Author: Dilip

I'm a scholar, writer and teacher; and my blog is designed for intellectual exploration. It carries no advertisements and requires no cash subscription

In Turning India into a Tyranny, Modi Has Made Economic ‘Crimes’ His Latest Weapon

Prem Shankar Jha Eight years into government by Narendra Modi, it is no longer possible to pretend that India’s multi-ethnic, multi-religious democracy is not in acute danger. The reason is the collapse of the judiciary, the only pillar of democracy that had remained standing after the second victory of the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)… Read More In Turning India into a Tyranny, Modi Has Made Economic ‘Crimes’ His Latest Weapon

Dilip

Israel’s All-Out Assault on Rights Defenders: Palestinian Groups Raided, Closed; Researcher for Israeli Group Detained

By Omar Shakir | Israel and Palestine Director, Middle East and North Africa Division | @OmarSShakir | – ( Human Rights Watch ) – Three years ago, as the Israeli government prepared to deport me from Israel and Palestine over my human rights advocacy, I wrote in The Forward that, should the deportation proceed without sanction from the international community, it… Read More Israel’s All-Out Assault on Rights Defenders: Palestinian Groups Raided, Closed; Researcher for Israeli Group Detained

Dilip

Alfred McCoy: To Govern the Globe – World Orders and Catastrophic Change

Reviewed by Brian Tanguay What factors contribute to the rise and fall of empires, and what characteristics distinguish an empire from a world order? In To Govern the Globe, American historian Alfred W. McCoy seeks to answer these questions by surveying seven hundred years of human history, from 1347 when the Black Death reached Europe and… Read More Alfred McCoy: To Govern the Globe – World Orders and Catastrophic Change

Dilip

Ukraine war shows it’s time to do away with the racist ‘Clash of Civilizations’ theory

By Katherine Bullock “The clash of civilizations,” wrote the late American political scientist Samuel Huntington in a famous 1993 article, “will dominate global politics.” He predicted: “The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.” Picked apart by critics for conceptual and empirical errors, the tragedy of 9/11 breathed new life… Read More Ukraine war shows it’s time to do away with the racist ‘Clash of Civilizations’ theory

Dilip

Adrija Roychowdhuri: Why a majority of Muslims opposed Partition and stayed on in India

A standard narrative exists about the role of Muslims during the Partition in India, which talks about how the Muslim community, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his Muslim League, stood for the two-nation theory and demanded the Partition of India. Historical documents, however, suggest that a majority of the Muslims opposed the Partition and… Read More Adrija Roychowdhuri: Why a majority of Muslims opposed Partition and stayed on in India

Dilip

Akhtar Balouch: Why did Qurratulain Hyder leave Pakistan for India?

NB: Today we learn the sad news of Janab Akhtar Balouch’s passing. I have not been able to find an obituary and am posting some of his writings as a tribute. This is the first article of his that I posted: Daya Ram Gidumal of Sindh. Here are some more, including a fascinating account of Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan’s assassination in… Read More Akhtar Balouch: Why did Qurratulain Hyder leave Pakistan for India?

Dilip

Communist Party of India’s resolution on Pakistan and National Unity, September 1942

Pakistan and National Unity is an important position paper of the Communist Party of India, and a far-reaching text in the history of the Indian communist movement. The resolution dated September 19, 1942 contains an outline of the CPI’s support for what it called the ‘just essence of the Pakistan demand’; and the Report by Gangadhar… Read More Communist Party of India’s resolution on Pakistan and National Unity, September 1942

Dilip

Communist Party of India’s Homage to Gandhiji October 2, 1947 / CPI’s Appeal to the People of Pakistan August 15, 1947

First posted July 5, 2015 These documents are part of a publicly accessible archive on the history of India and Pakistan. (Other papers are available under the label Archive of historical documents CPI homage to Gandhi (File CPI/117, PC Joshi Archive, JNU)https://tinyurl.com/qc9yqz5 The first document is a pamphlet entitled On his 79th birthday: Our Homage and Our Pledge.… Read More Communist Party of India’s Homage to Gandhiji October 2, 1947 / CPI’s Appeal to the People of Pakistan August 15, 1947

Dilip

Ideas of India Archive

(First posted November 29, 2019) NB: This is a magnificient contribution to Indian historiography. Rahul Sagar and his collaborators deserve the thanks of the Indian public and indeed of all those interested in an honest exploration of the past. DS Starting in the early nineteenth century, ambitious Indians began flocking to newly-founded schools and colleges offering instruction… Read More Ideas of India Archive

Dilip

Harriet Sherwood: Unsealing of Vatican archives will finally reveal truth about ‘Hitler’s pope’

(First posted March 1, 2020) New light will be shed on one of the most controversial periods of Vatican history on Monday when the archives on Pope Pius XII, accused by critics of being a Nazi sympathiser are unsealed. A year after Pope Francis announced the move, saying “the church isn’t afraid of history”, the documents from Pius XII’s… Read More Harriet Sherwood: Unsealing of Vatican archives will finally reveal truth about ‘Hitler’s pope’

Dilip