Thoughts in Tangles

I like Sri Lanka as a country: small, isolated island with limited resources and a long history of internal instability, yet its people remain among the most civilised and socially grounded in South Asia. Despite decades of conflict, Sri Lanka has managed to achieve better human development indicators than most countries in the region. That contrast alone makes it worth paying attention to. The Sri Lankan civil war, which lasted from 1983 to 2009, grew out of ethnic exclusion rather than inevitability. Policies that sidelined the Tamil minority, especially language and political marginalisation, slowly turned grievances into armed rebellion. The state responded primarily through force, and while it eventually defeated the LTTE, the cost was enormous. What stands out to me, however, is that even during this prolonged conflict, Sri Lanka kept much of its economy functioning. The fighting stayed largely confined to specific regions, allowing industries like tea, garments, tourism, and por...

Dr. Mahbub ul Haq is a name that resonates globally, particularly in the sphere of development economics. He is best known for pioneering the concept of the Human Development Index (HDI), which revolutionized how the world evaluates progress by shifting the focus from mere economic growth to human well-being. However, while Haq's legacy has had a profound international impact, particularly through his work at the United Nations, Pakistan—his homeland—has failed to fully harness his expertise to transform its own economy. Mahbub ul Haq’s work was groundbreaking because it challenged the traditional measures of development that focused solely on economic metrics like Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He argued that economic growth alone did not capture the true essence of development, which should be about improving people's quality of life, health, education, and overall well-being. This led to the creation of the HDI in 1990, a composite index that considers life expectancy, educat...

Grigori Rasputin, Painting by Sergey Levin When it comes to Russian history, Gregory Rasputin is still one of the most mysterious characters. It is quite remarkable how Rasputin went from being a farmer to a mystic after being born in the Siberian village of Pokrovskoye in 1869. Rasputin went on a religious pilgrimage that he said strengthened his bond with God; despite his lack of schooling, he became famous for his spiritual abilities. He became a member of the Russian royal family's inner circle after he gained the belief that he could cure the sick and predict the future. After the Romanov family met Rasputin in 1905 in the hopes that he could cure their son Alexei of hemophilia, a hereditary condition that caused excessive and potentially fatal bleeding, the two became inseparably linked. The only thing that could calm Alexei during his crisis, according to Tsarina Alexandra, who was anxious to rescue her son, were Rasputin's prayers and presence. In his lauded biog...