Pakistan Is Either Good Or Ghastly by Niren Tolsi

"Perhaps no cricket-playing nation conjures the vicissitudes and vagaries of the game quite like Pakistan. Or as many synonyms for “unpredictable” – that essential nature of cricket being so intricately woven into how Pakistan play."

Niren Tolsi’s Moving Speech Takes Aim At The State Of SA Journalism

"Journalist Niren Tolsi, awarded the Ruth First Fellowship earlier this year, gave the annual Ruth First Lecture at the University of Witwatersrand on Thursday evening."

2018 Ruth First Memorial Lecture

Fire and Media: Towards a New South African Journalism by Niren Tolsi.

Niren Tolsi On Journalistic Integrity by Mwelela Cele

"Seasoned and acclaimed journalist Niren Tolsi gave the 15th Ruth First memorial lecture on 18 October. Tolsi, contributing editor at New Frame and co-founding editor of The Con, has worked at a number of leading South African newspapers. He writes about social justice, constitutional law and the politics of the judiciary, grassroots mobilisation and the state’s (often violent) responses to it, politics, the arts, jazz, and the politics of cricket."

The Rainbow Beauty Of Hashim Amla by Niren Tolsi

"Hashim Amla is an extraordinary batsman. He is also the living embodiment of a nation trying to express itself while healing."

In Search of Lost Time by Niren Tolsi

"Grahamstown is a madeleine cake. A sleepy student town where its history as a centre for English colonial expansion in the Eastern Cape remains apparent on its streets, and in its architecture — in its material, physical and social structures."

People Will Die: Marikana & Fees Must Fall by Niren Tolsi

"For exactly 300 days, they sat: The traumatised. The tortured. The people who knew the dead. They had watched their family members, lovers, colleagues or comrades being killed. Over and over again. This was in evidence led at the commission of inquiry into the 44 deaths during an unprotected strike at Marikana in August 2012."

The Very First Hard Copy Of The Con

When Life’s A Pitch, Just Turn To Cricket by Niren Tolsi

"South African captain Hashim Amla was grinding down the England attack on day three of the Test match in Cape Town and I had been with him for every ball."

Marikana: A State Of No Apologies

The families of slain miners seek compensation for their losses – and an apology from government, writes Niren Tolsi.

Bronze Is A Hollow Heritage by Niren Tolsi

"The unused, broken, cooling towers off Harvey Street in Bloemfontein wear the tattered dress of hubris and violence. Save for John Dube and Albert Luthuli, the drapes that once showed the faces of previous ANC presidents are frayed, ripped to almost nothing, and trail in the wind like the shredded clothes of a survivor of a brutal assault. Many of the faces have long disappeared." Continue reading.

Refugees Cause Cape Town Race Wars

Refugees Cause Cape Town Race Wars by Niren Tolsi and Ben Fogel

Marikana

Marikana: The end of a bitter road promises little closure by Niren Tolsi

Voëlvry

Voëlvry: White Noise and Lost Irony

Shifty Records

Shifty Records: History from Below

The Con

Check out The Con for some of SA's best reads.

Game Changer

Game Changer: Niren Tolsi

(Im)perfect: Race, Identity and the Making of Hashim Amla

(Im)perfect: Race, Identity and the Making of Hashim Amla by Niren Tolsi.