Discovering Jashn-e-Chiraghan, the Mughal festival of lights; The disappearing mid-wives of tribal Gujarat; and more

[View this email in your browser]( Top Story [Discovering Jashn-e-Chiraghan, the Mughal Festival of Lights]( Ruchika Sharma [Although we have multiple references to fireworks in different parts of Hindustan, in the Mughal context, fireworks are depicted in the context of royal weddings, Shab-i-barat, as well as Diwali. Fazl, who constantly uses the metaphor of divine light, mentions both these festivals and their association with lights in Ain-i-Akbari. Jahāngīrnāma also has references of court celebrations of Diwali. Jahangir calls it a festival of the Vaishya caste (probably due to their association with Lakshmi puja) and the occasion to meet friends. The memoir also mentions gambling. He writes, ‘Since this caste’s livelihood is from profit and interest, they consider carrying accounts forward and opening new accounts on this day a good omen’.]( [The Disappearing Mid-Wives of Tribal Gujarat]( Damayantee Dhar [Traditional birth attendants play a central role during pregnancies, childbirth in remote areas. But due to the government’s push towards institutional deliveries, younger women have stopped taking up the profession.]( [The Aarushi-Hemraj Murder Case, or Why India’s Crime Investigators Should Write Fiction]( Basant Rath [The leadership deficit blighting our criminal justice system is too urgent an issue – its redressal should not be postponed and it cannot be left to the investigating agencies.]( [With ‘Xi Jinping Thought’, China’s Leader Demonstrates Unprecedented Authority]( Manoj Joshi [Considering his predecessors’ political ideas were merely mentioned as “theories” and that, too, without their name, this is a major signal of Xi’s authority over the party and China.]( [Jharkhand’s MGNREGA Workers Need a Lot More Than Political Slogans]( Siraj Dutta [Despite widespread violations of workers’ entitlements, the BJP government as well as the opposition have shown nothing but apathy.]( [With Our Shared Histories, Why Isn’t Indo-Pak Science Diplomacy on the Table?]( Aswin Sekhar [It is time India and Pakistan take steps to encourage and motivate their fine scientific and technological minds to work together unto mutually beneficial and peaceful ends.]( [By Refusing to Recertify Nuclear Deal, Trump Has Put Iran on Notice for Regime Change]( Inderjeet Parmar [Donald Trump’s recent moves on Iran signals the start of a more aggressive phase of US power.]( [So Long Kundan, and Thanks for Inflicting Us With Your Madness and Grace]( Sudhir Mishra [Much of the work you did with Manjul, Saeed and Aziz on TV is worth more than the work of most filmmakers of that time.]( [From Iqbal to Gandhi, Rediscovering What Rama Means for Indians]( Muhammad Naved Ashrafi [In the Indian subcontinent, when one talks about the triumph of truth over falsehood, the story of Lord Rāma’s war in Lanka and that of Imam Husain in Karbala (Iraq) have always been a part of folklore.]( [‘Secret Superstar’ Shows Us the Small Thrills and Travails of Chasing a Dream]( Tanul Thakur [Secret Superstar digs deep into several Indian truths, but in the process never trivializes them, or tries to emotionally manipulate its audiences.]( Copyright © 2017 The Wire, All rights reserved. You're getting this email because you recently subscribed to receive email digests from The Wire via our website. Our mailing address is: The Wire 13, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg Gole MarketNew Delhi 110001 India [Add us to your address book](//thewire.us11.list-manage.com/vcard?u=6b988b13445248b1268a308f2&id=4808224841) Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](