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What compels a person to strap a vest loaded with explosives onto his body and blow himself up in a crowded street? Scholars have answered this question by focusing on the pathology of the “terrorist mind” or the “brainwashing” practices of terrorist organizations. In Caravan of Martyrs, David Edwards argues that we need to understand the rise of suicide bombing in relation to the cultural beliefs and ritual practices associated with sacrifice. Before the war in Afghanistan began, the sacrificial killing of a sheep demonstrated a tribe’s desire for peace. After the Soviet invasion of 1979, as thousands of people were killed, sacrifice took on new meanings. The dead were venerated a...
Ever since he can remember, Animal has gone on all fours, the catastrophic result of what happened on That Night when, thanks to an American chemical company, the Apocalypse visited his slum. Now not quite twenty, he leads a hand-to-mouth existence with his dog Jara and a crazy old nun called Ma Franci, and spends his nights fantasising about Nisha, the daughter of a local musician, and wondering what it must be like to get laid. When a young American doctor, Elli Barber, comes to town to open a free clinic for the still suffering townsfolk - only to find herself struggling to convince them that she isn't there to do the dirty work of the 'Kampani' - Animal plunges into a web of intrigues, scams and plots with the unabashed aim of turning events to his own advantage. Compellingly honest, entertaining and entirely without self-pity, Animal's account lights our way into his dark world with flashes of pure joy - from the very first page all the way to the story's explosive ending. ANIMAL'S PEOPLE is a stunningly humane work of storytelling that takes us right to the heart of contemporary India.
Turdhead: The Fourth Notch is, most definitely, a spy novel. Dr. Bill William's challenging childhood is a link connecting Bill to a twisted journey that eventually joins the clandestine path of espionage. Bill learned very early to duck and cover in avoiding the swinging arms of his angry father but Bill remains resistant to describe himself as an abused child. Bill maintains that his dad was a good provider, didn't drink excessively and was very much the same as his buddies' dads-oil field roughnecks and rodeos. Both of bill's parents died, one month apart, when Bill was ten years old. Cancer swiftly took both and Bill's dad sucked on his Old Gold cigarettes to his last wet, rasping breath...
Amman is a travel writer on an assignment in Shimla. A happy-go-lucky guy that he is, Amman stumbles upon a girl named Ayesha who captures his heart and changes everything that he has ever known. Their attraction for each other turns into love that cannot be described in a few words, and both end up falling in love at the end of a road journey through the beautiful landscapes of Himachal. But things change between them when Amman vanishes and Ayesha leaves for Paris disheartened. Years later, their paths cross again, not once but twice. Will she accept the love that she has waited for all her life, or choose to tread her own path? When You’re Gone is a tale of self discovery, bliss, love and longing in a time where love has become a loaded word.
Akhil is a self-made man. He realizes the essence of honest hard work and true spirituality in gaining happiness and success in life at a very early age. With an unfair life, he finds himself orphaned at a tender age, but still meets his destiny with exemplary courage and brings out the best in him, despite hardships. As a child, he had to flee his hometown to escape from the clutches of an unfortunate fate. He is raised in a temple by a noble soul, Swami Mayank, whom Akhil respects like his Godfather. With his co-detective Bhuwan, Akhil is chosen by The Slumber Crime Agency to solve a case and unravel the mystery of a biological warfare. Akhil and Bhuwan have to hunt down great secrets in the baffling mystery they try to solve. If the young detective does not succeed, the entire city of Mumbai would perish of a disease. Akhil and Bhuwan are pitted against a dangerous gang of underworld criminals. Akhil and Bhuwan have only 24 hours to solve the case… Will Akhil and Bhuwan succeed? Will the young detectives have the courage to fight a dangerous gang of underworld criminals? What is spirituality in reality?
_______________ 'A boisterous tribute to her home town that crackles with the chaos of Pakistani political life' - The Times 'Deftly woven and provocative ... Shamsie's blistering humour and ear for dialogue scorches through their whirl of whisky and witticisms' - Observer 'You will notice very quickly that you're reading a book by someone who can write ... Above all, Kartography is a love story. And if you're not sniffling by, or in fact on, page 113, you're reading the wrong book' - Guardian _______________ BY THE ACCLAIMED WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018 SHORTLISTED FOR THE JOHN LLEWELLYN RHYS PRIZE _______________ Soul mates from birth, Karim and Raheen finish one another's ...
Appearing for the first time in English translation, In Freedom’s Shade is Anis Kidwai’s moving personal memoir of the first two years of nascent India. It is an activist’s record that reveals both the architecture of the violence during Partition as well as the efforts of ordinary citizens to bring the cycle of reprisal and retribution to a close. Beginning from the murder of her husband in October 1947, with a rare frankness, sympathy and depth of insight, Anis Kidwai tells the stories of the thousands who were driven away from their homelands in Delhi and its neighbouring areas by eviction or abduction or the threat of forced religious conversion. Of historical importance for its account of the activities of the Shanti Dal, the recovery of abducted women and the history of Delhi, In Freedom’s Shade also has an equal contemporary relevance. In part a delineation of the roots of the afflictions that beset Indian society and in part prophetic about the plagues that were to come, Anis Kidwai’s testament is an enduring reminder that memory without truth is futile; only when it serves the objective of reconciliation, does it achieve meaning and significance.
The feasibility and potential impact of so-called smart handguns has generated considerable public interest and debate. This report summarizes a June 2002 workshop at the National Academy of Engineering that examined three related issues: the state of technology for owner-authorized handguns; the role of product liability in the development and marketing of such firearms; and the potential impact of these smart guns on health and crime. Smart-gun technology has the potential to prevent unintended or undesirable uses of handguns, such as accidental shootings; the shooting of police officers by assailants using the officers' own weapons; suicides; homicides with stolen handguns; and other gun-related crimes. However, information presented at the workshop suggests that considerably more research is needed to bring a reliable and commercially viable product to the marketplace. The report also notes that the impact of smart-guns will be influenced by legal issues, human behavior, economic conditions, and other factors.