, on September 7, DC Comics will relaunch its most coveted hero with the launch of the rehauled Action Comics series written by veteran comics author Grant Morrison.

Brand Anna: Making of a middle class Frankenstein

Over the course of 12 days, from the moment of his arrest to the first sip of coconut water, Anna the man became Anna the brand with a slogan – I am Anna.

The problem with Brand Anna: Turning protest into salesmanship

When we reduce political leaders to brands, politics becomes no more than an exercise in salesmanship, positioning citizens as mindless consumers who can be relied on to offer the right Pavlovian response to the right messaging.

No figment of imagination, pop fiction is a great leveller

Regardless of how dodgy pop fiction might be, it is prodding our writers to tell stories that are compelling and relevant to contemporary India.

Should PowerPoint be banned?

A Swiss political party wants to ban the presentation tool. There seems to be a considerable amount of debate on the pros and cons of the PowerPoint.

Son of a strange universe: Aatish Taseer's new novel Noon

An excerpt from Aatish Taseer's latest novel Noon.

Big B, and now Dhoni: Why do UK universities love our stars?

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the latest in the elite club of recipients who’ve been honored with doctorates from international universities. Here's a list of recent recipients.

Why didn't the media address corruption before Anna?

While media needs to be congratulated on cornering government on larger cases of corruption, such as the 2G scam, the CWG scam, the mining scam and so on, they paid scant attention to the culture of corruption that directly affected the common man – a constituency that Anna Hazare understands well.

Disturbing racist Facebook photo causes furore

A display image of a white man posing with a gun in front of a seemingly lifeless body of a black child, has garnered disgust from across the globe.

India makes do with 'sense of victory' from 'sense of House' resolution

Thirteen days ago, if someone had said that it would all boil down to 'three demands' that would have been resolved with a 'sense of the House' resolution we would have surely scratched our heads in confusion. But perhaps a 'sense of victory' will just have to do.

A good man: An ode to the fasting fakir

"Old and frail, the pain/ he inflicts on his body,/ graphic as nails on a cross..." A poem in praise of Anna Hazare.

Nine anti-corruption posters you must see

Sonia as Gandhari, Anna as Ram; here's a collection of some of the whackiest posters from the anti-corruption protests.