Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, is the only British Prime Minister of Jewish descent, but Boris Johnson beats him in terms of elite exoticism because of his Turkish ancestry. Yet, both these men are as British as they come (or as can be) and embody the British ideals of…

Sheik Yusuf Al-Qaradawi is the Chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, an organisation with well-established ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Qaradawi’s views on Jews, homosexuals, and non-Muslims (who he fondly refers to as Kuffars) are available at the click of a mouse. His fatwas and fundamentals of Islam bind millions…

Mankind has always found ways to limit populations when convenient. When the Soviets legalised abortion, it was only due to the fact that they had suffered decades of unrest; they had been through a revolution and a civil war. As a result, their populations were living in abject poverty and women…

Our magical entry into the world is defined by certain philosophers as a ‘lottery of birth’, an apt phrase considering that fate smiles upon those who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. In fact, it is not just riches and comfort, but also opportunities, resources and education…

  France, the very word evokes romance of all sorts, even the clichés. After all, 90 million tourists flock to France every year and capture the Insta selfie shot that sums up the Douce France image. But for those who know France and her complexities, one can’t help wondering if…

This article is dedicated to the Kashmiri Pandits who were driven out of their homeland in 1989.  Narendra Modi is the first Indian leader since 1947 who has openly declared himself as a Hindu nationalist and won two consecutive elections. Modi’s critics fail to address the reality that a vast number…

This article contains language you may find offensive. In June 1969, the Greenwich neighbourhood of Manhattan was turned into a battleground between the police and the protesters who were sick and tired of being attacked by the police for their sexual orientation. At the frontline were the ‘queers’ the transsexual…

The transition from ideals to self-interests In 1979, Margret Thatcher was voted the first female Prime Minister of the UK, and she made her grand entry into 10 Downing Street. “Where there is error, may we bring truth,” she said in her speech, paraphrasing the prayer of Saint Francis. The…

The infamous Ku Klux Klan attracted Americans from all walks of life as long as they were white and Christian. Jurists like Hugo Black flirted with the Klan before they were appointed to the Supreme Court in 1937, barely a year before WWII broke out. Yet oddly enough, by 1986, one could…

When history fades from our memories, it suffers the fate of myths. The magnificent monuments around the world are a mark of the victorious who erected structures and inscribed lines on them lest our memory should fail us. When any place suffers an invasion, it is not unusual for invaders…