In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can you really bomb feminism into a country? And now, after 25 years of brutal war - 10 years against the Soviet occupation, 15 years of US occupation - the Taliban is riding back to Kabul and will soon be back to doing business with the United States.

Terrorism is the symptom, not the disease.

And when we look in through the windows, all we see are shadows. And when we try and listen, all we hear is a whispering. And we cannot understand the whispering, because our minds have been invaded by a war. A war that we have both won and lost. The very worst sort of war. A war that captures dreams and re-dreams them. A war that has made us adore our conquerors and despise ourselves.

Three-quarters of India lives on the edge of the market economy. You can't tell them that only those who can afford water can have it.

Of course, there's an alternative to terrorism: it's called justice.

Sometimes the state and the constitution are more enlightened than society.

Humbling was a nice word, Rahel thought. Humbling along without a care in the world