How did everybody forget that India prospered and flourished only because its armed forces ensured that it continued to exist as a State? Did anyone remember that when the nation was celebrating the New Year, thousands of soldiers were patrolling the troubled Line of Control, guarding the icy heights of the Line of Actual Control, fighting an undeclared war on Siachen, and combating proxy war in J&K? Keeping our sea lines of communications secure and preventing piracy? Guarding our air spaces from spying unarmed vehicles or aircraft? 

Very divisive narratives are being created in the country with a strong possibility of the situation flaring up and leading to breakdown of law and order.

People will always cross all kinds of barriers for love. A 19-year old Pakistani woman and a 26-year old Indian man who fell in love after interacting online couldn’t get visas to each other’s countries. So, they met and married in Nepal, then went to live in India where the man worked as a security guard. They ended up in jail. The woman was deported to Pakistan. The man was imprisoned for bringing a Pakistani into the country illegally.

The legacy they created together, collaborating in 94 iconic songs in 25 films, remains long after both have departed this world.

Castro, like many Malayalis, loved moringa, a key ingredient for sambar, a south Indian staple. The 2010 Haiti earthquake prompted Castro to accelerate his goal of providing nutritious food for the poor. Dr. Concepcion Campa Huergo, founder of Cuba's Finlay Institute, visited Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, leading India to ship tons of moringa seeds to Cuba for cultivation.

From Ananda Meemanage he became Ven. Ananda Mangala, when he donned the yellow robes of a Buddhist monk at the age of 40. Nehru sent him on a private mission to Missamari and Buxaduar to keep track of the fleeing Tibetan refugees. His mission was akin to espionage as the Chinese military buildup was already on and Nehru wanted to have a realistic picture of the border situation.

It is unbearable to even imagine being forced to leave your hometown or risk being slaughtered simply because you belong to a different religion. But I did not find any bitterness in Bani Singh's eyes for Lahore or my country, Pakistan.

The connection between Isabella Stewart Gardner and two Pakistani filmmakers highlights the universal power of art. As Gardner's museum inspires visitors, The Glassworker seeks to expand Pakistani cinema and animation, globally presenting the country’s artistic heritage.

The excessive demonisation of Muslims in Bollywood in the last decade is quite well documented. The heightening of communal tensions in recent times has been cashed in by Hindi filmmakers who have developed an incessant need for Muslim villains in their films. Whether the script allows it or not, filmmakers like Vanga Reddy and Rohit Shetty have proven that the plot can be bent over and around to make sure that the antagonist is a Muslim. 

Such a scene would likely face significant resistance in contemporary Kerala. The prevailing climate of communalism and sectarian divisions within Malayalee society would likely lead to demands for a ban on the film, with critics citing it as blasphemous. This highlights the increasing intolerance towards artistic expression that challenges religious sensibilities.

As India celebrates Mathematics Day, it is crucial to recognize figures like Allama Mashriqi, whose contributions to mathematics and society continue to resonate. While Ramanujan’s genius is rightly celebrated, the exclusion of Mashriqi—a Muslim mathematician of extraordinary talent—is both unjustified and a missed opportunity for inclusivity.  

Discussions with various senior Pakistani diplomats in Colombo as well as Sri Lankan diplomats in Pakistan led to my first visit to Pakistan in September 2023 to participate in the people-centered initiative ‘Enduring Friendship’ events in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Sri Lanka-Pakistan diplomatic relations.

Benegal came across as a man of refined sensibilities and great empathy for the human condition, which clearly reflected in his cinema.

Singaporean, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Arabic – in fact all varieties of English are acceptable as part of ‘World Englishes’ as long as they serve the communicative purpose of language.

Fear of death has also been drastically reduced in people who have experienced near death experience (NDE). NDE seems to happen when a person is declared clinically dead but after some time returns to life. Quite a number of people during the NDE episode have also reported that their whole life flashes by and almost all their past actions become visible.