Nikita Mohta

Introduction

Nikita writes for the Research Section of IndianExpress.com, focusing on the intersections between colonial history and contemporary issues, especially in gender, culture, and sport....Read More

Nikita writes for the Research Section of IndianExpress.com, focusing on the intersections between colonial history and contemporary issues, especially in gender, culture, and sport.

For suggestions, feedback, or an insider’s guide to exploring Calcutta, feel free to reach out to her at nikita.mohta@indianexpress.com.

Articles by Nikita Mohta

The Forgotten Indian Prisoners of World War II (Penguin Random House India)

The Indian soldiers in World War II who refused to join the Indian National Army

Oct 28, 2025 11:43 IST

Gautam Hazarika explores the hesitation and the fate of the Indian soldiers and officers who did...

Tue, Oct 28, 2025

An old image of Nasreen (Welham Girls' School website)

From Indira Gandhi’s letter to Indo-Pak wartime contributions: how Welham Girls’ School, Dehradun, preserves its rich legacySubscriber Only

Oct 25, 2025 11:28 IST

As it completes 68 years, Welham Girls’ School in Dehradun has transformed its old staffroom into...

Tue, Oct 28, 2025

l-r: Sir Henry Mortimer Durand and Abdur Rahman Khan (Wikipedia)

The complex history of the Durand Line that divides Pakistan and AfghanistanSubscriber Only

Oct 16, 2025 15:16 IST

Designed as a buffer between British and Russian powers in 1893, the Durand Line disrupted...

Tue, Oct 21, 2025

A mistakenly published obituary, a changed will, and the birth of Nobel PrizeSubscriber Only

Oct 10, 2025 16:01 IST

A year before his death in December 1896, at 63, Alfred Nobel changed his will. He stipulated that...

Mon, Oct 13, 2025

Darjeeling bandstand in 1880 (Wikipedia)

How Darjeeling, Queen of the Hills, caught the attention of the British and became their summer getawaySubscriber Only

Oct 08, 2025 18:26 IST

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 reduced the travel time from Britain to India to just a few...

Wed, Oct 08, 2025

Mahatma Gandhi with Thakin Nu, the prime minister of Burma, at Birla House, New Delhi (1947, Wikimedia Commons)

Gandhi in Burma: how his philosophy stirred the region but call for separation from India saw resistanceSubscriber Only

Oct 02, 2025 10:09 IST

Mahatma Gandhi’s social activism offered a fresh perspective to the predominantly...

Thu, Oct 02, 2025

Men captured after a battle with British colonial troops during the 1921-22 Mappila Uprising (Wikipedia)

From Kala Pani to overcrowded jails: Why Indian prisons still bear a colonial stampSubscriber Only

Oct 01, 2025 12:08 IST

Prisons had existed in the Indian subcontinent since the third century BC, but they were mainly...

Wed, Oct 01, 2025

Durga Puja in colonial Bengal (Express archives)

From kings and landlords to communities and corporates: The changing face of Durga PujaSubscriber Only

Sep 27, 2025 11:58 IST

The inception of the Baroiyari Puja in Bengal is believed to have originated with a group of twelve...

Mon, Sep 29, 2025

Recognising a Palestinian state: from 1917 to todaySubscriber Only

Sep 23, 2025 17:47 IST

Palestine’s struggle for statehood gains ground amid renewed global support and the escalating...

Tue, Sep 23, 2025

First of three known versions of "the scourged back" (Wikipedia)

The portrait of Whipped Peter and the Donald Trump administration’s ‘attempt to erase American history’Subscriber Only

Sep 19, 2025 15:13 IST

The 1863 portrait, also known as The Scourged Back, was once publicly circulated to condone slavery...

Fri, Sep 19, 2025

A first day cover issued on 1 April 1937 to commemorate the separation of Burma from the British Indian Empire (Wikimedia Commons)

The India-Myanmar border: when deep cultural ties are tested and redrawnSubscriber Only

Sep 18, 2025 11:12 IST

Shaped by colonial influences, the India-Myanmar boundary has historically been porous, but the...

Thu, Sep 18, 2025

The first Durga Puja at Sukhatara, Kolkata (Express photo)

From Bangladesh to Kolkata: How the Sardar family’s Durga Puja crossed borders, broke barriersSubscriber Only

Sep 12, 2025 12:00 IST

The humiliation inflicted by a zamindari family in the 1910s saw the Sardars defy social norms to...

Wed, Sep 24, 2025

‘We blur borders to survive’: Life along the India-Bangladesh borderSubscriber Only

Sep 10, 2025 17:45 IST

The Bengal-Bangladesh border stretches across 2,216 km. With inadequate healthcare and limited...

Thu, Sep 11, 2025

Giorgio Armani (Edited by Angshuman Maity)

From fascism to fashion: how war-ravaged Italy shaped Giorgio Armani and his legacySubscriber Only

Sep 05, 2025 15:03 IST

Born in 1934 in fascist Italy, Italian designer Giorgio Armani’s sense of fashion and aesthetics...

Fri, Sep 05, 2025

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (Edited by Abhishek Mitra)

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and a novel that shook the British EmpireSubscriber Only

Sep 04, 2025 14:24 IST

With Srijit Mukherji announcing a new film to mark the centenary of ‘Pather Dabi’, a novel by...

Fri, Sep 05, 2025

Japanese monk Myoan Eisai (Edited by Angshuman Maity)

From monastery drink to global fascination, the popularity of matcha and why there is a shortageSubscriber Only

Aug 30, 2025 10:09 IST

Although the Japanese are considered to be the pioneers of matcha, key elements of its production...

Sat, Aug 30, 2025

l-r, Taraknath Das, Subhas Chandra Bose, Virendranath Chattopadhyaya (Edited by Abhishek Mitra)

Bose, Berlin and the call for Indian independence in Nazi GermanySubscriber Only

Aug 29, 2025 14:00 IST

The Indo-German link in the freedom struggle, though unusual, dated back to the First World War....

Mon, Sep 01, 2025

Hazarduari Palace & Museum (Express photo)

Jagat Seths, Sheherwalis, and Nawabs: The story of Murshidabad, the capital that could have beenSubscriber Only

Aug 21, 2025 17:16 IST

At its peak in the 1700s, Murshidabad contributed a remarkable 5% to the global market and also...

Thu, Aug 21, 2025

Left to right, Sayadaw U Ottama and Mahatma Gandhi ( Source: Wikipedia)

The other Mahatma: Sayadaw U Ottama, a Buddhist monk who fought for Burma’s independenceSubscriber Only

Aug 15, 2025 13:19 IST

Deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance, Sayadaw U Ottama was...

Sat, Aug 16, 2025

Left to right, Shapurji Saklatvala, Shyamji Krishnavarma & the India House (Edited by Abhishek Mitra)

When a call for Indian independence echoed in LondonSubscriber Only

Aug 14, 2025 15:22 IST

From nationalists and writers who influenced public opinion to organisations like the India League...

Fri, Aug 29, 2025

Potato harvest in Idaho, 1920 (Source: Wikipedia)

From South America to India, how the humble potato swept the worldSubscriber Only

Aug 09, 2025 09:56 IST

Colonialism may have brought the potato to India, but today, it is an indispensable part of the...

Sat, Aug 16, 2025

Miss Fatima & Divya Deshmukh (Edited by Abhishek Mitra)

Indian women in chess: From Miss Fatima’s 1933 win in Britain to Divya Deshmukh’s World Cup titleSubscriber Only

Aug 07, 2025 13:20 IST

India boasts a strong line-up of chess players, yet women’s participation in the sport is...

Thu, Aug 07, 2025

King Sisowath greeting French officials in 1911 (Source: Wikipedia)

The fight for Cambodia: from Vietnam to the FrenchSubscriber Only

Aug 01, 2025 17:33 IST

The border that lies at the core of the Thailand and Cambodia conflict dates back to the...

Fri, Aug 01, 2025

Yarlung Tsangpo River (Source: Wikipedia)

As Beijing prepares to build world’s biggest hydropower dam, a look at the Yarlung Tsangpo RiverSubscriber Only

Jul 25, 2025 11:16 IST

China’s efforts to build the mega dam at a cost of US$ 167 billion on the Yarlung Tsangpo River...

Fri, Jul 25, 2025

Asma Khan at Darjeeling Express (Express photo)

A taste of Calcutta in London: The story behind Asma Khan’s restaurant Darjeeling ExpressSubscriber Only

Jul 24, 2025 19:24 IST

Founder Asma Khan, an India-born British restaurateur, began her journey by hosting intimate...

Thu, Jul 24, 2025

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