Factory or Corporation: What “Severance” Gets Wrong — An Analysis by Muzaffar Karim

Factory or Corporation: What “Severance” Gets Wrong — An Analysis by Muzaffar Karim

Muzaffar Karim presents an analysis of “Severance” (2022, Apple+), the critically-acclaimed award-winning TV series directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle, with Adam Scott in the lead. Karim’s analytical piece fills the void that is often left by mainstream reviews that are mainly concerned with plot, characterization, theme, ratings and “watchability” and restricted by wordcount. In this piece, Karim meditates on the vocabulary, ideas, thematic undertones, imagery and subtexts found in the show that ultimately facilitate a theoretical and critical commentary on bigger and more pressing questions in dialogue with the work of multiple philosophers and thinkers.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions presented in this piece are the author’s own. This piece contains some spoilers.

10 Must-Read Essays on Kashmir by Gautam Navlakha — curated by Majid Maqbool

10 Must-Read Essays on Kashmir by Gautam Navlakha — curated by Majid Maqbool

Majid Maqbool curates a list of 10 must-read essays on Kashmir by Gautam Navlakha, taken from a larger body of work that spans decades of Gautam’s engagement with Kashmir. The curated list includes a general introduction by Majid and a summary and preview for each of the pieces linking back to the original sources where these writings were published. Inverse Journal has also provided relevant links (at the end of this curated list) directly embedded from Indian and international organizations in view of recent events pertaining to Gautam Navlakha’s detention at this vulnerable time during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The False God of Military Suppression — by Gautam Navlakha — from: Until My Freedom Has Come (Haymarket Books, 2013, ed. Sanjay Kak)

The False God of Military Suppression — by Gautam Navlakha — from: Until My Freedom Has Come (Haymarket Books, 2013, ed. Sanjay Kak)

Inverse Journal reproduces “The False God of Military Suppression” (pp. 174-83), an essay contributed by Gautam Navlakha for the anthology “Until My Freedom Has Come” (edited by Sanjay Kak, Penguin Books India, 2011, and Haymarket Books, 2013). Gautam Navlakha was taken into NIA custody yesterday, on April 14, 2020. 
The excerpt is republished with the permission of the book’s editor. Relevant links embedded from their original sources have been included at the end of this excerpt as a sort of visual bibliography.

An Unconventional Poem for Easter or Quite Simply a Masterclass on How to Recite Poetry

An Unconventional Poem for Easter or Quite Simply a Masterclass on How to Recite Poetry

We present a poem that versifies the struggle and rise of those confined to death, disregard and abandonment while striving to survive. The poem as a song of individual and female resilience for the ages is presented here to commemorate the rise of a brown Middle Eastern man and his enduring legacy as the defender of the poor, the healer of the sick and the rescuer of the downtrodden.

Given that the poem ventures far beyond this particular cultural and religious context, it is also presented here quite simply as a perfect example of recitation by its poet. In the current predicament of our times, this poem builds upon the symbolic importance that it already holds the world over. This particular recitation affirms that importance in inspiring and uplifting while also providing solace to those who celebrate its verses, especially in times of great adversity.

Economic Activity and Labour Mobility Amidst a Rising Pandemic: When Is It Possible and Safe in India? — by Dr. Javaid Iqbal Khan and Dhaar Mehak

Economic Activity and Labour Mobility Amidst a Rising Pandemic: When Is It Possible and Safe in India? — by Dr. Javaid Iqbal Khan and Dhaar Mehak

Economists Dr. Javaid Iqbal and Dhaar Mehak present a timely short paper that articulates relevant questions about striking a balance between strategically resumed “economic activity” in its relation to “labour mobility.” In doing so, the two academics provide feasible strategies and approaches that could keep India from receding into an economic collapse.

POETÈ MAUDIT — A Short Story by Muzaffar Karim

POETÈ MAUDIT — A Short Story by Muzaffar Karim

In this short story that commences at “the holy steps” of the Makhdoom Sahib shrine in Srinagar, a disgruntled character surprises the author of what he considers to be an unfinished tale.

Disclaimer: any resemblance to reality is purely fictional in this short story. For more, readers are advised to check the Editorial Disclaimer.

Gaash — A Call to Remembrance

Gaash — A Call to Remembrance

On August 18th of 1990, Parveena Ahangar’s 17-year-old son Javaid Ahmed was taken by a specialized counter-insurgency group (the National Security Guards of the Indian Army) during a night raid at her neighborhood in Batamaloo, Srinagar. Since then, her quest to find her son and her demand for justice persist. At this 32nd year since Javaid’s enforced disappearance, this poem makes a call to remembrance for those who stand in solidarity with his mother Parveena and with the many Kashmiri families she represents as Founder of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, Kashmir.

Merleau-Ponty’s Theory of Embodiment and its ‘Return to the Body’ — A Commentary by Mirum Quazi

Merleau-Ponty’s Theory of Embodiment and its ‘Return to the Body’ — A Commentary by Mirum Quazi

Mirum Quazi applies Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s “Theory of Embodiment” and its articulation of “Return to the Body” to the act of artmaking. In the process, the writer demonstrates how Merleau-Ponty’s ideas about the “embodied self” can be understood and appreciated by taking artmaking as a prime example to explain such core ideas from Merleau-Ponty’s great philosophical contributions to phenomenology.

Exhibition Review: “I am looking for you like a drone, my love” by Aziz Hazara + Unknown Carpet Makers

Exhibition Review: “I am looking for you like a drone, my love” by Aziz Hazara + Unknown Carpet Makers

Amjad Majid presents a review of “I am looking for you like a drone, my love”, an exhibition showcasing work by Aziz Hazara and unknown carpet makers. Curated by Dr. David Sequeira, the exhibition is on display at the Fiona & Sidney Myer Gallery, Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne from April 14 to May 21, 2022. Inverse Journal has included an independently curated visual bibliography to familiarize readers and viewers with the Afghan artist’s extensive art practice.

Sufism in Cinema: The Case of Bab’Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul — by Ridade Öztürk

Sufism in Cinema: The Case of Bab’Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul — by Ridade Öztürk

This article presents a discussion of key aspects of knowledge in Sufism through an analysis of the film Bab’Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul (Nacer Khemir, 2005). The dominant Western perspective argues for the necessity of a rational, objective form of knowledge which is based on logical argument and precepts. This perspective, however, fails to recognize the alternative form of experiential knowledge which lies at the heart of the Sufi tradition. In this respect, Bab’Aziz is an important film because its content and its narrative technique is an expression of certain knowledge, knowledge without doubt, and kashf, unveiling or discovery. This article compares knowledge in Sufism (Tasawwuf) to the concept of knowledge in the Western tradition, and argues for a reconsideration of the meaning of philosophy as understood by the Ancient Greeks. Originally published in Volume 23, Issue 1 of Film-Philosophy journal and republished here via CC-SA-4.0.

When the Light Dawned by Somnath Zutshi — A Book Excerpt from The Greatest Kashmiri Short Stories Ever Told (trans. Neerja Mattoo, Aleph, 2022)

When the Light Dawned by Somnath Zutshi — A Book Excerpt from The Greatest Kashmiri Short Stories Ever Told (trans. Neerja Mattoo, Aleph, 2022)

We are proud to present Somnath Zutshi’s short story “When the Light Dawned” excerpted from The Greatest Kashmiri Short Stories Ever Told (Aleph, 2022) selected and translated by Neerja Mattoo. Inverse Journal has independently curated a visual bibliography of links relevant to the book and its author. Special thanks to Majid Maqbool for sourcing this excerpt.

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