On 14th August 1947, two new nations were born. India and Pakistan. The cities of Delhi, Lahore and Bombay were abuzz with preparations on this momentous occasion. Leaders were readying speeches and people celebrated on the streets. ++

Bengal was partitioned without any popular vote. Someone living in a Dinajpur village did not even know what was coming. And their descendants are paying the price in Gurgaon today. Absence of Chittaranjan Das or his famous disciple Netaji Subhash Bose in 1946-47 sealed our fate.

I often go back to this hauntingly sad photo of MKG in Calcutta. Photo agencies have dated it 15 August 1947. The date might be wrong, but it was surely taken sometime around mid-August that year.

#NewPublication Persianate Historical Sociology Collected Essays Saïd Amir Arjomand. BRill 2025 brill.com/display/title/…

Before becoming the national anthem, Tagore's "Jana Gana Mana" made an early appearance in Bimal Roy's 1944 classic "Udayer Pathe," which was later remade in Hindi as "Humrahi" in 1945. Music director Rai Chand Boral conducted the orchestra for this iconic song. Interestingly,

bol ke lab aazaad hai tere

'Julius Caesar and the young Marcus Aurelius both got into trouble for catching up on their correspondence from their seats, when they should have been concentrating on the races.' Mary Beard (mary beard): Champion charioteers the-tls.com/regular-featur…

They fought for this day too. All my students tell me that independence came to India solely because of Gandhi and his method of nonviolent resistance. Their parents/neighbours/supermarket acquaintances told them that story. My next book is about those who were not Gandhi. The

Parallel Days/Bollywood Nights ends with a bang this weekend! Join us for ghosts, leftists, and Shah Rukh Khan. PAHELI screens 8/22 at 6:30. Introduced by Bedatri D Choudhury। বেদত্রী. Followed by a reception with djrekha.bsky.social! KATHAPURUSHAN screens 8/23 at 2:15. Introduced by Devika Girish.

'TB reveals a divided world: it has been largely eliminated in the Global North, but it persists almost unabated in large parts of Africa, Asia and elsewhere.' Michael Bresalier: TB places an unequal burden on the Global South the-tls.com/science-techno…

This is the most beautifully sung Krishna kirtan I have ever heard in my life. Immensely powerful and moving! Shubho Janmashtami! open.spotify.com/track/2VZwLyMx…

One emperor was especially revered in public memory as “Alamgir” (r. 1658-1707). For, during his lifetime, the emperor was popularly known as “Alamgir zinda-pir”, or “Alamgir, the living saint”, one whose invisible powers could work magic. For years, crowds thronged his

ABV’s death anniversary is perhaps an apt occasion to announce the Marathi translation of my first volume, recently published: madhushreepublication.com/product/vajpay… वाजपेयींच्या पुण्यतिथीला त्यांच्या चरित्राच्या माझ्या पहिल्या खंडाची मराठी आवृत्ती प्रकाशित झाली: amazon.in/dp/8198903259/

The works of Shailaja Paik & Divya Kannan among others, show that a century ago, dominant-caste parents withdrew (or threatened to withdraw) kids from schools that even admitted a single Dalit student. Now their casteism uses vegetarianism as a weapon to wield oppression.

जय भीम ✊

Bengali migrant workers are illegally kidnapped by police and then forcibly pushed into an alien country despite showing birth certificate, a document hard to obtain. Then of course these forces face humiliation in court when families file habeas corpus petitions.

We've seen most poets compare their Beloved to rose,moon,narcissus etc. Here our Rekhta superstar Wali Dakani compares the qualities of his Maashuq to famous Persian poets of the past. Invokes Anwari,Jami, Firdousi,Saib,Khayali etc. (From SR Faruqi sb's 'Wali Nam Ka Ek Shakhs')

Happy to share that the third edition of The Edict Project in collaboration with Ashoka University will be launched on Thursday, 29th August at Dr. Reddy's Auditorium, Ashoka University. In this edition we explore the theme of Ashoka's Ecological Ruminations through musical

Versions of nimona, a present-day North Indian winter classic thick curry made with green 🫛(matar) or gram (choliya), find mention in Mughal cookbooks. Here is a recipe for nimona pulav 🫛 🍚 from a 17th century manual. It instructs the following:

Just got my author copy of my book the “Islamic Mary: Maryam Through the Centuries”. Looking forward to it coming out September 9th. Thank you to all of those who made the book come life! ⁦Fortress Press⁩ ⁦Adam Bursi⁩