History

51st Anniversary of Emergency in India: While the RSS supported the Emergency, it now ruthlessly presides over an ‘undeclared Emergency’

The RSS shakha, well documented for its recounting of a manipulated history has, over past decades laid claims to being part of the wider democratic struggle against the Emergency; archival documents from independent sources, civil servants and writers, as also its own archive clearly document otherwise.

Films building up  a majoritarian narrative: Swatantraveer Savarkar

Films are a very powerful medium which create a social understanding...

A Tiny Book that Captures Powerful Idea(s) of India

Two internationally renowned public intellectuals, historian Romila Thapar and literary theorist Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak met in 2017 and conversed about The idea of India and how it has evolved historically. The conversation was published as a book, seven years later in 2024. Writer and academic Zahira Rahman reviews the book highlighting its insights and historical relevance.

When The Marathas Came To Jammu?

How war-wearied Maratha soldiers embraced Duggarland and made it their home?

Uncovering Historical Truths: Were the Mughals anti-Hindu?

Fact-Checking claims with Citizens for Peace and Justice to debunk myths: Did the 'Anti-Hindu Mughals' destroy temples in Azerbaijan?

The Fire next time: an impassioned plea to the nation for communal sanity

From the archives of Communalism Combat, No. 20, March 1996

Speak aloud about injustices: Women leaders recall Rani Chennamma’s fight for freedom

Ending month-long campaign in order to celebrate the legacy...

Lest we ever forget: Maulana Azad whose death anniversary is today, February 22

On the 55th death anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a doyen of India’s freedom struggle, India’s first Union Minister for Education and a man whose contribution the present far right regime wants to erase from all record, we must always remember the man who was President of the Indian National Congress twice. In memorium

The sound of music

This was an exclusive in depth interview done in 2008, 16 years ago with the indomitable Ameen Sayani who passed on February 20,2024 at the ripe old age of 91. Teesta Setalvad speaks to Ameen Sayani about the 4 decades old journey in politics, music and life with nuggets of India’s freedom struggle in which Sayani’s mother was a close associate of Gandhiji. A product of the New Era school Mumbai, Sayani’s is a tale more precious in the re-telling

Reason, emotion and history

First published on: June 10, 2022(In March 1994, as...

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From Protest to Petition: Maharashtra’s Public Safety Act in the dock

After months of state-wide protests, thousands of objections and sustained civil society opposition, Maharashtra's controversial security law now faces a constitutional challenge before the Bombay High Court

51st Anniversary of Emergency in India: While the RSS supported the Emergency, it now ruthlessly presides over an ‘undeclared Emergency’

The RSS shakha, well documented for its recounting of a manipulated history has, over past decades laid claims to being part of the wider democratic struggle against the Emergency; archival documents from independent sources, civil servants and writers, as also its own archive clearly document otherwise.

When the State Valued a Desecrated Grave at Rs 100: The Mathura cemetery controversy

The reported desecration of graves in a century-old Muslim cemetery in Mathura raises troubling questions about dignity, religious freedom and state accountability

To Karnataka’s Anti-SIR Movement: A note of caution and concern

While efforts have been afoot in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh by civil rights groups and people’s movements to ensure inclusion of the maximum number of eligible voters under the ongoing, expanded, SIR process. The author argues how these efforts may come to naught, given the structural issues involved: a compromised ECI, rushed timelines and the unlawful and rigid document-test for citizenship. In fact, robust efforts in Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu where similar efforts were made also came to naught.

After Akbar Ali Mondal’s Killing, Pani Sol’s Hawkers Ask: How Will We Survive?

Ground Report I In Pani Sol, one of Bengal's largest villages of hawkers, Akbar Ali Mondal's killing has left thousands of Muslim traders fearful about earning a living and supporting their families

The BEST Strike: Years of unfulfilled promises, structural neglect and the future of public transport in Mumbai

From unpaid employee dues and stalled budget reforms to controversial depot monetisation and the expansion of the wet-lease model, the strike has reopened fundamental questions about the future of public transport in Mumbai

Declared Foreigners, Facing Deportation: Supreme Court grants interim relief

Women detained after being declared foreigners argue that tribunals disregarded substantial evidence and relied on minor inconsistencies to reject their citizenship claims

Release Kashmiri HRD Khurram Pervez immediately & unconditionally: International HR Fora

In a strong joint statement issued on the occasion of Khurram Parvez’s 49th birthday on June 18, 2026, close to 100 international organisations and an equal number of individuals, including those associated with the United Nations like World Organization against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Frontline Defenders, Amnesty International, among others, have demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the Kashmiri human rights defender and the relentless campaign of judicial harassment.