North India’s Persian- and Urdu-speaking aristocracy and literati, known as the Ashraafia or noble-born of putative foreign ancestors, was overly...

Let me begin by tracing the origins of the burqa. Contrary to what the Islamists say and which a very...

The 9/11 2001 terrorist attacks ordered by Al-Qaeda on several targets representing American political, financial and military power are conventionally...

Ishtiaq Ahmed on the ties that connect Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor to a small town in Pakistani Punjab

Ishtiaq Ahmed explores the magical collaboration between music director Madan Mohan and song writer Raja Mehdi Ali Khan

Ishtiaq Ahmed examines the work of two prominent Punjabis in Bollywood, one from Chakwal and the other from Jhelum

In the tenth part of his series, Ishtiaq Ahmed tells the stories of stars that shone brightly in Bollywood, but...

Ishtiaq Ahmed examines the work of two of Punjab's most accomplished sons who graced the silver screen

Ishtiaq Ahmed on the role played in the Indian film industry by three directors produced by Lahore

Ishtiaq Ahmed shares the testimony and lived experience of Partition from left-wing artist Rana Muhammad Azhar Khan

Ishtiaq Ahmed reviews a compilation of writings which grapple with communalism - a persistent phenomenon in South Asia

Ishtiaq Ahmed on a work which highlights a history often overlooked - that of Muslims who questioned Partition

Ishtiaq Ahmed reviews two books and a play, showing how different classes experienced 1947 and its aftermath

Ishtiaq Ahmed continues his exploration of the Punjabi script and song writers of the South Asian film industry

Ishtiaq Ahmed continues his examination of Punjabis in Indian cinema, focusing on the work of the legend K. L. Saigal

Ishtiaq Ahmed on the Punjabis who shaped song-writing in the Indian film industry

Ishtiaq Ahmed was on hand to witness another literary festival, this one in Lyallpur (Faisalabad) - the heart of Punjab

Ishtiaq Ahmed chronicles the process by which artists and professionals of Punjabi birth established themselves in the Indian film industry

Ishtiaq Ahmed continues his discussion of the historical and cultural context in which  Punjabis participated in the film industry

In the first part of this series, Ishtiaq Ahmed explores themes in Punjab's history which shaped its music, popular consciousness...

Ishtiaq Ahmed examines how Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's book might offer critical insights into resolving the Kashmir dispute, which is often...

Ishtiaq Ahmed explores the reasons behind violence in the Middle East, in the concluding article of a two-part series

The first article of a two-part series on the Paris terrorist attacks and the refugee crisis in Europe

Both India and Pakistan have some bitter pills to swallow if they want to move forward, says Ishtiaq Ahmed

Conspiracy theories and the Hindu Right? Ishtiaq Ahmed continues his series on the "unfinished business" of Partition

Ishtiaq Ahmed reviews the standpoint on Kashmir from either side of the Indo-Pak border