Friday, Sep 30, 2022
Journalism of Courage
Adrija Roychowdhury
Adrija writes long, researched features on history, world and national politics, as well as social issues. Follow her on Twitter @AdrijaRoychow
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The Kohinoor ‘curse’ and other unknown stories about the British crown jewel
The crowds waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the fabled jewel and once they did, they were left largely disappointed. The now-defunct satirical magazine Punch referred to it as the ‘Mountain of darkness’, playing upon the English translation of the Kohinoor as ‘mountain of light’.
Sat, Sep 24, 2022
Hindi Diwas, and the history of the debate over Hindi’s status
Hindi Diwas: Since Hindi was the spoken language of large parts of North India, it was seen as a safe option for the national linguistic unification of the country. However, large parts of the non-Hindi speaking regions of the country were unhappy with the idea.
Thu, Sep 15, 2022
How Delhi was destroyed and rebuilt after the revolt of 1857
The city once known for its resplendent culture of mushairas and poets would be reduced to one strewn with bodies of the dead. From a royal capital, its status was relegated to that of a provincial town. The city recovered itself only after 1911 and more so after Independence.
Mon, Sep 12, 2022
How successful were the Cholas as empire builders
It is claimed that the Cholas were one of the longest recorded dynasties in world history. They were also the first empire with grand commercial and territorial ambitions outside of the Indian subcontinent. The reading of the Chola grandeur though, is also politically coloured.
Fri, Sep 30, 2022
Explained: The historical and cultural connections between India and Thailand
India and the Southeast Asia region share a long history of cultural and commercial relations. The classical Sanskrit and Pali texts from India carry references of the region using various names such as Kathakosha, Suvarnabhumi (the land of god) or Suvarnadvipa (the golden island).
Fri, Aug 19, 2022
Why a majority of Muslims opposed Jinnah’s idea of 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 Historical documents, however, suggest that a majority of the Muslims opposed the Partition and stayed in India.
Sat, Aug 20, 2022
Explained: Baloch separatism, and the coercive accession of the Khanate of Kalat to Pakistan
When the Indian subcontinent became independent, a majority of the 500-odd princely states ended up with India and among the few that decided to accede to Pakistan, those comprising the province of Balochistan proved most complicated.
Sun, Aug 14, 2022
Delhi Rewind: How Dilshad Garden started out as a slice of Lahore
The first time the DDA turned its attention towards the Dilshad Garden area was during Sanjay Gandhi’s urban renewal plan of the mid 1970s when close to 2 lakh people from the slums of Old Delhi were moved to the resettlement colonies.
Mon, Aug 08, 2022
Why class based regiments have survived test of time in Indian Army
While on one hand, caste and community based recruitments are seen to be divisive in nature, experts and senior officials in the army note the historic context in which the system arose and say that altering it might affect the feeling of brotherhood that is necessary for the military to perform well in war.
Mon, Jul 25, 2022
Delhi Rewind: A West Delhi locality sheds light on how Partition refugees were segregated by caste
The neighbourhood adjacent to Karol Bagh is dominated by the Regar community, a leather tanning caste group who trace their origins to Rajasthan and have stories to narrate of how their forefathers were employed by the British to build New Delhi.
Sun, Jul 10, 2022
Women’s emancipation or population control? Why abortion was legalised in India in 1971
The politics surrounding the MTPA shows that it was less a product of the women’s movement in India and more of a means to control the expanding population of the country. The Act’s wording and the arguments made in its favour remains to be criticised by Indian feminists.
Sun, Jul 03, 2022
Delhi Rewind: How DDA offered housing to Delhi’s aspiring middle-class, set example for rest of India
The DDA had been functioning for two decades by then. It was established in 1957 in the wake of the Partition by the central government to ensure the planned expansion and development of Delhi.
Sun, Jun 26, 2022
Why experts say India does not need a population policy
India's experiments with population control go back to the years preceding Indepedence and presently experts say that not only have most targets been met but also the demographic situation is at an advantageous level.
Sun, Jun 19, 2022
Delhi rewind: How the National Museum of Natural History became a centre for environmental activism in Delhi
The National Museum of Natural History was established inside the FICCI building at Mandi House, where it stayed until it was destroyed in a massive fire in April 2016.
Sun, Jun 05, 2022
Delhi rewrite, and the ‘Harijan’ word debate
B R Ambedkar was against the term on account of its religious associations and preferred to use the term ‘Dalit’ or ‘suppressed classes’ instead.
Fri, Jun 03, 2022
Caste or biradari? How ‘privilege and descent’ plays out among Indian Muslims
In the South Asian experience of religion, caste is often associated with Hinduism. Yet as sociological research on the lived experience of Islam in India has shown, caste is very much intrinsic to South Asia and practised by Muslims as well, albeit the nature of it might differ from that in Hinduism.
Tue, Jul 05, 2022
Delhi rewind: How Delite, among Delhi’s first cinemas in Independent India, came up following Nehru’s call
A plot was purchased in an auction by the Delhi Improvement Trust, for an exorbitant Rs 6 lakh, to make way for the hall with about 1,100 seats
Sun, May 22, 2022
It all started with a bulldozer in Jahangirpuri
The site of the contested demolition drive carried out by North Delhi Municipal Corporation recently, Jahangirpuri, was born ironically out of a somewhat similar exercise. Here's how.
Wed, May 11, 2022
From Demosthenes to Nehru… why free speech remains stuck in debate
The concept of free speech has evolved since its first version in ancient Athens and Rome to be fiercely contested over the many centuries even though it has made its way into the constitutions of US and India.
Sat, May 14, 2022
How Shanti Niketan and Vasant Vihar came up for retd central govt officers
The colony of Shanti Niketan, lying close to the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri, was built on the request of a few government servants, for allotment of some land at a subsidised rate for their post-retirement years.
Sun, May 01, 2022
Using heritage to improve people’s lives: The Aga Khan Trust for Culture in Nizamuddin
In the last decade and a half, the AKTC has conserved about 60 monuments in the vicinity, the most recent being the 16th-century turquoise domed tomb located on Mathura Road called Sabz Burj, which was opened for public view in November 2021.
Sat, Apr 23, 2022
Delhi Rewind: How DLF built colonies in Delhi for aspirational Partition migrants
Long before the DLF turned Gurgaon from a humble hamlet to one of the fastest growing cities in India, it was in Delhi that the company created some of the city’s most opulent neighbourhoods.
Sun, Apr 17, 2022
Delhi Rewind: How Partition migrants made Daryaganj a hub for Hindi publishers
When Amarnath Varma, 87, and his family decided to move out of Multan in the wake of the Partition, the most prized possessions they transferred to Delhi beforehand were thousands of books that lined their bookstore. Varma’s grandfather had started the books business, selling titles in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi.
Tue, Apr 05, 2022
‘A fabric woven of air’: In Bangladesh, an attempt to resurrect the famed Dhakai Muslin
The Dhaka muslin was the fabric of the emperors, worn not only by the Mughals but also flaunted by the French queen Marie Antoinette. Some called it ‘woven air’, while others described it as the “skin of the moon”.
Sun, Mar 27, 2022
Delhi Rewind: How a mosque in Khirki village survived, with help from local Hindus
The Khirki Masjid is known to have been built in the 14th Century by Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah, the prime minister of Firoz Shah Tughlaq. For residents of Khirki though, the identity of the mosque was rather vague, given that no religious rituals were held on its premises.
Sun, Mar 20, 2022