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Vande Mataram and the 2026 Amendment: From voluntary honour to penal coercion
While the slogan Vande Mataram galvanised millions during India’s struggle for liberation from the clutches of colonial rule, this essay demonstrates that the 2026 Amendment –that the BJP has orchestrated--does not represent historical continuity, but rather a contemporary majoritarian redefinition of a complex national symbol.
Unity not Hate: Commemorating the 168th anniversary of 1857 War of Independence
On the eve of the 168th anniversary of this heroic battle, let not the far right, Hindutva regime undermine the unique heritage of collective sacrifice
‘Phule’: A Revolution on Screen
No other couple in human history has shown such a spirit filled with revolutionary ambition for change. That too in a stagnant society like that of India.
2025 NCERT Textbooks: Mughals, Delhi Sultanate out; ‘sacred geography’, Maha Kumbh in
‘NCERT has dropped all portions on Mughals from Class 7 Books. Students will now get to read about how Rajputs fought against nobody and lost!’ So, sarcastically wrote an ‘X’ user, Joy even as one more cut and slash action of the Modi 3.0 government with Indian social science/ history texts came to light; for the NDA II government this is only the latest in a long series of ad hoc deletions
Composite Indian Nationalism or ‘Two Nation Theory’
One of the greatest tragedies of South Asia has...
106th Anniversary of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre: Documents on Jallianwala Bagh massacre and people’s resistance buried at the National Archives
Revolutionary Udham Singh's choice of his alias, name of Mohammad Singh Azad was not a coincidence -- he chose it to underline the cardinal fact that India could be liberated only by a collective and united effort of all Indians
Bloodbath on Baisakhi: The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, April 13, 1919
Ninety Seven Years Ago, one of the bloodiest actions of British Rule was the calculated massacre of close to 2,000 innocent Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims at the Jallianwala Bagh. The firing was ordered by an officer of the British colonial power, General Dyer. While the official figure for lives lost was 1,526 the actual figure was reportedly much higher
On his 135th birth anniversary, we ask, would Ambedkar be allowed free speech in India today?
April 14, 2025If we observe the glorification of Dr....
Tamas and the Shadow Over Empuraan: A Nation Still Disturbed With Itself
Tamas encountered legal and political challenges in the late 1980s. The government attempted to prevent the series from airing. There was fear it would provoke unrest. Now, if Empuraan disturbed us, it should, for who we are: a culture that justifies and forgets.
Jyotiba Phule’s Trenchant Critique of Caste: Gulamgiri
First Published on: 11 Apr 2016On his 189th Birth...
Unique 98th Anniversary Mahad Satyagraha Observances: Samata Din with a Roja Iftar Party
In mirror memory to the Roja Iftar jointly celebrated by Hasrat Mohani and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in Delhi on October 13, 1949, for the second year running, the Muslim community has taken the lead along with Ambedkarite leaders to have collective observances at Mahad
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