A Tegart Fort in Palestine (Image courtesy: http://quaderns.coac.net/en/2015/03/tegart-forts/) Imagine for a moment that you are not able to use future tense in speech. You will not be able to plan a vacation, consider your children’s education, or for that matter, think actively about retirement. Your life will be restricted to an immediate and unending present, where … Continue reading Other Futures are Always Possible: Tegart’s Long Shadow over Palestine—Suchintan Das
Category: History
From the Vaults of a Communist Party Newspaper Archive: Writing the Unwritten—Rajarshi Adhikary
Tattered copies of Swadhinota, the mouthpiece of the undivided Communist Party of India Since the first printed newspapers appeared in Germany in the early 17th century, brutal repressive regimes of state censorship were up in arms to suppress them. During the tumultuous decades of the English Revolution, the radical press thrived but was nonetheless undermined … Continue reading From the Vaults of a Communist Party Newspaper Archive: Writing the Unwritten—Rajarshi Adhikary
The Politics of Demolition and the Displaced People of the Tughlaqabad Village—Monjima Kar
Ruins of the Tughlaqabad Fort. The Tughlaqabad Fort, built around the 14th century, stands in ruins now, seven centuries later. What remains are the various settlements outside the fort enclosure. These settlements are equally old, built around the fort and inhabited by the working-class people ever since. While Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq might have found it difficult to … Continue reading The Politics of Demolition and the Displaced People of the Tughlaqabad Village—Monjima Kar
Ahmed Chhafa’s ‘The Village Poor and Rural Class-Struggle’—Translated by Pritha Banerjee
Ahmed Chhafa [Sofa] (1943-2001) with his teacher, Professor Abdur Razzaq (left). Let us take a village. Assume that it contains a total population of 2000, which includes its men and women, infants and adolescents, young and the old. It is known to all that none of us lives alone in this society. Kith and kin, … Continue reading Ahmed Chhafa’s ‘The Village Poor and Rural Class-Struggle’—Translated by Pritha Banerjee
Samar Sen’s ‘Sans Reverence’—Translated by Suchintan Das
Samar Sen (1916-1987) [Image: Public Domain] The question of livelihood does not arise while discussing the term ‘intellectual’. The Bangla term ‘Buddhijibi’—one who lives off one’s own intellect—is therefore not an accurate translation. Perhaps the remnant of our old Brahminical baggage[1] has lingered on in this rendering. Brahmins were the custodians of intellectual culture and they … Continue reading Samar Sen’s ‘Sans Reverence’—Translated by Suchintan Das
D.D. Kosambi: Revisiting the Historian and his Legacy—Shashi Singh
D.D. Kosambi bathing his dog Chatya (Image courtesy Permanent Black) Aijaz Ahmad, the legendary Marxist theorist who passed away recently, was of the opinion that universities have been transmogrified into markets and malls selling enticing theories of postmodernism and postcolonialism to students. He was a fervent critic of these theories since he felt that their … Continue reading D.D. Kosambi: Revisiting the Historian and his Legacy—Shashi Singh
The Shikari and the Empire: Jim Corbett’s Silence and the Ghosts of Tree Tops—Suchintan Das
“Over wide areas of the United Provinces [Jim Corbett’s] name is familiar to the village folk as that of the man who has brought them relief from the great fear inspired by a cruel and malignant presence in their midst”, wrote Victor Hope, the 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow and the 22nd Viceroy of India. The … Continue reading The Shikari and the Empire: Jim Corbett’s Silence and the Ghosts of Tree Tops—Suchintan Das
Can Periyar’s Politics Be Accepted In Today’s Anti-Caste Discourse?—Diya Maria Abraham
Periyar E.V. Ramasamy Naicker (Image Courtesy: Vikatan) “The Jews are only interested in themselves and nobody else. They somehow contrive to have the rulers in their pocket, participate in governance and conspire to torture and suck the lives out of other citizens in order that they live (in comfort).” “Are they not comparable to the … Continue reading Can Periyar’s Politics Be Accepted In Today’s Anti-Caste Discourse?—Diya Maria Abraham
Rahul Sankrityayan’s ‘Mental Slavery’—Translated By Satyam Jha
Poster by Bisakh Sarkar The greater the antiquity of any civilization, the stronger it is gripped by the bonds of mental slavery. Since the civilization of India is unquestionably ancient, there are greater impediments on its path of advancement. Mental slavery is the biggest hurdle to progress. Our sufferings, our myriad economic, social and political … Continue reading Rahul Sankrityayan’s ‘Mental Slavery’—Translated By Satyam Jha
The Alchemy of Well-Being—Suchintan Das
Angelus Novus by Paul Klee A pot of wine among the flowers. I drink alone, no friend with me. I raise my cup to invite the moon. He and my shadow and I make three. –––Li Bai, Drinking Alone with the Moon (Translated by Vikram Seth) These lines, penned by the eighth century Taoist poet … Continue reading The Alchemy of Well-Being—Suchintan Das
Lokayata 