Hindu Muslim

Nobody expected the liberation of India and birth of Pakistan to be so bloody - it was supposed to be an answer to the dreams of Muslims and Hindus who had been ruled by the British for centuries. Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi's protégé and the political leader of India, believed that Indians were an inherently nonviolent, peaceful people. Pakistan's founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was a secular lawyer, not a firebrand.

You may be angry at God, or not believe in him at this time. Or maybe you believe in God, but have been hurt. Maybe you are a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or of some other faith. You may be in a different place altogether, that even you cannot define… Regardless, my friend, of how you are feeling or where you are at, the God of the bible – from the first to the last book – welcomes you, even ‘implores’ you to ask: ‘Who is Jesus?’ I have had no formal instruction in the Bible, nor am I very clear on where I stand on many theological issues. I am, however, a follower of Jesus, ...

In the fiction SHIKARAS IN THE RAIN, Cyril Mukalel uses characters’ similarities in spite of their cultural differences to explore what it is to be human. The images, fragrances, and sounds of Kashmir in the 1990s give texture and realism to the story of Saraswati, a Kashmiri Hindu girl. A burka abruptly replaces her innocence and childhood, when a group of Islamic terrorists infiltrate Kashmir from Pakistan and abduct her while she is on her way home from school. Her ill-fated circumstance couldn’t be predicted by the events incited when a daring and carefree young Indian soldier falls...

India, 1857. A revolution against the East India Company has engulfed the nation for months. Mirza Khan is a victim of the conflict, and it has left him imprisoned at the hands of British captors. He has lost everything: his family, his land, and his love. All that remains are memories of a time forgotten. However, Mirza has one battle left to face as the date of his execution draws nearer, and it is a struggle that will push him to the brink. Mirza will have a choice: will he go quietly into the night, or will he roar like a lion one last time?

Our great prophets had a vision, a profound experience of the divine. Each shared that vision with the people of the time, in the language of their era. Illiterate audiences undoubtedly appreciated and stood in awe of these human interpretations of God. These ancient and profound descriptions of the divine have since been interpreted by holy men and women—as well as many kooks and zealots who not only claimed to speak for God but who claimed they were God. Science then added to our religious knowledge placing us in a unique historical position to exercise our freedom of spiritual choice ...

The name Gandhi towers above every other in the political landscape of India for very good reasons. The “Soul” of modern India—Mahatma Gandhi— bore that last name; India’s first and only female prime minister or head of state—Indira Gandhi—married into the name; and Rajiv Gandhi reluctantly made it into politics and became the Prime Minister of India as a Gandhi. They left positive legacies, yet they were assassinated by extremists with exclusive and twisted agendas. And as it turned out, their deaths contributed to the advancement of humanity. What was it about these three ...