If you were to ever ask any political or social commentator in India about the possibility of the whole country being ruled by a single despotic ruler, the chances are that you would get a resounding ‘NO’ as the answer. We are too diverse for any single ideology to convince each and every part of India.
Once home to the flourishing Indus Valley Civilisation and encompassing one of the most fertile regions on Earth, Punjab in South Asia is home to over 140 million people. Punjabis also make up one of the largest ethnic groups in the world and have large diaspora communities in Britain, the USA and Canada. Punjab has seen the armies of Alexander the Great, Ghaznavid garrisons, Mughal militaries and the British Raj. It is this complex history that has created a distinct Punjabi culture: it is a fusion of Indian, Arab and Persian traditions and religions.
Traditionally, the festival of Diwali (the festival of lights), is said to spiritually signify the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair. However, during the 1802 festival, a fierce battle, known as the Battle of Poona, erupted near Pune, India, between the rival factions of the Maratha Continue Reading
‘No, tell me where you’re really from.’ Not as recent a phenomenon as we may think… Ata Rahman looks at everyday racism by exploring his own family’s roots.
Steven Wears writes a potted history of the events leading up to and following the partition in August 1947.
