NB: A timely reminder of the vulnerability of historiography to ideology. There are some among us who wish to ‘rectify’ history; whose resentment at the past can never be satiated, neither by revising textbooks nor by bulldozing the homes of the poor. Their emotional affliction is best described by Friedrich Nietzsche: The will cannot will… Read More Narayani Gupta: The problem with cherry-picking facts from history
Our excrement is a natural, renewable and sustainable resource – if only we can overcome our visceral disgust of it… Grandpa had a system of sludge distribution. He never filled the buckets fully so that, when he carried them, the sloshing goop wouldn’t spill over onto his boots. Sometimes he carried the buckets by hand,… Read More Lina Zeldovich: The power of shit
A brilliant study of corruption by power, more specifically of the willingness of the German elites to chummy up to the psychotic vileness of the Third Reich. This is an account of clubs, diplomatic receptions and parties, but one shot through with a scholarly analysis of the nature of sociability, elitism and luxury in a… Read More Vases, Tea Sets, Cigars, His Own Watercolours: High Society in the Third Reich
The years leading up to the declaration of war between the Axis and Allied powers in 1939 were tumultuous times for people across the globe. The Great Depression had started a decade before, leaving much of the world unemployed and desperate. Nationalism was sweeping through Germany, and it chafed against the punitive measures of the… Read More ALAN TAYLOR – Historic photos of World War II: Before the War
Just as every grief narrative is a reckoning with loss, every love story is a chronicle of finding,” writes Kathryn Schulz in her eloquent and tender memoir, Lost & Found. “And so, much as my father’s death made me wonder about the relationship between large losses and smaller ones, falling for someone made me think about… Read More Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz review – life-changing moments of love and death
Letter to the Readers, Mainstream, April 23, 2022 Climate Change 2022 Report: Act Now to Avert Catastrophic Events | K N Ninan Earth Day re-emphasizes need for resolving the survival crisis | Bharat Dogra Making Sense of IMF’s Institutional View on Capital Flows | Kavaljit Singh Jammu and Kashmir: Tenth Report Of The Concerned Citizens’ Group Alas, Hindi… Read More Mainstream, April 23, 2022 / Ramjas History students bid farewell to retiring teacher
There are already signs that the coup has prompted an increase in illegal mining and logging, and regime economic policies are set to compound the environmental destruction at a time when activists and communities are unable to push back. Within months of the February 2021 coup, there were already signs that military rule could have… Read More Myanmar- ‘Quick profits’: Activists fear for environment under military rule
Everyone grows up with (or into) individual traits such as gender and intelligence, but also different group identities – you can be a Hindu or a Muslim, a Dalit or a Kayasth, a Bengali or a Malayali, and so on. How should the Indian state see the individual – as primarily defined by their individuality… Read More Raghuram Rajan & Rohit Lamba: Groups, not individuals, are the focus of most policy, politics. This has social, economic costs
This week, authorities in India’s capital New Delhi released a new plan of action to curb air pollution over the course of summer, as a severe heatwave bakes the city. The plan focuses on reducing pollution from road dust and the burning of waste, which are major contributors of fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) that pose… Read More How air pollution is affecting people in Delhi's slums
Umang Gupta one-time student of Sainik School Kunjpura (1961-65) and IIT Kanpur, a technology giant, passed away in San Mateo, California, on April 19, 2022 after a spirited battle against cancer. His mother, Mrs Ramnika Gupta, was CPI (M) MP from Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. She was a writer, educationist and tireless worker for tribal rights and the preservation of tribal languages. She… Read More Farewell Umang
After the truth-shower 