Pensha

The news of Indian soldiers mutilated by the Pakistani army has set off a fresh wave of protests among the countrymen. The daughter of Head Constable of Border Security Force, Prem Sagar, wants 50 Pakistanis to be beheaded as revenge for her father’s death. A long round of Pakistan bashing and war-hate will occupy the news space for a few days to come. In the midst of this, a few peaceniks, like Tehmina Dadyseth, will try to talk about people and humanism. Before the hate mail for Tehmina starts, here’s a disclaimer. She is the heroine of Anuja Chauhan’s Baaz, a war romance, if one can categorise it. Daughter of a retired General, Tehmina aka Tinka, doesn’t support war. Her love interest, Ishaan Faujdaar (Shaanu), is a flying officer in the Indian Air Force. Quite like ‘maverick’ (Tom Cruise in Top Gun), he believes in his duty to the nation. Until his and Tinka’s views clash and, make us, the readers, squirm. Unlike her other books, which too had an element of conflict in the plot...

Radicalism. This one word is the core of Y — a new play co-written and co-directed by Shrirang Godbole and Vibhawari Deshpande. An Indo-German collaboration, in which Shrirang and Vibhawari worked with Lutz Hubner, Y takes a strong stand against radicalism and the extremist ideology that is being strongly felt around us. This or That Talking about the play, Vibhawari says, “It’s about a youngster who is contemplating the path of violence. He is standing at a crossroads and has to make a choice — this or that.” “Through this play, we have tried to show the process of radicalisation — what is going on inside the boy’s head,” adds Shrirang. The play, which premieres today, is a Maharashtra Cultural Centre’s production, and will be staged at Jyotsna Bhole Sabhagruha. The play has four versions, including the Marathi one. Says Shrirang, “The German production will be staged next year in September. The first one to be staged is in Marathi, followed by a Kannada version. In the nea...

Journalist and author Annie Zaidi voices her concerns over triple talaq and the Uniform Civil Code Annie Zaidi, noted for her works like Known Turf: Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales, Love Stories # 1 to 14, makes it clear that the fight for the abolition of triple talaq has been led by Muslim women, before politicians jumped into the fray. She also tells us that the core issue is economic rights for women. Excerpts from an interview: Women at the fore “Triple talaq is NOT an issue raised by the Narendra Modi government. This is an issue that Muslim women’s organisations like Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Aandolan (BMMA) in Mumbai have been talking about for decades. It is a pity that the issue has been hijacked by right wing groups, especially by male politicians! After all, the fight was being led from within the community, by Muslim women. They would have prevailed, sooner or later. As early as November 2016, under pressure from within the community, the Muslim Personal La...

Historian and author, Rana Safvi shares her views on the triple talaq imbroglio, and the social context in which it was allowed Triple talaq often makes to the discussion table of the polity and society. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the Muslim community to not politicise the issue and a few ministers making uninformed statements, the debate doesn’t stay on the course. There is no real understanding of the rights of married Muslim women and what exactly the Islamic faith promises them. To understand the subject a little more clearly, we chat up Delhi-based historian Rana Safvi, who has recently authored a book called Tales from the Quran and Hadith. What is Hadith? And, what does it say about triple talaq? Hadith is based on the spoken word of the Prophet and wasn’t documented till as many as a hundred years after his passing away and their authenticity depends on their chain of transmission. The Hadith of the Quran says that of all the lawful acts the most detesta...