Rana Safvi
DailyO
Contact Rana
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Rana:
On Hazrat Amir Khusrau's urs, the greatest love story ever told
Neither life nor death could separate him from his beloved, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. → Read More
Why troll for a Lord Krishna painting with 'Eid moon' — and a show of harmony?
It should worry anyone who loves India. → Read More
Brief history of Delhi's Bagh-e-Bedil — and a beloved Afghan poet
[Book excerpt] Abdul Qadir Bedil was considered a Sufi saint by many. → Read More
Remembering poet Habib Jalib and his fight for a free Pakistan
He spoke out against the use of religion as a tool to legitimise dictatorship. → Read More
A brief history of Hazrat Ali
His instructions on keeping the army happy, selecting a chief justice are kept in the United Nations as an example. → Read More
The Sufi dargah passes no judgement, welcomes all
In Bijapur and in Ajmer, sufi shrines welcome the dispossessed as well as the disenchanted → Read More
Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti's Urs: Why death anniversaries of Sufi saints are celebrated as weddings
When death is a time to rejoice, and not to grieve. → Read More
Mughal women were no damsels in distress — a tale from the palace kitchens
I came upon it in the book 'Lal Qila ki ek Jhalak', written by Syed Nasir Nazir. → Read More
How tawaifs fell from grace and came to be known as prostitutes
Those that learn to sing and dance no longer sing Ghalib or Dagh’s ghazals. → Read More
I'm a Muslim woman and this triple talaq bill is not what I fought for
At a time when Muslim men are already living in fear, one more law would be added to harass, jail and demonise them. → Read More
What history can and can't tell you about Alauddin Khilji and legend of Padmavati
Sufism tells us to control nafs, or ego. Those protesting against the film should perhaps read Jayasi's epic and draw lessons from it. → Read More
Indian Muslims must re-read Syed Ahmad Khan
Sir Syed’s legacy is so immense because he played a critical role, at a historic juncture, in the life of the Indian Muslim community. In the aftermath of the 1857 uprising, Muslims were disfranchised, thrown out of their homes in Shahjahanabad and generally looked upon with suspicion. → Read More
For the queen’s paradise: Taj Mahal’s exquisite floral inlay work
Taj Mahal’s exquisite floral inlay work was the result of meticulous medieval craftsmanship. → Read More
Taj Mahal: What we stand to lose
'There's a paradise of stone in Agra for all to witness.' → Read More
Building a library, feeling the footpath in Old Delhi
In the space of one tiny room of the Shah Waliullah library are original works of Ghalib, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Zauq, Momin, Sir Syed Khan, an Urdu translation of the Bhagwad Gita, a 700-year-old Arabic book on logic and medieval Sufi treatises along with other contemporary books. Since all the books don’t fit in that room, they have been kept elsewhere. As Naeem says, “We have so much, by God’s… → Read More
Of Ramlila, Mughals and kullas: Into Shahjahanabad's wondrous alleys
The city that Abu Sufiyan and Ashok live in. → Read More
No, Mughal didn't loot India. They made us rich
They remained as Indians, not colonists. → Read More
No, Mughals didn't loot India. They made us rich
They remained as Indians, not colonists. → Read More
Remembering the fall of Delhi, in September 1857
Although both Hindus and Muslims, upper and lower castes fought in the First War of Independence, the wrath of the British Empire fell on the Muslims because they fought under the banner of the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar → Read More
How interpretation of the word maula caused the Shia-Sunni schism
Dispute over whether Ali was declared 'wali' which means friend or 'khalifa' which means successor persists. → Read More