nazeemonline

   When AR Rahman and Rasool Pookutty broke decade-old jinx in Indian Cinema, millions of hearts cried Jai Ho joining rest of the music lovers across the world.  True to the song Jai Ho or “Be victorious,” the duo has emerged victorious in the world’s biggest film competition. Though Rahman and Rasool have Satyajit Ray and Bhanu Athaiya as their predecessors, unlike them the duo won the Oscar in competitive fields. So their win has glory and it stands apart. Ray was awarded a honourary Oscar in 1992 for Lifetime Achievement. Bhanu Athaiya bagged it for her costume designing in the Richard Attenborough movie    Gandhi in 1982, the first Indian to win an Oscar. And now after 17 years of Oscar drought AR Rahman and Rasool Pookutty have brought top Oscar awards to their country making each Indian filled with pride. AR Rahman has proved many times his musical genius through variety of songs and albums he has done. Yet, many from his music fraternity are r...

W ar is a despised word in modern times. Because, modern man believes war is fought by barbarians. They love armed conflict than war. The most recent conflict which makes news is the ongoing Israeli killings in Gaza Strip, which is known as world’s most impoverished place. At the same time, a similar conflict is going on in Sri Lanka. While Gaza is in all news and discussions, no one, except India and Sri Lanka, seem concerned about the worsening situation there. As the bloodshed in two places mock at the strides humanity has made so far, rather than armed conflict war is the better term to define the same. And we are the silent spectators of those two one-sided wars that have been going on simultaneously in two different parts of the world. The reason for sidelining Lanka issue varies from geographical to political overtones. Yet, both have an unequal parallelism. Palestinians in Gaza and Tamil minority in Sri Lanka are fighting to gain acceptance. Whil...

W ith just weeks left to step down from the White House, US President George W. Bush is facing unexpected damages from America’s uneasy ex-enemies, Russia and China. While Russia dampened the President’s dreams of enjoying a military victory for his ally in the “new eastern Europe,” Georgia, China killed the joy of witnessing US monopoly in the worldís largest track and field game show. Russia should be thankful to Georgia. If Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili had not dared to bomb South Ossetia, how could Russia have been able to make known the entire world that Russia has been risen from its own ashes. And Phoenix-like Russia is the nightmare American President George W. Bush has to carry back home when he leaves White House in September. Chinese muscle power comes only secondary. The Bush administration ordered an inquiry into the game debacle of US athletes in Beijing Olympics. But nothing could be done against the military mileage that Russia has...

B orders burn. That’s what history speaks. And that’s what going on in contemporary world scenario. Ethnic divide, religious sentiments, political motives, separatist movements could make any border vulnerable to attacks. At the most beautiful, the so-called Paradise on Earth, the Jammu and Kashmir state in India, all these factors come together making it the most restive place in the world. As beauty brings unwanted attention, this place is always doomed to boil, despite its freezing temperature. As in the pre-independence period, the region is facing continuous security threat even in the post-independence scenario. Kashmir is particular to India as a border state. The neighbouring country Pakistan, too wants a share of Kashmir. The geographical positioning as well as religious sentiments of the place makes two nations vie for its possession. But now the issue has risen beyond border politics. At present Kashmir is burning over a land row. It began when the peace ...

I f just for three votes a government decides to name an airport in the name of a small party leader’s father, why can’t we also try our luck in politics? This question might have propped up in the minds of every Indian and those who heard about the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) offer to Ajit Singh, the leader of Rashtriya Lok Dal. Many a time, Indian psyche has been put into this “irresistible pressure” of joining politics. But they know it’s a platform where angels fear to tread in, but only the most “intelligent” can survive. July 17 will be an unforgettable day in the life of Ajit Singh. Congress swooped down to Ajit Singh’s demand of naming Amausi airport in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state in the name of his late father and former prime minister Chaudhari Charan Singh. However, it is not difficult to understand the realpolitik behind this political charity of Congress party. Congress is simply paying back to Ajit Singh for what th...

P olitics always means the unexpected. Though the citizens are not part of that uncertainty bound drama, knowingly or unknowingly, everyone becomes a party to that, indulging in speculations and calculations. This was proved on Tuesday, when the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in India proved its majority in parliament. The unusual smile that was seen the day before the crucial trust vote, on the face of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a rarity, spoke of that unexpected victory awaiting UPA government. When the Left parties withdrew their support to the government on July 8 on the grounds of opposition to Indo-US nuclear deal, not even a splash of an idea of the government seeking trust vote came to them. They were under the impression that the government, which has become a minority government, will quit on moral grounds and go for snap polls. But the unexpected happened. The Congress party confidently stood for the deal and decided to prove majority in...