Columnists

Vinay Lal

The writer is professor of history, University of California, Los Angele.

Despite Trump’s exit, belief in a benevolent US as leader of the ‘free world’ lies in tatters

Thu, Dec 24, 2020

What 2020 has indubitably established is that the US is altered forever and cannot simply pick up from where, as decent people fondly imagine, it veered off, forgetful of its supposed mission to serve as a beacon of light to the world.

The deep ties between Gandhi and the American civil rights movement

Mon, Sep 30, 2019

Mahatma Gandhi 150th Birth Anniversary: How the American civil rights movement adapted Gandhian ideas for their struggle.

M for menstruation

Sat, Dec 22, 2018

Menstrual politics is at the heart of the Sabarimala entry controversy. By a majority 4-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the prohibition of girls and women between the age of 10 and 50 into the Sabarimala temple was unconstitutional.

A foreign offence

Tue, Sep 11, 2018

Punjab government doesn’t get it: Idea of blasphemy has no point of reference in Hinduism

Remembering an act of insurrection

Fri, Feb 23, 2018

The Royal Indian Navy mutiny was overshadowed by the INA trial. Its celebration would have run counter to the logic of the democratic nation-state.

The Homeless Gandhi

Wed, Jan 31, 2018

To remember Mahatma Gandhi is to reflect on the meanings of home and dispossession

A Republic of Inhospitality

Tue, Jan 30, 2018

If inclusiveness is the touchstone of a Republic, what is characteristic of India today is how increasingly large constituencies are being excluded from the nation. Muslims and Dalits have been hounded, garroted, and lynched