History

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.

Sangh Appropriation of Icons: Pranab Mukherjee in Nagpur

Ahead of Pranab Mukherjee’s impending speech at Nagpur, here’s...

“Is the Left ready to receive a new Ambedkarite wound?”

In this discussion on Soumyabrata Choudhury’s Ambedkar and Other...

Meet the Muslim princess Zaida, Spanish ancestor of the British royal family

Zaida, a Muslim princess living in 11th-century Seville, is...

“Ambedkar broke any prevailing consensus on nationhood”: Soumyabrata Choudhury

The writer in conversation with Souradeep RoyIn our latest...

Guilty men of the two-nation theory: A Hindutva project borrowed by Jinnah

FOREWORD After the recent attack on Aligarh Muslim University by...

Unofficial Renaming of Akbar Road: Another Attempt at Meddling With the History

A poster that read ‘Maharana Pratap Road’ was found...

Remembering the Mughals with Catherine B Asher

"One thing that I try to point out when...

Savarkar First Spoke of the Two-Nation Theory: Irfan Habib

Historian Irfan Habib talked to Tarique Anwar about the...

Dalit Imagination: An Antidote to Communal Nationalism

Contemporary India is witnessing the appropriation by the Hindu...

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Prioritise ecological security of country over “false narrative” of “highway development”: CCG to Govt & Courts

Former bureaucrats protest the “steady lowering of statutory safeguards for protecting India’s Environment and Forests” in an open letter to the government; both government and the judiciary need to prioritise the ecological security of our country and the health and life of its citizens over the false narrative of more roads, more buildings, more townships, more mines, more industries, more destruction of the natural world that is currently seen as progress.

Sit Where We Stand: The segregated back rooms for sanitation staff in urban spaces

The absence of dignified break rooms for sanitation staff in urban spaces is a visible residue of caste-exclusionary practices that have become normalised. Women who work here—whether in universities or elsewhere—are often left with no option but to rest on bathroom floors.

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Odisha Chief Minister, Mohan Charan Majhi, had in 2022, when he was a BJP legislator supported demands for Dara Singh’s early release, a demand vocalised by Sudarshan TV’s editor, Suresh Chavhanke

Six Years Behind Bars, Still No Trial: Umar Khalid’s long wait for justice

Six years after his arrest, Umar Khalid remains in custody without trial, while successive bail pleas continue to be contested