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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
'Alternative Investments Technology: Bridging the Gap' - A Fund Manager's Guide to Overcoming Tech Dilemmas
PNN New Delhi [India], June 2: For fund managers navigating digital transformation, the real challenge isn't the lack of tools - it's the flood of questions. Where do we begin? What's worth automating? Should we build or buy? In his new book, Alternative Investments Technology: Bridging the Gap (Taylor & Francis | Routledge), seasoned technologist and enterprise architect Ankur Agarwal offers a practical, jargon-free roadmap to help private capital firms make smarter, business-aligned technology decisions. Drawing on decades of experience working closely with fund managers, Ankur identifies the recurring dilemmas investment leaders face - dilemmas that are more about change management and strategic clarity than tech specs. This book serves as a field guide for navigating those choices. "The idea for this book came from years of sitting across the table from fund managers who kept running into the same set of questions," says Agarwal. "Over time, I realized those questions weren't just technical - they reflected deeper decision-making dilemmas. Yet there wasn't a practical guide that looked at these issues from both the business and technology lens. That's what I set out to write." About the Book Alternative Investments Technology: Bridging the Gap helps private capital firms: * Identify the right starting point for automation and tech modernization. * Evaluate when to build vs. buy, and how much to customize. * Simplify investor reporting, compliance, and ESG tracking using technology. * Make strategic tech decisions without falling into vendor hype or abstraction. The book is designed for fund managers, operational heads, and decision-makers at private equity, private debt, venture capital, and fund-of-funds firms - especially those at early to mid-stages of digital maturity. "If you are an alternative investment firm in an early stage of your automation journey, there is not a lot of literature for you to get smarter about the path ahead. Ankur's book fills this important gap," says Rajdeep Endow, Private Equity Advisor & Transformation Leader. "Written in a simple and lucid style, Ankur uses real-world examples to illustrate his points and provide actionable advice." Media Coverage The book has been reviewed by CIO Africa, which called it "a must-read for firms in emerging markets looking to scale responsibly through technology." Read the full review: CIO Africa Book Review About the Author Ankur Agarwal is Co-Founder and CTO of PE Front Office, a leading SaaS platform for alternative investment firms. A TOGAF-certified architect, poet, and musician, Ankur has also authored Enterprise Technology in Private Equity (PEI Media, 2013) and the poetry collection Adyakshar (2020). Book Details Title: Alternative Investments Technology: Bridging the Gap Author: Ankur Agarwal Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge) ISBN: 9781032771786 Available at: Routledge, Amazon and other global retailers Formats: Paperback, Hardcover, eBook
The Hindu
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
The ‘othering': how Muslim identity evolved in Hindi cinema down the ages
For a little over 300 years, the Mughals ruled over much of India. For a little under three decades, between 1940 and 1967, they reigned over the silver screen. The stories, real or imagined, of Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan even Bahadur Shah Zafar, were brought to the screen by names as formidable as K. Asif and M. Sadiq. The 'Muslim Historical' became a genre by itself in Hindi cinema. The films portrayed Mughal emperors as larger-than-life figures, wedded to the principles of justice and unity. As Ira Bhaskar and Richard Allen write in Islamicate Cultures of Bombay Cinema (Tulika), 'The Muslim Historical of this period presents an image of the Mughal Emperor as a unifying force, who sought to embrace rather than erase forms of Hindu religiosity and culture.' A case in point was the Krishna Bhakti song at Akbar's court in Mughal-e-Azam. But the Muslim identity in cinema couldn't be confined to kings and queens. An off shoot of the royal sagas was the 'Muslim Social' which came replete with nawabs, Urdu shayari, sherwanis and salams. Mere Mehboob was a classic example as was Nikaah. Changing phase Then there was the 'Muslim Courtesan', as seen in Kamal Amrohi's cult movie Pakeezah, Muzaffar Ali's classic Umrao Jaan, and to a lesser extent B.R. Chopra's Tawaif. Over time, the fully clad courtesan became superfluous to the needs of changing cinema. The 'Muslim Social' faded away and the 'Muslim Historical' gave way to valiant Maratha sagas. The age of Islamophobia had no space for the all-embracing Akbar, the lovelorn Shah Jahan. In came Alauddin Khalji, portrayed as a blood thirsty tyrant in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat and Aurangzeb shown as a cruel megalomaniac in the more recent Laxman Utekar's Chhaava. Between Mughal-e-Azam and Chhaava, Hindi cinema has come a full circle. Films like Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Kesari and Tanhaji 'suitably aligned with the saffronised version of historical narrative,' as Nadira Khatun puts it in her painstaking work, Postcolonial Bollywood and Muslim Identity (Oxford). Incidentally, Khatun's book, along with Muslim Identity in Hindi Cinema (Routledge) by Asim Siddiqui, and Bhaskar and Allen's book, is among the more serious forays into deciphering the Muslim identity in Hindi cinema, an identity which has often been projected according to the prevalent political mood of the nation. Face of menace For more than three decades after Independence, Muslims were almost always the good guys. They could do no wrong. There was the ubiquitous Rahim Chacha, played by A.K. Hangal in no less than 60 films. It changed in the new millennium when Muslims ceased to be the good guys on the big screen. Now they were menacing men with guns and growl; the kohl-lined villains were all Muslims, those aspiring to bomb the nation too were Muslims. Even in films like Iqbal, Chak De India! and Mulk which had positive Muslim characters, the Muslims were 'destined to show their loyalty to the state', as Khatun writes. Though far removed from reality, and clearly driven by politics of the day, it is not the first time this has happened. If in the 1950s and '60s, the Muslim kings were shown in a positive light, it was thanks to the Nehruvian politics of secularism and socialism — inclusion rather than exclusion was the guiding mantra then. Today's films mirror the changed political climate. As Khatun reminds readers, 'That these films coincide heavily with the current political narratives can be shown through the example of Tanhaji (2020). Ajay Devgan, who portrays the role of the protagonist, started promoting the film by uploading the trailer on Twitter, writing '4th Feb 1670: The surgical strike that shook the Mughal Empire!''. Likewise, Ashutosh Gowarikar's Panipat released on December 6, 2019, coinciding with the day of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992. Post-2014, this over-the-top depiction off evil Muslims has caught the eye even of the less discerning. Holding a mirror In his meticulously researched work which throws fresh light on the depiction of Muslims in cinema from the pre-Partition days, Siddiqui writes: 'In many films since the 1990s, a Hindu hero is depicted waging a battle against Muslim villains who pose a threat to society and national security....A recurrent motif in Hindi cinema since the 1970s is to show a don (Zanjeer, Tezaab, Angaar) or a terrorist being 'a devout Muslim'...He also appears very cultured, refined and even humane.' Siddiqui points at Paresh Rawal playing Suleiman bhai, a villain who wears a skullcap, and Naseeruddin Shah's popular singer Ghulam Hassan who comes to India to spread insurgency. The underlying message was, 'they' cannot be trusted. It was, in many ways, the beginning of the othering of Muslims in Hindi cinema. Or, as Siddiqui writes, there were films like Parinda, Maqbool and Mohra where Muslim gangsters lived in a decontextualised world. Again, from the always-praying Rahim Chacha of countless potboilers to the drug-sniffing Abdul Khan of Parinda, Muslim characters had come a long way. The reality was, of course, far removed from a Mohra or a Tezaab. It was left to a sensitive Garam Hava by M.S. Sathyu, Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro by Saeed Mirza and Mammo by Shyam Benegal to tell us there was a Muslim world where there was no emperor, no courtesan and no gangster, a society where people had dreams; they had their fears too. Just normal people.
Express Tribune
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Rethinking the Kashmir dispute post-Pahalgam
The writer is an academic and researcher. He is also the author of Development, Poverty, and Power in Pakistan, available from Routledge Listen to article The recent cross-border hostilities between Pakistan and India earlier this month has re-internationalise the Kashmir crisis. The current moment provides a unique opportunity for both sides to try and address this festering problem in a manner which is not only of mutual interest to both nations, but which also keeps in mind the welfare of Kashmiris themselves. Struggles over Kashmir have sparked all-out wars, and a series of major skirmishes between India and Pakistan over these past 78 years. Yet, after Pakistan managed to gain control of nearly a third of the territory of the former princely state, including the western districts of Kashmir, and Gilgit and Baltistan back in 1848, no significant territorial gains have been made by either side despite repeated conflicts, including the 1965 war, or the more recent confrontation in Kargil. Over the past several decades, however, India worked hard to convince the international community that there is no need for international arbitration to address the Kashmir imbroglio. After the 1971 war, Pakistan signed Simla Agreement whereby it also agreed to address all outstanding disagreements with India bilaterally. Pakistan has sporadically been referring to a 1948 UNSC resolution demanding a plebiscite in Kashmir. Yet, holding a plebiscite to decide the fate of Kashmiris seems a non-starter. The conditions for the UN proposal for a plebiscite in Kashmir require Pakistan to withdraw its forces from all parts of Kashmir on its side of the heavily militarised line of control. India, too, would need to reduce its forces to a minimum on its side of the restive region. It is unlikely that either side will be willing to do abide by such preconditions, or to even accept a new Kashmiri state being carved out from territories currently under their control. Pakistan demanding that India should respect the UN resolution and hold a plebiscite in its side of Kashmir holds little weight. For its part, India needs to step back from nonsensical claims about trying to wrestle away the territories taken by Pakistan in the year following the bloody partition. India has tried for years to discredit Pakistan for its use of proxies to inflame the restiveness in Kashmir. While Indian claims gained some traction within the post-9/11 era, its own support to militants in troubled areas of Pakistan, especially Balochistan, and its repressiveness within the Kashmir valley, have eroded the legitimacy of its claims. India's attempt to revoke the special status of Kashmir in 2019, and the subsequent use of increasingly draconian measures to quell separatist tendencies, have not won it much sympathy either. The latest dangerous cross-border escalation on the heels of a terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam has been contained for now following hectic efforts by the current US administration, as well as several Arab states, Turkey and Iran. But the situation remains volatile given the disgruntlement within the Indian-held Kashmir, combined with India's increasingly aggressive posture which seeks to 'punish' Pakistan anytime there is a major act of violence in its side of the line of control. India's attempt to renege on the Indus Water Treaty is another serious issue, which could flare up into a more devastating conflict, if left unresolved. One wonders if there is now going to be more serious debate within India and Pakistan concerning what can be done about this lingering problem. Maybe it is time to revisit the four-point formula put forth during the Musharraf era, which aimed to respect the principle of self-governance within Kashmir and allow Kashmiris freedom of movement across the line of control, without altering the existing borders. Such an arrangement may also include a robust mechanism to contend with other thorny concerns such as the need for equitable water sharing and joint efforts to contend with climate threats posed to the Indus tributaries. It would be ideal if Pakistan and India could hammer out such an arrangement between themselves. Or else, maybe someone can tweet this article to President Trump.
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Joy Schaverien obituary
The Jungian psychoanalyst and art psychotherapist Joy Schaverien, who has died aged 82, will be remembered beyond her professional world for her book Boarding School Syndrome: The Psychological Trauma of the 'Privileged' Child (2015). It became a bestseller for the publisher Routledge: among its readers were adult boarding school survivors who found that it described accurately the traumatic experiences some of them had had when sent away to school, particularly at an early age. The book has been praised not only for the quality of its clinical material, but also for raising political and cultural questions about education in the UK, and for challenging the assumption among many middle-class parents that boarding school is best for a child – a 'jolly good thing that did me no harm'. Joy's work gave many former boarding school pupils permission to open up about the sexual abuse, bullying, 'fagging' and other traumas they suffered at the hands of teachers and other pupils, and about which they had hitherto felt unable to talk. It also helped them to understand that therapy could be a healing and not a shameful process: that they did not have to 'manage' on their own. Joy had noted in her own clinical work and in discussions with other colleagues that among adults who came to therapy with symptoms that included depression and difficulty in sustaining intimate relationships, a number had been sent to boarding school at an early age, often a solution for families working abroad in the 1950s and 60s. It was her research around this initial observation that led her to conceptualise Boarding School Syndrome and to posit four identifying criteria. These she named the ABCD of their trauma. 'A' stood for the abandonment and rupture children felt when they were taken to school and left there with strangers. 'B' was for bereavement and the sudden loss of all that was familiar: family surroundings, friends, toys, routine, even food. This was often called 'homesickness' at schools and children were told it would pass. 'C' indicated captivity, the realisation that there was no way out from rigid and often punishing routines, no escape, even though some tried to run away. This could lead to 'D', dissociation and the development of a false self that they felt helped them to be brave and cut them off from their true feelings. As part of this, Joy urged therapists to be wary of breaks in therapy that could seem to sufferers to mirror the rhythm of boarding school terms and holidays, and to renew their feelings of abandonment. She taught widely and gave many lectures and workshops on the boarding school theme, which helped to build a community of 'survivors' and brought her ideas to a much wider audience. The elder daughter of Julianne (nee Simon) and Hyman Schaverien, Joy was born in Hampstead, north London, but spent much of her early life in Brighton, East Sussex, where her father was an estate agent and a RNLI lifeboat volunteer. After leaving a local private school, Joy studied at Brighton School of Art, then did a postgraduate course in fine art at the Slade School in London. In 1968 she married the painter Peter Wilson. She went on to train as an art therapist in an NHS unit in Brighton and at St Albans College of Art, and spent most of the rest of her life living and working in private practice in the Midlands. In the 80s she was an art therapist in the Hillend Therapeutic Community in Hertfordshire, and was also one of the first course leaders for the MA art therapy programme at St Albans College of Art, which later became part of Hertfordshire University. She gained her PhD in art psychotherapy from Birmingham City Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University) in 1990, with a thesis entitled Transference and Countertransference in Art Therapy: Mediation, Interpretation and the Aesthetic Object. Joy helped lead the development of art therapy into art psychotherapy by linking psychoanalytic theory to the previously more art-focused practice in the UK. The impact of her book The Revealing Image (1991) changed thinking about how images made in the art therapy process can carry significant meaning that cannot easily be put into words. She named new concepts such as 'the embodied image', and showed that, through locating pictures and the art process at the centre of therapeutic practice, things that were deeply embodied in the psyche could be changed. Joy articulated how the art therapy process can enable clarity and meaning for those in therapy. Both of us knew Joy as a valued colleague. Penny and Joy trained together at the Society of Analytical Psychology, becoming members in 1996. Within the SAP, Joy was known for her warmth and critical outlook, and for her teaching on the subjects covered in her books Desire and the Female Therapist (1995), Gender, Countertransference and the Erotic Transference (2006), and The Dying Patient in Psychotherapy (2002), as well as Boarding School Syndrome. As members of the International Association for Analytical Psychology, and building on the success of an earlier programme in St Petersburg, Joy and Penny set up an IAAP training and supervision course for Russian psychotherapists in Moscow, where, before perestroika, psychotherapy and analysis had been widely banned. Joy was also instrumental in the development of a Danish IAAP group. Joy and Helen co-wrote a chapter for the Oxford Textbook of Psychotherapy (2005), in which, for the first time, arts therapies were categorised as a major modality within psychotherapy. Joy was also editor of the Supervision in the Arts Therapies series for Routledge, five volumes published in 2007-08 on the transformation and understanding of professional approaches to supervision. In 2022 Joy and Peter moved back to London to be closer to family. Joy retired from clinical work last December. When not working, writing, spending time with family, or socialising with her many friends, she loved walking her dog. Joy is survived by Peter, and their children, Damien and Galia, and grandchildren, Alice, Misty, Arlo and Coco. Joy Schaverien, psychoanalyst and art psychotherapist, born 2 February 1943; died 7 May 2025
Mint
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Has India called Pakistan's nuclear bluff?
India Pakistan Tensions: For more than two decades, India's policy towards Pakistan has been significantly shaped by the nuclear question, influencing its strategic thinking and military doctrine. India had managed to keep its restraint, despite serious provocations by Pakistan, which has send out terrorists on suicide missions as a matter of state policy. In July 2016, the government released data on a string of terror strikes in India since 2005 that claimed 707 lives and left over 3,200 injured. This included the more serious ones, the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai, the series of seven train bombings in Mumbai in 2006, and several others. It has taken one Narendra Modi to change that mindset. In the last week, India has penetrated Pakistani air systems multiple times through drone and missile attacks, including strikes on air defence systems and targets within Pakistan, more specifically Muridke and Bawahalpur, both in the heart of Pakistani Punjab. Reports indicate Indian missiles entered Pakistani airspace without facing resistance, allowing for deep strikes into Punjab province. Additionally, India has claimed to have neutralised air defence radars and systems at multiple locations in Pakistan, including one in Lahore. Says Bharat Karnad, one of India's leading conservative strategists: `` The Modi government has finally broken through the Indian state's own system of self-deterrence, of inhibitions, by striking terrorist havens deep inside Pakistan, giving proof of its intent to physically demolish facilities and installations within Pakistan being utilised in the until-now successful use of terrorism as asymmetric warfare.'' He adds: ``A huge psychological barrier has been breached by the Indian government. The Indian military will henceforth consider militarily engaging with Pakistan in a more frontal manner.'' The nuclear card has always been a prominent aspect of Pakistan's strategic thinking and a key reason for its nuclear weapons programme. Islamabad has used its nuclear capabilities to deter potential Indian aggression, both conventional and nuclear, and to prevent India from achieving a military victory. The emergence of Pakistan as a nuclear power in 1998 prompted India to also develop its nuclear capabilities, leading to a complex strategic environment characterized by mutual deterrence and a heightened risk of escalation. India's "No First Use" (NFU) policy, which means it will not use nuclear weapons unless its own territory is attacked, has influenced its strategic thinking and military posture. Pakistan, unlike India, has not adopted an NFU policy, and its tactical nuclear weapons are seen by some as a means of countering India's conventional military superiority. Interestingly, amidst this backdrop, a 2019 research paper published by Routledge is drawing renewed attention. The study predicted a nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan in the year 2025, sparked by a high-casualty terror attack. The researchers proposed that a major terrorist attack would provoke India to mobilize troops along the Line of Control (LoC), prompting a Pakistan response, which after casualties and violent exchanges would lead to rapid escalation. Assuming both countries possess around 250 nuclear weapons each, the researchers warn of catastrophic consequences, which include The Modi government has finally broken through the Indian state's own system of self-deterrence. 50 to 125 million immediate deaths, with major Indian and Pakistani cities completely gutted. In Karnad's estimation, however, Pakistan simply cannot resort to nuclear blackmail because the costs of an Indian counter strike would mean that it will cease to exist as a social entity. Crucially, the Pakistani Army knows it as well, he says.
