Tag: History

Nirupama Subramanian: Why a demolition in Jaffna recalls Sri Lanka’s unaddressed Tamil question

The sudden demolition of a memorial in the Jaffna University Campus in northern Sri Lanka to remember Tamil civilians killed during the LTTE’s last stand against the Sri Lankan Army in 2009 has brought attention to the simmering and yet unaddressed issues of post-war ethnic reconciliation, justice and accountability, as well as a political resolution of the… Read More Nirupama Subramanian: Why a demolition in Jaffna recalls Sri Lanka’s unaddressed Tamil question

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Historical anthropologist challenges conventional wisdom about human nature and violence. By April M. Short

War and all of its brutality is attention-grabbing and memorable. Recollections of war and conquests tend to stick around and take up the spotlight in historical records. However, a war-centered narrative paints an incomplete picture of human history—and human nature. While there is a popular opinion in the anthropological community that war is an evolutionary,… Read More Historical anthropologist challenges conventional wisdom about human nature and violence. By April M. Short

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Shekhar Pathak: A hundred years ago, a fiery speech in Uttarakhand escalated the protests against forced labour

This month marks the centenary of a remarkable (and successful) peasant protest in Uttarakhand. The British had inherited from native maharajas a system of forced labour known as begar, which they imposed on the peasantry. Under this system, villagers were compelled to carry the loads of British officials and European travellers, and also provide them… Read More Shekhar Pathak: A hundred years ago, a fiery speech in Uttarakhand escalated the protests against forced labour

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MATTHEW ROZSA: This 45,500-year-old cave painting of a pig may be the oldest known work of art

45,500 years is a long, long time. It is nearly 23 times as long as the distance between the point at which you are reading this article and the birth of Jesus Christ. It is roughly 9 times as long as the distance between the present day and the rise of ancient Egyptian civilization. And, according… Read More MATTHEW ROZSA: This 45,500-year-old cave painting of a pig may be the oldest known work of art

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Avani Bansal: Raid on Mehmood Pracha’s Office: India’s Hans Litten Moment?

The Indian legal community seems to have witnessed its own ‘Hans Litten’ moment as Advocate Mehmood Pracha’s office was raided by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police this week. Hitler hated lawyers, but one lawyer whose name couldn’t even be mentioned in Hitler’s presence was that of Hans Achim Litten. He opposed the Nazis at… Read More Avani Bansal: Raid on Mehmood Pracha’s Office: India’s Hans Litten Moment?

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Ramachandra Guha: Gandhi said RSS was ‘communal with a totalitarian outlook’ – and that’s still true

The members of the RSS who control the Union government have subjugated the press, allegedly tamed the judiciary and used bribery and coercion to undermine or overthrow state governments run by other parties. The new laws aimed at curbing NGOs are animated by the desire to reduce to insignificance all voluntary organisations that do not… Read More Ramachandra Guha: Gandhi said RSS was ‘communal with a totalitarian outlook’ – and that’s still true

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History from below: What shaped the thought of E P Thompson, the great historian of ordinary working people? By Priya Satia

In 1976, a momentous six-week visit to India during the Emergency under Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi pivotally fuelled the vehemence of his scathing essay ‘The Poverty of Theory’ (1978) and undid his usual embarrassment about his father. On arrival, EP was warmly welcomed in acknowledgment of his father’s friendship with the late prime minister Nehru. He put… Read More History from below: What shaped the thought of E P Thompson, the great historian of ordinary working people? By Priya Satia

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Jairus Banaji on the Indian corporate strategy of subordinating farm households and family labor

NB: Continuing the discussion of issues raised by the ongoing kisan agitation, here are some observations made by Jairus Banaji on the nature of corporate domination and subjugation of peasant agriculture. They appeared on his Facebook page, the dates of which are appended. A long-standing dodge in mainstream commentary on economic policy as well as in political… Read More Jairus Banaji on the Indian corporate strategy of subordinating farm households and family labor

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Shalini Langer – A Call to Spy: Radhika Apte-starrer is un-showy and un-bombastic

A Call to Spy is a rare World War II film that doesn’t seek to strike awe and fear — the requisites now to win battles. Quite in character with its heroes, a group of largely unheralded women spies (“the headless”, as they were called) who helped Resistance efforts in a France occupied by Hitler’s… Read More Shalini Langer – A Call to Spy: Radhika Apte-starrer is un-showy and un-bombastic

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Matthew Rozsa: This Marxist philosopher foresaw the rise of Trumpism more than 80 years ago

His name was Walter Benjamin; born to a Jewish family in Berlin, Benjamin was present for a pivotal moment in history, and watched Hitler rise to power. By the time he wrote his most famous essay, he was an exile living in France amidst financial hardships, having recognized that the Reichstag fire three years earlier… Read More Matthew Rozsa: This Marxist philosopher foresaw the rise of Trumpism more than 80 years ago

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