Writing a Life
June 5, 2024
Chitralekha Zutshi— For historians, writing biographies can be challenging. We are trained to think in terms of broader social and political processes, not individual lives. But while writing the life… READ MORE
Tag: India
A Shining Star of Kingship: Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd Century BCE
January 9, 2024
Patrick Olivelle— Few kings or emperors—or even people in power today—have been sufficiently self-aware and self-reflective to express regret or remorse for anything they may have done. When the king… READ MORE
To the Unsung Interpreters
December 12, 2022
Nile Green— Today we take all sorts of cultural knowledge for granted. Few people nowadays have probably never heard of the Buddha or Confucius. Yet much of today’s global understanding… READ MORE
Seeking Pleasure in Sacred Places
September 6, 2022
Subhashini Kaligotla— A significant number of ancient Indian temples fall under the jurisdiction of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). These tend to have the hushed feel of museums, with… READ MORE
Becoming Organic in the Himalayas
August 13, 2021
Shaila Seshia Galvin— These days, the word organic typically conjures notions of food that is natural, pure, and ecologically produced. Recent decades have seen the rapid expansion of organic agriculture,… READ MORE
Slow Motion
July 30, 2020
Barry Perlus— Those in the Northern Hemisphere who have recently stepped outside just after nightfall to view Comet Neowise know that the window of time in which to view this… READ MORE
Revolutionary or Impostor . . . Who Was Ahmed Khan?
April 24, 2020
Ian Coller— O Lydian lord of many nations, foolish Croesus,Wish not to hear the longed-for voice within your palace,Even your son’s voice: better for you were it otherwise;For his first… READ MORE
Protesting Empire with Railway Tickets
February 28, 2020
Kim A. Wagner— A traveller alighting at Amritsar railway station in April 1919, after the train came to a jerking halt along the third-of-a-mile-long narrow platform, would have been met… READ MORE
Will They Swing the Thick Stick?
November 5, 2019
Martin Pugh— I spent 1969 to 1971 on Voluntary Service Overseas as a Lecturer in European History at the Aligarh Muslim University in India. It was an exciting time politically… READ MORE
Of Holy Rivers and Human Rights: Protecting the Ganges by Law
April 25, 2019
Sudipta Sen— On March 20, 2017, the highest court in the state of Uttarakhanda, India declared the river Ganges (known as the Ganga in India) and its main tributary Yamuna… READ MORE
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