Tag: History

Book Review – Supriya Gandhi’s Biography of Dara Shukoh Separates the Man From the Myth

Dara Shukoh, along with Akbar, remains among the two well-loved personalities of Mughal India. In the case of Dara, he finds appeal even among Hindu nationalists. As the figure of Dara is inscribed with modern labels of liberal and secular, the nuances and complexities in the personality of Shah Jahan’s eldest son remain hidden. The… Read More Book Review – Supriya Gandhi’s Biography of Dara Shukoh Separates the Man From the Myth

Dilip

Sam Jones: From Che Guevara to lockdown: photo book tells story of Madrid

One warm June weekend 61 years ago, a scruffily bearded Argentinian on his way from Cuba to Cairo stopped over in Madrid. With almost a day to kill between flights, he did what any tourist of the time would have done: explored the city, visited a bullring, had breakfast and did a little shopping. He… Read More Sam Jones: From Che Guevara to lockdown: photo book tells story of Madrid

Dilip

Ben Ehrenreich: How Do You Know When Society Is About to Fall Apart? Meet the scholars who study civilizational collapse

When I first spoke with Joseph Tainter in early May, he and I and nearly everyone else had reason to be worried. A few days earlier, the official tally of Covid-19 infections in the United States had climbed above one million, unemployment claims had topped 30 million and the United Nations had warned that the… Read More Ben Ehrenreich: How Do You Know When Society Is About to Fall Apart? Meet the scholars who study civilizational collapse

Dilip

Ramachandra Guha: A tribute to ES Reddy, the father of my journey as a Gandhi scholar

After E.S. Reddy died on November 1, I wrote an obituary in the Financial Times, covering the major aspects of his life and work. In this column I offer a more personal tribute, of what he meant to me and to other scholars of Gandhi like myself..    I first met Enuga Sreenivasulu Reddy in New York in… Read More Ramachandra Guha: A tribute to ES Reddy, the father of my journey as a Gandhi scholar

Dilip

Book review: How Did Josef Mengele Become the Evil Doctor of Auschwitz?

If anyone embodies the archetype of the evil that was Auschwitz, it is surely Josef Mengele. Dubbed by the inmates and survivors of the camp the “Angel of Death,” the immaculate doctor – with a slight flick of the finger – would casually select those permitted to live and work and those destined to die… Read More Book review: How Did Josef Mengele Become the Evil Doctor of Auschwitz?

Dilip

Mohammed Hanif: The rest of the world has had it with US presidents, Trump or otherwise

NB: A brilliant article. The USA has intervened militarily and politically, with disastrous consequences, in many parts of the world, not least during the Bangladesh war in 1971; Vietnam between 1963 and 1975, and Chile in 1973. America under this ruthless buffoon is invading itself. I wish America’s Democratic voters well, and hope they succeed… Read More Mohammed Hanif: The rest of the world has had it with US presidents, Trump or otherwise

Dilip

Journey To A War by W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood (1939) // W. H. Auden 'In Time of War' (1939)

Leave Truth to the police and us; we know the Good;   We build the Perfect City time shall never alter;    Our Law shall guard you always like a cirque of mountains… (p 266)    But ideas can be true although men die,   And we can watch a thousand faces    Made active by… Read More Journey To A War by W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood (1939) // W. H. Auden 'In Time of War' (1939)

Dilip

Gaiutra Bahadur: In 1953, Britain openly removed an elected government, with tragic consequences

For generations, a parable involving outside intervention has circulated in Guyana, formerly British Guiana, in South America. The story goes that soldiers sent in to suppress the independence movement fixated on homes flying red flags, believing them to be a sign of Communist allegiance. Instead, they were Hindu prayer flags. I’ve encountered this tale in… Read More Gaiutra Bahadur: In 1953, Britain openly removed an elected government, with tragic consequences

Dilip