The following article appeared in daily Dawn, June 09, 2007 Why the Zionists believe they are the ‘chosen people’ By M. Shahid Alam NO idea has played a more seminal role in the recent history of Jewish and Christian Zionism than the Jewish doctrine of divine election or chosenness. Since this doctrine is the cornerstone of Zionism, divine sanction for Jewish uniqueness has been inseparable from Israeli exceptionalism and Israeli history. At first, political Zionism had little to recommend itself aside from the mythic allure of the Promised Land. Most Jews greeted the project alternatively with consternation and derision. They could instantly sense that the creation of a Jewish state would give an impetus to anti-Semitism in Europe; the project also struck most of them as a fantastic utopia with little chance of success. The success of the Zionist plan required three steps: persuading Jews to abandon their homes in Europe for the hazards of colonising a backward land, wresting Palestin...
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Sadequain’s pictorial rendition of Ghalib.
"Dard-e-dil likhoo’n kab tak, jaa’oon unn ko dikhlaa’oon Ungliyan figaar apni, khaama khoo’n-chikaan apna" -Mirza Asad Ullah Khan Ghalib An excerpt from Kamila Shamsie's Salt and Saffron “…On the walls, Sadequain’s pictorial rendition of one of Ghalib’s verses. The illustration showed a paper, half filled with Urdu words. In the foreground, a pair of hands with bloodied fingertips. One hand held a red-tipped quill, poised to scratch a finger which dripped blood. The accompanying couplet was one I could recite at the age of three: Dard-e-dil likhoo’n kab tak, jaa’oon unn ko dikhlaa’oon Ungliyan figaar apni, khama khoo’n-chikaan apna Conventional translations would render it something like this: ‘How long shall I write of my aching heart? Come! I will show my Beloved/ My wounded fingers, my pen drpping blood.”
A question.
Can dreams be disposed off. I do not why but this question struck me today from absolutely nowhere. I do not know the answer. If dreams cannot be disposed off, can they be replace by other, 'better' dreams. But 'better' seems to be a relative term over here. What is 'better'. Do not all of us have our very own criterion to define this term. Or is it time which make things appear 'better' or 'worse' to us. What should we do with questions that do not have answers. Are there any unanswerable questions in the first place. "Sometimes questions are the answers!" P.S. I have not used question marks throughout the post. Why. Let's think about it.