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M J Akbar: BIOGRAPHY |
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M J Akbar's Books |
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Book Chapters & Reviews, etc. |
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New Book Published by M J Akbar
"Fratelli di Sangue"
Italian Translated version
of Blood Brothers
 ISBN
978-88-545-0186-7
Pagine 352 Pages 352
Euro 18,50 Euro 18.50
Collana: Le tavole d'oro Series: The tables gold
Fratelli di Sangue
Published by Neri Pozza
Click for Pics & More on
Books
AT THE BOOK LAUNCH
OF FRATELLI DE SANGUE IN ROME: |
"Blood
Brothers" is first book to be translated into Italian. The novel 'Fratelli
de Sangue' was presented in Rome at the headquarters of Adnkronos.
The
video appeared
on all major Radio and
television channels in Rome. |
|
 Shade of Swords by MJ Akbar
The spirit of
jihad entered Islam at Badr. It is a spirit that inspires among
believers a heroism beyond the bounds of reason; equally, it
inspires dread among those outside the fold of Allah. Its root
lies in the Arabic jehad, meaning exertion or striving. Its
resonance comes from the nature of this strife: jihad is the
holy war, the war of righteousness, the struggle against
tyranny. It is a passion indifferent to the fate of battle
because the jihadi wins either way: in the long run, the war
will be won; and in the short run, death will bring martyrdom
and paradise. Simultaneously, the strife is also to cleanse one’s
soul, for no martyrdom is possible without that inner purity.
-
Read Chapter 1 & 2
SHADE
OF SWORDS
Buy
Here
|
 Kashmir
Behind The Vale by MJ Akbar
Of Human, and Inhuman, Bondage:
The poet did not quibble:
Agar firdaus bar ru-e zamin ast
Hami ast o-hami ast o-hami ast.
If there is a Paradise on earth, he said after seeing Kashmir, it is this, it is this, it is this. One problem, however, with any Paradise is the envy it tends to arouse. Kashmir has been coveted by a succession of armies, at least from the time of the Aryans Many came to conquer, but only a few were able to stay: Kashmir absorbed those few who broke the forbidding defensive wall of the Himalayas. The rawaj of Kashmir, its culture, enveloped the outsider instead of the reverse. The Kashmiri identity was always the dominant reality, making the Emperor Jahangir remark that he could not distinguish a Kashmiri Muslim from a Hindu. But he could distinguish the Kashmiri from the Mughal.
-
Read Chapter 1 & 2
KASHMIR: BEHIND THE VALE
Buy
here
|
 Riot
After Riot by M J Akbar
Law and order have two enemies: the Full Truth and the Complete Lie.
When people realize the truth, they start revolutions. When they are
fed lies they begin meaningless riots. Lies are the staple of every
communal disturbance. They are spread by people who have a stake in
this stupid violence, who have something to gain out of impoverished
Hindus and Muslims fighting each other. Businessmen, traders,
politicians, goondas, leaders of ‘cultural organizations’(like the
Hindu Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh —RSS) feed the people with lies,
watch these lies become convictions in people’s hearts, watch the
passions build up, and then these leaders actually set up the events
which will provoke a conflagration.
-
Read Chapter
RIOT
AFTER RIOT
Buy
here
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Nehru : The
Making of India |
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 Nehru
: The Making of India by M J Akbar
Nehrus are believed to have migrated, Noar, or Naru, in Badgam
district and the other near the small town of Tral. Another
claim says that the family came from the Rainwari area on the
outskirts of Srinagar. (A famous family, as is well known,
suddenly gets many ancestors.)
-
Read Chapter
NEHRU: THE MAKING OF INDIA
Buy
here
|
 India:
The Siege Within by M J Akbar
Traces the history of India since the Partition in 1947, and
analyzes the current political situation and India's future :
Amazon.com Synopsis
India: The Siege Within is the account of achievements of
India’s secular democracy as well as its vulnerability and
failures. I've elaborated the origins and nature of the strains
on Indian unity which have deep roots in history.
- Read
Chapter
INDIA: THE SIEGE WITHIN
Buy
here
|
 Byline
by M J Akbar
A collection of Bylines
"Journalism
is the only profession that permits you to travel
without making you a travelling salesman. You become, in
a way, a travelling purchaser...Words are the currency
of this transaction: You buy images with words, and then
you pass them with words as well" - M.J. Akbar
BYLINE
Buy
Here
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Blood Brothers by M J Akbar
(Last Published 2006)
Blood Brothers
| MJ Books & BB Reviews
Prayaag
My grandfather died while I was playing on his chest, that was
my first stroke of luck. My elder aunt, dark, wise, hunched
against her corner of the courtyard, promptly declared that his
soul, seething with miracles, had passed into me.
-
Read Chapter & Author Interviews
Read MJ
Book Chapters & Reviews, etc.
If
you've read the Books,
send
your Reviews
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M J AKBAR SPEAKS
AT INDIA BOOK CLUB, SINGAPORE ON OCTOBER 2, 2009 |
On October 2nd, 2009, MJ Akbar was in Singapore for a book talk at The Tanglin
Club.
Read
Rinkoo Bhowmik's Interview & some responses from the members of the
Audience at Singapore that evening.
(Click here) |
|
ARC OF
TURBULENCE LECTURE AT IDRC |
M.J. Akbar: in the Arc of Turbulence from the Nile to the Ganges —
Implications for Geo-Politics
On August 28, 2008,
IDRC
launched its year-long series of presentations by distinguished
Indian thinkers. The series marked the 25th anniversary
of the opening of
IDRC’s
South Asia regional office in New Delhi.
M.J. Akbar’s
wide-ranging talk set the broad historical context for the series.
His topic was “India in the Arc of Turbulence from the Nile to the
Ganges — Implications for Geo-Politics.” His presentation tackled
such sweeping themes as imperialism, democracy, religion, poverty,
war, and terrorism. He spoke about the evolution of India and
Pakistan, and about Afghanistan.
Listen to
excerpts from M.J. Akbar’s presentation (62 minutes)
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BYLINES BY M J AKBAR
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SEARCH with keywords...... |
CURRENT BYLINE :
Unicorns in Kabul
By M J AKBAR | November
14, 2009
At
11 a.m. on 11.11 a cannon boomed in London. For the uninitiated it was
a puzzle edged with apprehension. For the British the moment was 91
years old. It marked the end of the bloodiest — till then — conflict
in history. The last soldier died only seconds before truce as
officers continued to waste “inferior” lives till the last gasp. War
can become an addiction.
-
Posted on November 14, 2009 - 
Sex & Scams : How we turn a blind eye
By M J Akbar
| November 8, 2009
Our Indian response to a scandalous mess is neat and
categorised. Cash and sex are the north and south pole of mass
interest, each with a sprawling magnetic field. We divide the
hemispheres with the equator of logic.
-
Posted on November 8, 2009 -
Davutoglu’s
Doctrine
By M J AKBAR | November
7, 2009
When Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul visits India
early next year he will be representing a nation that has reinvented
its geostrategic role through an independent foreign policy in barely
eight years.
-
Posted on November 7, 2009 -
Indira : Great heroes make great mistakes
By M J Akbar
| November 1, 2009
(Times of India Column)
Gandhi gave us freedom, Nehru protected our independence
and Indira Gandhi saved the nation. Is that too neat to be correct?
-
Posted on November 01, 2009 -
An Indira Gandhi
Moment
By M J AKBAR | October
31, 2009
If so many male members of the Delhi establishment were not
irredeemably bald, the loudest sound in the capital would be that of
hair being torn in frustration. Those who have rescued their pates
with American wigs [probably made with recycled hair from Tirupati] or
artificial implants are not going to risk their camouflage by an
injudicious display of temperament. So the prevailing noise in Delhi
is the sound of gnashing teeth. The despair is over the upsurge of
Naxalite violence.
- Posted on October
31, 2009 -
The Musahars of
Gaya
By PRAYAAG AKBAR
(SPECIAL REPORT)
Vilas Ravi Raj, a
Musahar, has brought his son Dileep, a shivering six-year old with
bandages across his face like a zebra crossing, to the Anugrah Narain
Magadh Medical College Hospital. The boy’s grandmother has walked with
them from the village of Utlibari, around thirty kilometres away, in
the same district of Gaya, Bihar.
Posted on October 28, 2009
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Weak opposition and a sad state of affairs
By M J Akbar
| October 25, 2009
(Times of India Column)
Rahul Gandhi is the perfect post-ideological politician.
Those who think he is preaching to the choir are missing the point: a
significant chunk of the electorate is tired of grand creeds.
- Posted on October 25 -
A gift for the past
By M J AKBAR | October
24, 2009
When the ageing but still incomparable Groucho Marx, now trundling
into his eighties, was asked what he most wanted as a birthday gift,
his reply was succinct: “Last year.” Which is the year from their past
that the BJP and Shiv Sena would most like as a gift? 2001. Since then
it has been a steady trot downhill.
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