Unwritten Lives

"Far above all other hunted whales, his is an unwritten life." Moby Dick

Posts tagged with: Asia Show All

Delhi: The communal management of Muslim life under the BJP

February 5, 2026 by Iqra Raza

Delhi: The communal management of Muslim life under the BJP
Jama Masjid, Delhi, 2024. Photo:Iqra Raza

Most Muslims in India’s capital city live in areas often called “Muslim ghettos”. Under the right-wing rule of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as minorities continue to live uncertain lives, more people are pushed into already condensed and crowded neighbourhoods. Here, a former resident of one such “ghetto” takes a deep dive into the history, politics, and ontology of life in these precarious settlements.

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Same-sex civil partnerships 20 years on: “We don’t just want the cake; we want the recipe, too. Equal slices for everyone, no exceptions.”

January 24, 2026 by Adnan Ali & Eric Stobbaerts

Eric and Adnan in Rio
Celebrating Iemanjá, Goddess of the Sea and Queen of the Ocean, Rio de Janeiro, January 2011. Photo: Courtesy of Eric Stobbaerts (left), and Adnan Ali (right).

It has been 20 years since the UK’s first same-sex civil unions took place on 19 December 2005. Adnan Ali and Eric Stobbaerts were one of the first gay couples in London to form a civil partnership on that historic day. They are both busy men with global lives. Unwritten Lives was glad to catch up with them in London, where the couple spoke with Ishtiyaq Shukri.

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Names kept in the mouth

November 13, 2025 by Iqra Raza

Hany Babu
Photo: Hany Babu MT (@hanybabu) / X

It has been five years since renowned Delhi University linguistics professor Hany Babu was arrested on 28 July, 2020. He is being held without charge in India’s notorious Taloja Central Jail on the outskirts of Mumbai. Here his former student takes a roll call to remember his name, because “naming is work we do for one another.”

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249th Appleby Horse Fair, 5-11 June 2025

November 13, 2025 by Ishtiyaq Shukri

Washing horses at Appleby Horse Fair
Washing the horses, Eden River, Appleby Horse Fair, 6 June 2025. Photo: Ishtiyaq Shukri

When a DNA test revealed the author’s Roma heritage, he travelled to one of Europe’s largest Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) gatherings—Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria—to learn more about this unique historic event.

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Featured Author

Iqra Raza

Iqra Raza

Iqra Raza is a PhD candidate in the Department of English at University of Houston. Born in Bihar an …

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