Founding Editor: Daya Varma (1929-2015)
Editors: Vinod Mubayi (New York) and Raza Mir (New Jersey).
Editorial Board: Ram Puniyani and Irfan Engineer (Mumbai); Pervez Hoodbhoy (Islamabad); Dolores Chew (Montreal); Vamsi Vakulabharanam (Amherst); Ajay Bhardwaj (Vancouver).
Circulation/website: Feroz Mehdi (On behalf of Alternatives, Montreal).
EDITORIAL: MAD KING TRUMP REFUSES TO QUIT, NETANYAHU COMPOUNDS THE FOLLY AND MODI SILENTLY SWALLOWS INSULTS
Vinod Mubayi
Analysts of the US-Israeli unprovoked and blatantly illegal attack on Iran on Feb 28, while US-Iranian negotiations brokered by Oman were ongoing, have concluded that the assault has failed to achieve any of its objectives. Iran, despite suffering significant losses, is now acknowledged to be in a stronger position compared to the assailants as its closure of the Strait of Hormuz threatens to tank the world economy. The refusal of the narcissist Trump to admit defeat is compounded by the efforts of the genocidal villain Netanyahu to prolong the conflict while nations from Asia to Africa and even Europe suffer the consequences.
Read more…DR. HARI SHARMA FOUNDATION COMMEMORATES SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITY WINNING THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Harinder Mahil
The South Asian community won the right to vote in British Columbia on April 2, 1947. Dr. Hari Sharma Foundation commemorated this important day by organizing a Community Banquet on April 4 in Surrey where it honoured the Committee of Progressive Pakistani Canadians (CPPC) and a Montreal based Community Activist Dolores Chew for their significant contribution to the community.
Read more…WHITHER ANNIHILATION OF CASTE?
Ram Puniyani
As we will celebrate Babasaheb Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on 14th April (2026), it is also time to think as to what is the status of major teaching of Babasaheb about ‘annihilation of caste’. Caste-Varna system has been central to the practices of Hindu society, even before the term Hindu started being used. Our Holy scriptures did mandate strict Varna-Jati rules, starting from Vedas to Manu smriti and many other scriptures, respected here. Lord Gautam Buddha was the first major voice against this system.
Read more…IN MEMORIAM: DEEPAK KAPUR
Deepak Kapur passed away on April 11, 2026. He had served as a Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at the University of New Mexico since 1998, Deepak was a prominent member of the diasporic Indian left in the United States, and served as the first President of the SINGH Foundation. Below, we present some memories of Deepak from Vinod Mubayi. A memorial page on Deepak has been set up at https://singhfoundation.org/dkapur.html. His colleagues at UNM note that “he is remembered by friends and colleagues for an illustrious career in teaching and a deep intellectual curiosity that motivated him until the end.”
Read more…“I WANT TO BE AN AUTONOMOUS WOMAN,’ I KEPT SAYING TO EVERYBODY”: ROMILA THAPAR ON LIFE, TEACHING AND WHAT LED HER TO HISTORY
Hartosh Singh Bal
In the historian Romila Thapar’s extensive new memoir, Just Being, published by Seagull Books, she looks back at her childhood, education in London, decades of teaching, travels to archaeological sites in Asia and beyond, and much else. Hartosh Singh Bal, The Caravan’s executive editor, speaks to Thapar in this interview about the book, her early years, teaching at the Centre for Historical Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University, reactions to her work as a public intellectual, and her approach to history.
Read more…ASHA BHOSLE – THE “OTHER” MANGESHKAR WHO CAPTURED PAKISTAN’S HEART
Madiha Arsalan Haneef
The passing of Asha Bhosle at the age of 92 feels like the silencing of a shared cultural heartbeat. In the drawing rooms of Islamabad and the bustling tea stalls of Lahore, the news of her departure on April 12, 2026, has been met with a profound, quiet grief. For the Pakistani connoisseur, Asha was Pakistan’s and India’s collective memory: a voice that required no visa to occupy our homes, our weddings, and our spiritual moments.
Read more…THE INSURGENCY THREATENING TO DERAIL A U.S.-PAKISTAN PACT
Elian Peltier, Zia ur-Rehman, Christiaan Triebert and Pablo Robles
Standing in the Oval Office in September, Pakistan’s Army chief gave President Trump a wooden box filled with minerals and gems — a nod to the lucrative deals U.S. companies could make in Pakistan, where mining has long been dominated by China.
Read more…BOOK REVIEW: DREAMS OF A BETTER WORLD
Aditya G
Tariq Mehmood’s latest novel follows the radicalization of a Pakistani man after his emigration to Britain.
“When this Saleem returns to Pakistan, he realizes that he has become a chimera of nationalities, despised for being Pakistani in Britain, estranged as a Valaiti (foreigner) in Pakistan.”
Read more… Top