| Is the Aligarh Muslim University a ‘Muslim’ university or a national university? Ibn Khaldun Bharati wrote a provocative article saying that for all practical purposes, AMU stands for Allah Miyan’s University. It acts like a divinely ordained sanctuary where the mere thought of reform is considered sacrilegious. Historically, the Ashrāf Muslims of Uttar Pradesh have exercised the right of ownership over the institution.
And Faizan Mustafa wrote a strong rebuttal to him saying the word ‘Muslim’ in AMU does not make it ‘anti-national’. All great minority institutions like St Stephen’s College in Delhi and Christian Medical College in Vellore are indeed national institutions. BHU similarly is not Bhagwan’s Hindu University; it too is a national university.
There has been an increased scrutiny of the workings of the state waqf boards of late – from Delhi to Telangana to Kashmir. The way waqf properties are structured, they are meant to serve the underprivileged among the Muslim community. They are one of the biggest urban landlords in India, but Pasmanda Muslims are not benefitting from it, wrote Amana Begam. There’s a need to revisit the very purpose of the waqf universe and find out whose interests they really serve.
With the benefit of hindsight and more data, it turns out that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has indeed been very competent in how she has steered the Indian economy through the turbulence of the pandemic and beyond, wrote Sharad Raghavan. Her critics would do well to be fair and take note.
Why is the BJP obsessively invoking Nehru, MK Gandhi and the freedom struggle, asked Vir Sanghvi. Especially because it often works to Rahul Gandhi’s benefit. It keeps him forever in the news and at the centre of the public debate.
New archaeological excavations, coupled with the evidence of Sri Lankan and Tamil sources, reveal that the Malayan king, Chandrabhanu, actually conquered part of Sri Lanka and battled with the armies of the Pandya kings of Tamil Nadu. His story reveals a great deal about the religious and political dynamics of this forgotten world, wrote Anirudh Kanisetti.
Do read this beautifully reported and written article by Monami Gogoi from Gujarat where she and photographer Praveen Jain walked along with a 9-year old white-robed and barefoot Jain Sadhvi who has left behind her family’s diamond empire. What drives little children to become Jain monks and nuns and take on an austere lifestyle?
|
