As I see Eid wishes circulate around the Internet in the form of Facebook updates and Twitter posts, especially by people who are not Muslims, I too send out a wish: May this festival inspire all these well-wishers to make an attempt to learn more about Islam, and about Muslims. Why do I wish this?
Last week, we began our new module titled ‘Peace and Conflict in Southasia’ with Dr. Sudha Ramachandran who came from Bangalore full of energy and things to share. In the first two days, we got a pretty rich overview of ethno-political conflicts in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Burma and the Maldives. What was particularly enriching
There are some lectures that you move you in ways that only intimate conversations can. I am referring to Prof Alpaslan Ozerdem’s last lecture with us. It was a Thursday morning. He was talking about post-conflict reconstruction in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There was something special and sacred about this class. Alpaslan spoke from a place
You must have experienced this – a moment when the words on your page suddenly begin to seem more than words; they produce the feeling that something long shut has opened up to be aired out, cleaned up, emptied perhaps, for sunshine to flow in, unabashed. I felt like this on a day in July
“The mountain stood silent and watched as millions circled around with prayers on their lips and hopes in their hearts. It murmured some blessings that blew with the breeze and comforted the tired feet of pilgrims who came from far away to cleanse themselves and rekindle their light.” I typed that out on my mobile
According to a September 15 report by Shruti Dhapola on www.firstpost.com, Narendra Modi, one of India’s prime ministerial candidates for the forthcoming general elections, said at a public gathering that we must dream of exporting our own weapons. That is a very disturbing thought. Weapons are perhaps the last of all things that India should
I am in the second week of my Peace and Conflict Studies course in Pondicherry, and it’s an amazing feeling being here, with all these beautiful people from everywhere. I haven’t had the opportunity of studying on an international program before, so it is quite exciting to experience this. When I reached Pondicherry tired and
Gruppeoppgaven spiser opp hver eneste dag for tiden, og selv om min gruppe enda har en lang vei å gå begynner jeg å se lyset i enden av tunellen. I går leverte jeg og min gruppe levere inn første utkast til seminarlederne, i morgen får vi kommentarer på den. Videre blir det nok enda noen
Midt oppi studier og gruppeoppgave flyr hverdagen avgårde, samtidig som vi begynner å innse at det går mot slutten. Til helgen er det kun tre uker igjen av oppholdet vårt i India, og jeg er ikke klar for å dra helt enda. Det er fort å glemme hverdagen midt i alle større eventer, så jeg
I løpet av det ti uker lange oppholdet i India får vi en langhelg, og nå er både den og halvveis-i-India-dagen passert. Vi var sju jenter som ikke hadde så store ambisjoner annet enn å komme seg litt bort og se noe annet en Pondicherry. Noen dager før helga bestilte vi enveisbilletter til Kochi i
