Disobedient Writer. Occasional satirist.
Comments on society and politics in Maldives.
In 1959, an expedition of historians unearthed an exquisitely carved ancient statue of Gautama Buddha from the island of Thoddoo. Buried under slabs of stones, possibly to protect it from being demolished along with the the temples following the Islamization of the Maldives in 1153 AD, the statue was a priceless archaeological find. Before long, […]
Marx said that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. In an isolated country such as ours, with a culture that goes back thousands of years, history has become twisted beyond all recognition and ended up as an unnavigable tangle of myths and falsehoods. And it appears we are not done yet. An […]
It is 2:30 in the morning and I want to share my favourite story. There was once a sage who lived in a forest. The holy man had a number of disciples who joined him in meditation every evening. The meditation rite was simple: they would gather under a banyan tree every evening, and sit in […]
It is true what they say: if something has the word ‘laadheenee’ in it, it is like a bat signal for me to get involved immediately. After the Maldives Elections Commission – currently on top of my favourite Independent Institutions – hauled the mullahs asses over coal for abusing religion for political purposes by labeling […]
You know me. I love elections! In fact, I did pretty extensive coverage of the historic first democratic elections in the Maldives back in 2008. The upcoming elections are still about two months away – assuming they are not canceled on grounds of say, “political instability” following a conviction of a certain former President in […]
Have you ever wondered why extremists are so addicted to violence? Surely, there must be something that explains all that fascination for dynamite, guns, beheading and all sorts of explosions, right? Well, guess what. Your favourite blogger has finally arrived at the ultimate answer to all that apparently inexplicable violence. Tom & Jerry. If my […]
There is a malaise in the country that I’ve been meaning to vent out about. I must begin by saying there are plenty of people I strongly and vehemently disagree with, but nevertheless admire.To take an extreme example, I’ve often said that Osama bin Laden could have easily lived the rest of his life in […]
This Week in Maldives: January 8
Because you guys liked, RT’d and shared the hell out of the last edition, this week I focus on aqeeda-endangering textbooks, Dunya’s return to the dark side, and Muizzu engaged in a series of unfortunate Muizzed up things. These are short takes on the headlines of the week gone by. Dunya rejoins the regime Dunya […]
Dhoonidhoo Diaries: Part 3 – Heat and Captivity
This is the third instalment in the Dhoonidhoo Diaries series where I pen down my experiences in Dhoonidhoo prison where I was incarcerated following an unprecedented regime crackdown on the May Day rally. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Nearly 200 democratic protesters were arrested on 1st May 2015 by the Maldives’ authoritarian […]
Dhoonidhoo Diaries: Part 2 – Prison Cell
1st May 2015 saw the largest anti-government protests in Maldivian history, with nearly 20,000 protesters filling the main thoroughfare in Malé. I was among the nearly 200 democratic protesters arrested that day, in the largest police crackdown in over a decade. I was released after being held for 21 days without trial. But several May […]
Dhoonidhoo Diaries: Part 1 – Arrest and Incarceration
1st May 2015 saw the largest anti-government protests in Maldivian history, with nearly 20,000 protesters filling the main thoroughfare in Malé. It also saw the largest police crackdown in over a decade, with nearly 200 democratic protesters arrested. I was among those arrested, and was held captive for 21 days, including 5 days of house […]
I remember the exact moment when I first saw Ahmed Rilwan. It was late 2009, and I had just arrived in the Maldives. Some bloggers had gotten together to sort of welcome me and get introduced. We were sitting in a sea-side café at night, when he walked in with two other well known bloggers. We hit […]
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