Cover Story

Mandela: Master of all he surveyed

Professor Tom Lodge discusses Mandela's role in leading South Africa to democracy and in helping to build an inclusive nation

What Would Bapu Have Done?

Tushar Gandhi imagines what the Mahatma's reaction would have been to the conflicts that continue to sear the country

Guru mantra

Renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, has touched millions of lives by way of his efforts in the areas of self development and conflict resolution. The smiling guru leaves no room for doubt on the power of peace and non-vi

Burma's Voice of Hope

Alan Clements draws the contrast between Burma's benign and courageous apostle of peace that is Aung San Suu Kyi, and the despotic juggernaut she is up against

Irom Lady

In that frail body, given to 10 years of continuous fasting, is contained an enormous spirit- one that the state, its might and its army with all its 'special powers' can't dampen. TSI salutes Irom Sharmila chanu

What I Would Say to Osama bin Laden

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese monk in the Zen tradition, who worked tirelessly for peace during the Vietnam War, rebuilding villages destroyed by the hostilities. Following an anti-war lecture tour in the United States, he was not allowed back in h

A Matter of 'Haves' and 'Have-Nots'

Poverty, accompanied by cognitive dissonance, is the root cause of a conflict, points out Professor Piotr Balcerowicz, the last man to interview Ahmad Shah Massoud, the famed 'Lion of Panjshir'. He also highlights the role that politicians play in u

Violence is an indication of failure

Never a dispassionate observer, Robert Young Pelton (RYP) often found himself in dangerous places in his quest to learn the heart of the matter. He shares his perspective on war and its creation, through expeditions like Battle of Qala-i-Jangi in Afg

The lone ranger

A month after 9/11, reporter Taysir Alony managed the scoop that many others would have given an arm and a leg for: an exclusive interview - up, close and personal - with the most wanted man of the times then and now, Osama bin Laden. Representing CN

"What is lacking is political will..."

Mahasveta Devi considers language a weapon, one that she deploys to blazing effect both as part of her prolific writing career, and as tireless champion of the vulnerable and the voiceless. Winner of the Jnanapith and the Ramon Magasasay awards among

A moderate Maoist

Santosh Rana, the firebrand Naxal leader of the sixties, led the people in a large part of Bengal-Bihar-Orissa to "liberation". Critical of current-day Maoists, he expresses how people's revolt is at times inevitable...

In no man's land

Many 'peace talks' have come and gone, but the valley still sits on an edge. The Kashmiris have, literally, left no stone unturned to make their freedom aspirations heard, yet Javed Mir, a former militant commander and co-founder of Jammu Kashmir Lib

The sword and beyond

Kanwarpal Singh, a one-time aspiring IPS officer, took to arms after Operation Bluestar. Once an active member of Babbar Khalsa, he gave-up militancy and joined Dal Khalsa to espouse the cause of a sovereign Sikh state

Straight shooter

With civilian tolerance barely hanging by a thread, the Kashmir valley sits on a powder keg. Syed Salahuddin, the head of Hizbul Mujahideen, tells TSI that the only way to diffuse it is to give the Kashmiris what they want while clearing the air abou

Of War and Peace

Mohandas Gandhi might well have been the father of the nation, but to many of his children in the east, especially in Bengal, he was a father who had betrayed one of their own

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  Sep 26, 2010
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  Sep 19, 2010