By A. G. Noorani* President Barack Hussein Obama returned to Britain a bust of Winston Churchill which George W. Bush had placed on his desk when he was President, for reasons not hard to guess. As easy as it is, indeed, to guess why his successor had it sent back. His Kenyan grandfather, Hussein Onyango […]
By A. G. Noorani* Abstract In all the annals of predictions of dire consequences which came true there is scarcely any parallel to Azad’s in its wealth of detail all of which came true and haunt us to this day. Only a truly great intellect and a man whose erudition gave him those insights could
Muhammad Ali Jinnah meant every word of what he said on 11 August 1947. He was opposed to an Islamic State as understood by its protagonists in Pakistan like Abul Ala Maududi relying on Abul Hasan al-Marwardi and others but of which Jinnah was innocent – he did not demand because he wanted to establish
Jinnah’s 11 August, 1947 Speech Read More »
By A. G. Noorani* Abstract Any settlement must conform to three tests and abide by four limits. It must be acceptable to all the three parties – India, Pakistan and Kash- mir, all of whom have limited choices. India cannot accept Kashmir’s secession from the Union nor Pakistan the LoC as an international bor- der.
The Kashmir Question: Penultimate Phase Read More »
By A.G. Noorani Abstract The agreement of 1963 is, thus, based on a history that stretched to the 19th century. If India had consulted the records in the spirit as Pakistan did, an accord could have been reached in April 1960. For India, as it did for Pakistan in 1963, the McDonald’s Note of 14
By A. G. Noorani* Abstract The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State by Noah Feldman; Princeton University Press; 189 pages; $ 22.95, Islam and the Secular state: Negotiating the Future of Sharia by Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim; Harvard University Press; 324 pages; $ 35. (Four features mark the quest for an Islamic State. First, it
The Islamic State: A Mirage Read More »
By A. G. Noorani* Abstract. The concept of jihad has been distorted as much by extremists professing Islam as it has by detractors of the faith in the West. Aggression is proscribed by the Quran and the only kind of war permitted is one in self-defence. Extremists, however, de-contextualize verses of the Quran and base their
Jihad Vs Terrorism Read More »
By A.G. Noorani[1] Abstract During the Jinnah-Mountbatten meeting at Lahore on I November 1947, the latter proposed: “The Governments of India and Pakistan agree that, where the ruler of a State does not belong to the community to which the majority of his subjects belong, and where the State has not acceded to that Dominion
Jinnah & the Nizam of Hyderabad – A Tragic Liaison Read More »
By A.G.Noorani[1] Abstract The Haroon Report is the most neglected document in all the discourse on the Pakistan movement, but is second in significance only to the Lahore Resolution which it was intended to supplement. We have travelled a long way since. But even in the altered situation India and Pakistan can reflect on that
By A G. NOORANI[1] Abstract Neither the British Government’s statement of 3 June 1947, the Partition Plan which, both, the League and the Indian National Congress accepted, nor the Indian Independence Act, 1947, which they had vetted, contained even a perfunctory reference to the minorities. They were confined to the consequences of the partition – the
Jinnah & Muslims of India Read More »
