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Farrukh Dhondy Page-4

In this April 5, 2002 file photo, The Koh-i-noor, or "mountain of light," diamond, set in the Maltese Cross at the front of the crown made for Britain's late Queen Mother Elizabeth, is seen on her coffin as it is drawn to London's Westminster Hall. (Photo: AP)

Farrukh Dhondy | ‘Flummery’ at King’s coronation, but no Kohinoor in Camilla’s crown

Camilla, the Queen Consort, will not wear the crown inherited from Queen Victoria at the coronation ceremony

18 Feb 2023 12:35 AM

Very many conversations today pause for someone of the company to Google a fact. (Photo: AFP)

Farrukh Dhondy | On ‘truth’ in the Age of Internet: How Wikipedia is often wrong…

There lies one of the instant hazards of Internet biography -- one can’t tell lies about one’s age any more.

11 Feb 2023 12:54 AM

India has built a reputation for being in some way “spiritual”. It’s not just a local conviction and pride, it's internationally touted and recognised. (Representational Image)

Farrukh Dhondy | The Indian mind & ‘spirituality’: Don’t forget science…

The connection is not black-and-white and perhaps just part of the prejudice of my own absolute materialistic convictions

04 Feb 2023 12:58 AM

People watch the screening of the BBC documentary 'India: The Modi Question', in Thiruvananthapuram. (PTI)

Farrukh Dhondy | Allegations in a democracy: It’s best to debate, not ban things…

In healthy democracies, allegations will be argued over. They shouldn’t be subject to a total niqab being drawn over them

28 Jan 2023 12:05 AM

Farrukh Dhondy | What Harry the ‘Spare’ is really aiming for: To stay in spotlight

Harry’s war against the British royals and the British media is conducted with the contemporary equivalent of the proxy force, the US media.

21 Jan 2023 12:56 AM

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. (Photo: AP)

Farrukh Dhondy | Racism, hatred amongst royals: Tell-all by Harry may fail to bite

Harry has given two substantial interviews to the press. Some of it is dirty linen and some of it is innocuous self-pity

14 Jan 2023 12:00 AM

French serial killer Charles Sobhraj (C) sits in an aircraft departing from Kathmandu to France, on December 23, 2022. - French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, responsible for multiple murders in the 1970s across Asia, was freed on December 23 after spending almost 20 years in a Nepali prison. (Photo: AFP)

Farrukh Dhondy | Revisiting the ‘Serpent’ saga: My encounters with Sobhraj

Sobhraj first got in touch with me in 1997. He rang my office at Channel Four TV, UK, where I was a commissioning editor

31 Dec 2022 12:21 AM

File photo of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. (Photo: AP)

Farrukh Dhondy | Food or warmth? Tough choices on Hedgie’s watch as Christmas nears

The inflation crisis is called the cost-of-living (CoL) crisis as the price of everything is going up by leaps and bounds

24 Dec 2022 12:00 AM

In Britain, which has certainly been demographically transformed into a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-faith society in the last 50 years, it has become customary to ask first-generation immigrants where they come from without any malice intended. (Photo: Twitter)

Farrukh Dhondy | Where are you from? UK row erupts on royal racism, abuse

Can we understand an 83-year-old privileged lady being unaware that her attitude and persistence amounted to “abuse”?

17 Dec 2022 12:00 AM

A latest searching statistic in Britain has discovered that fewer than 50 per cent of the population now claim to be Christian (Representational Image/AFP)

Farrukh Dhondy | Of right-wing bigots, religion & (in)tolerance in today’s UK

What the statistic tells us is that the influence of religion over life in Britain, unlike, say, in Iran or Afghanistan, is dwindling

03 Dec 2022 12:05 AM

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, said in an interview that her wedding to Prince Harry of Britain was rejoiced by South Africa as much as Nelson Mandela's release from a near lifetime of imprisonment. (Photo: Instagram)

Farrukh Dhondy | When fantasy pretends to be history… Does truth prevail?

Gentle reader, there has always been a conflict between truth and blind nationalist interpretation of events

26 Nov 2022 12:00 AM

Activists from the group Just Stop Oil block a road in London, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 demanding to stop future gas and oil projects from going ahead. British climate activists who have blocked roads and splattered artworks with soup said Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, that they are suspending a days-long protest that has clogged a major highway around London. (Photo: AFP)

Farrukh Dhondy | Why protests matter… and stifling them is unacceptable

In professed democracies such as the UK or India, the State’s antagonism to the freedom of speech cannot and must not be tolerated

11 Nov 2022 8:13 PM

Farrukh Dhondy | Are days already numbered for Hedgie Sunak? Third cheer soon

Already the unions, railway workers and medical staff, including 80,000 nurses, have declared that they will go on strike. Apocalypse soon?

05 Nov 2022 12:05 AM

Britain's newly appointed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a speech outside 10 Downing Street in central London, on October 25, 2022. - Rishi Sunak was Tuesday appointed as Britain's third prime minister this year, after outgoing leader Liz Truss submitted her resignation to King Charles III. (Photo: AFP))

Farrukh Dhondy | At last! Hedgie enters No. 10… How long will the party last?

All public opinion polls give Labour a 30% lead over the Tories and that would mean a historic wipe out of Hedgie, his gang and the Party

29 Oct 2022 12:05 AM

Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss addresses the media in Downing Street in London, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. Truss says she resigns as leader of UK Conservative Party. (Photo: AP)

Farrukh Dhondy | Will India trade deal survive Liz Truss’ exit? Can Kohinoor help?

The policies Truss announced are now no longer indications of British govt’s intentions, except perhaps for one — a trade deal with India

22 Oct 2022 12:05 AM

Farrukh Dhondy | As Putin cuts off the gas, Europe looks ahead to a cold, dark winter

Mr Putin has retaliated by cutting off gas supplies and even sabotaging with leaks his own undersea gas pipeline

14 Oct 2022 11:28 PM

Very many institutions in Britain have engaged in research to find and expiate connections with and profit in the past from slavery. (AFP File Photo)

Farrukh Dhondy | Who’ll atone for slave trade, all the loot? Who’ll pay reparations?

History is full of injustices, transgressions and genocide. Are the descendants of the victims of those injustices entitled to reparations.

08 Oct 2022 1:01 AM

British Labour MP called Rupa Huq has been suspended by her party for passing racist remarks. (Photo: Twitter)

Farrukh Dhondy | Black in Britain: It’s not just race; it’s about politics too

Some of those who rose through the professional ranks retained their connections, however vague, with the “black” communities of Britain

01 Oct 2022 12:03 AM

Farrukh Dhondy | The outbreak of communal riots in UK’s Leicester still a mystery

The riots, which police are out in full force to suppress, have been happening, in varying intensity, from Aug 28 till this week

24 Sep 2022 12:05 AM

Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party, Liz Truss, leaves from Balmoral Castle in Ballater, Scotland, on September 6, 2022, after meeting with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and being invited to form a Government. (Photo: AFP)

Farrukh Dhondy | Liz Truss will have array of problems as soon as mourning ends

The first huge problem she will face as the new occupant of 10 Downing Street is the horrible kitsch wallpaper, plastered at PM’s residence

17 Sep 2022 12:00 AM

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Aakar Patel