Roots of the Knowledge Tree
What some of us have learnt from BN Goswamy When asked about his focus on the past, in a conversation … Continue reading Roots of the Knowledge Tree
Tag: History
Education for Hindu Rashtra: UGC-NCERT’s Right-wing Drive
The UGC and NCERT, guided by the Hindu nationalist agenda, are striking strong contrasts to the values of our Constitution. … Continue reading Education for Hindu Rashtra: UGC-NCERT’s Right-wing Drive
Israel-Palestine war: This is not about Hamas. It’s a 75-year colonial war
The ethnic cleansing of Palestine is inseparable from the racialised structures of Zionism, which receives unbridled support from Europe and … Continue reading Israel-Palestine war: This is not about Hamas. It’s a 75-year colonial war
Who is the greater, Alexander the Great or Fleming?
Today, when war in some part of the world or the other has become a constant and we are researching … Continue reading Who is the greater, Alexander the Great or Fleming?
A middle path needed to resolve Israel-Palestine conflict
With not even Europe fully supporting the US-UK stance on Israel, these two powers stand isolated globally. THE Israel-Palestine conflict … Continue reading A middle path needed to resolve Israel-Palestine conflict
Israel’s Role in Hamas’ Creation and its Retaliatory Genocide in Gaza
Hamas’s recent attacks on Israel, in the presence of one of the best intelligence outfits in the world, has once … Continue reading Israel’s Role in Hamas’ Creation and its Retaliatory Genocide in Gaza
Palestine: the failure of the two-state solution and the communist alternative
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza is reaching a pivotal stage. The horrifying images of butchered civilians have provoked a wave … Continue reading Palestine: the failure of the two-state solution and the communist alternative
The history of Israel-Palestine to 1993
Trotsky warned in 1940 that the attempt to solve the ‘Jewish problem’ in Europe through the dispossession of the Palestinians … Continue reading The history of Israel-Palestine to 1993
Debate on Deindustrialization continued: Fakirmohan Senapati’s ‘Balesore Pangaluna’
Abstract: On public perception, Odisha remains the poorest state but things were different in the first half 19th century. The state … Continue reading Debate on Deindustrialization continued: Fakirmohan Senapati’s ‘Balesore Pangaluna’
History cannot be recast: Book Review of ‘Our History, Their History, Whose History?’ by Romila Thapar
A boon for those who question so-called historians merely fantasising about the past and present only what they would like … Continue reading History cannot be recast: Book Review of ‘Our History, Their History, Whose History?’ by Romila Thapar
Umar Khalid, the Historian: His Continued Imprisonment Is a Loss to the Academic World
Even for someone who worked extensively on Adivasi history, his thesis ‘Contesting Claims and Contingencies of Rule: Singhbhum 1800 – … Continue reading Umar Khalid, the Historian: His Continued Imprisonment Is a Loss to the Academic World
Umar Khalid Challenged Modi’s Anti-Muslim Agenda. India Accused Him of Terrorism and Locked Him Up.
It was still dark outside when Umar Khalid sat down to make the farewell video. He had stayed up all night … Continue reading Umar Khalid Challenged Modi’s Anti-Muslim Agenda. India Accused Him of Terrorism and Locked Him Up.
Biren Singh is the Narendra Modi of 2002
The Prime Minister cannot criticise or sack the Manipur Chief Minister, for the latter is pursuing the anti-minority model that … Continue reading Biren Singh is the Narendra Modi of 2002
If NCERT Has its Way, the Study of Indian History Will Move Entirely Outside of India
Deleting pages and chapters can only be described as an entirely unintelligent way of reducing content. And the NCERT’s choice … Continue reading If NCERT Has its Way, the Study of Indian History Will Move Entirely Outside of India
International Women’s Day Is a Socialist Holiday
In much of the world, International Women’s Day has become a bland and largely apolitical event. But it has its … Continue reading International Women’s Day Is a Socialist Holiday
The New Irrationalism
More than a century after the commencement of the Great Crisis of 1914–1945, represented by the First World War, the … Continue reading The New Irrationalism
Marx and Engels and Russia’s Peasant Communes
What is threatening the life of the Russian commune is neither historical inevitability nor a theory; it is oppression by … Continue reading Marx and Engels and Russia’s Peasant Communes
What History Really Tells Us About Hindu-Muslim Relations
Supposedly irrefutable evidence of division is said to lie in the Muslims over the last 1,000 years having victimised the … Continue reading What History Really Tells Us About Hindu-Muslim Relations
The Revolutionary Feminism of Thomas Sankara
Thomas Sankara, the revolutionary leader of Burkina Faso, is well known for opposing the neocolonialism of the Global North. But … Continue reading The Revolutionary Feminism of Thomas Sankara
We Need Thomas Sankara’s Political Vision Today
Thomas Sankara, the socialist president of Burkina Faso, was assassinated 34 years ago today. With Global South debt levels at … Continue reading We Need Thomas Sankara’s Political Vision Today
Thomas Sankara Gave His Life Fighting Neocolonialism
Anti-colonial revolutionary Thomas Sankara struggled to free his country, Burkina Faso, from the domination of foreign corporations and neoliberal economic … Continue reading Thomas Sankara Gave His Life Fighting Neocolonialism
They Never Killed Thomas Sankara
Last week, Blaise Compaoré was jailed for his role in the murder of Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara — … Continue reading They Never Killed Thomas Sankara
Hindutva, Dalits and Neoliberal Order
There can be a reasonable debate over whether the paradigm created by the political ascendance of the Hindutva could be … Continue reading Hindutva, Dalits and Neoliberal Order
Writing the Early History of India
In these days of lockdowns and in fact even in the post-lockdown days, it is a great idea to have … Continue reading Writing the Early History of India
Maa Kali – The Philosophy and History
We worshiped Maa Kali on the 12th of November, so here is an article that delves into the multifaceted aspects … Continue reading Maa Kali – The Philosophy and History
Blood and Soil in Narendra Modi’s India
The Prime Minister’s Hindu-nationalist government has cast two hundred million Muslims as internal enemies. On August 11th, two weeks after … Continue reading Blood and Soil in Narendra Modi’s India
The different types of nationalism and their impact on interpretations of the past
An excerpt from ‘Our History, Their History, Whose History?’. Nationalism assumes that it brings about the uniting of communities on … Continue reading The different types of nationalism and their impact on interpretations of the past
28 February 1947: Taiwan’s February Revolution
The so-called “February 28th Incident” (228, 二二八事件) is most remembered for the days of indiscriminate killings and repression that the … Continue reading 28 February 1947: Taiwan’s February Revolution
India of Rati and Kama Vedas, Upanishads
Neo-Brahmanical Hindus are now trying to unleash a new rebellion by adopting Orientalist-centric ideas that ancient Indians were all spiritual … Continue reading India of Rati and Kama Vedas, Upanishads
Whitewashing and the Erasure of History in Argentina
Just over 150 years ago, Argentina’s African population was deliberately decimated. Today, the relatively few Afro-Argentines remaining are reckoning with … Continue reading Whitewashing and the Erasure of History in Argentina
Nationalism and Patriotism: A Dialogue of Ideologies in Rabindranath Tagore’s Writings
Renowned for his diverse talents that transcended various fields, Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali polymath — a gift that never … Continue reading Nationalism and Patriotism: A Dialogue of Ideologies in Rabindranath Tagore’s Writings
Beethoven and Napoleon
French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was a hero to Beethoven, inspiring a revolutionary symphony. But disillusionment was soon to follow. In April 1802, … Continue reading Beethoven and Napoleon
The Socialist Origins of International Women’s Day
From the beginning, International Women’s Day has been an occasion to celebrate working women and fight capitalism. In 1894, Clara Zetkin took … Continue reading The Socialist Origins of International Women’s Day
Be Warned, the Assault on JNU is Part of a Pattern
There is by now little doubt that we are currently being governed by those that seem to have an anti-intellectual … Continue reading Be Warned, the Assault on JNU is Part of a Pattern
Mannath Padmanabhan the Anti Communist Masquerading as Renaissance Leader
കമ്യൂണിസ്റ്റ് വിരുദ്ധ നായകൻനവോത്ഥാന നായകനാകുന്ന ചരിത്രസൂത്രം കമ്യൂണിസ്റ്റുകാരെ ഇന്ത്യയിൽനിന്ന് കെട്ടുകെട്ടിക്കുകയെന്നത് ജീവിതലക്ഷ്യമായി കാണുകയും, കേരളത്തിലെ ആദ്യ കമ്യൂണിസ്റ്റ് സർക്കാറിനെതിരെ സാമുദായിക വികാരങ്ങൾ ഇളക്കിവിട്ട് അട്ടിമറി സാഹചര്യമൊരുക്കാൻ നേതൃത്വം … Continue reading Mannath Padmanabhan the Anti Communist Masquerading as Renaissance Leader
Kapil drops Viv
A stunning catch, an untimely injury, an umpiring error: to what extent has cricket been shaped by whim and fortune? … Continue reading Kapil drops Viv
Baptist War
The Baptist War, also known as the Sam Sharp Rebellion, the Christmas Rebellion, the Christmas Uprising and the Great Jamaican Slave Revolt of 1831–32, was an eleven-day … Continue reading Baptist War
Crossing endogamic boundaries
In the aftermath of Ilavarasan’s horrific death, dalit movements and leaders in Tamil Nadu have raised the need for a … Continue reading Crossing endogamic boundaries
The Reader's Digest Guide to Intimate Relations 