With the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and renewed India-Pakistan tensions following the Pahalgam attack, there is a growing temptation to apply the framework of colonial violence (so viscerally visible in Palestine) to diverse geopolitical contexts across the Global South. This impulse, while rooted in a genuine desire for global solidarity, has often led to … Continue reading Not All Violence Is Colonial: The Dangerous Drift of Post-Modern Solidarity – Yanis Iqbal
Category: Study Circle
THE BINARY OF THE HUMANITIES AND THE SCIENCES – HIRA
In a 2024 op-ed published in the Indian Express, Manish Sabharwal and Ashish Dhawan (the latter a philanthropist and a founder-trustee of Ashoka University) posed an important question: “Isn’t it impossible to decide which disciplines matter more: The sciences that lengthen our lives or the humanities that make those longer lives worth living?” The article … Continue reading THE BINARY OF THE HUMANITIES AND THE SCIENCES – HIRA
USAID and the Fall of the Global Aid Order — Ritabrata Chakraborty
Kent Nishimura/Reuters In late February 2025, as the disruptive policy orders of US President Donald Trump were generating their cascading effects globally, India's first three clinics directed towards transgender people faced an unforeseen closure. Located in Hyderabad, Pune and Kalyan, these clinics faced the tightening of funding caused by the halting of USAID, the word … Continue reading USAID and the Fall of the Global Aid Order — Ritabrata Chakraborty
A Tuition in Nutrition — Urvi Khaitan
Nutrition, Bulletin no. 26 (February 1947). [The informational references are based on various bulletins of Food and Nutrition published by the Department (later Ministry) of Food, Government of India between 1945 and 1949.] Famine was no short-lived spectacle in modern South Asian history. Hunger is writ large across the twentieth century, its text of devastation … Continue reading A Tuition in Nutrition — Urvi Khaitan
D.D. Kosambi’s Appeal for Peace—Translated by Suchintan Das
Peace (Woodcut) by Haren Das (1950) Better remembered as a polymath and historian, D.D. Kosambi was also a globetrotting peace-activist in the 1950s and contributed to the world peace movement both within India and internationally as a first-rate organizer. This pamphlet was printed at Nagar Press Works, Indore and was published and distributed by Anant … Continue reading D.D. Kosambi’s Appeal for Peace—Translated by Suchintan Das
The Critical Force of Student Absenteeism—Yanis Iqbal
Representative Image The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) administration’s decision to enforce the mandatory 75% attendance rule for students has sparked an outcry. On November 21, 2024, students protested in large numbers against the decision, also calling for the conduct of the students’ union elections (which have not been held since 2019). However, the administration's response … Continue reading The Critical Force of Student Absenteeism—Yanis Iqbal
‘It does not matter who you are. Everyone here is the same’: Fieldnotes from the Jaydev Kenduli Baul Mela—Debayan Das
January 2022 As the first light of dawn caressed the tranquil waters of the Ajay River, the world seemed to hold its breath in anticipation. A soft, golden glow spread across the horizon, gently nudging awake the sleepy village of Jaydev Kenduli (hereafter, Jaydev) nestled on its banks. The sky, a canvas of soft pastels, … Continue reading ‘It does not matter who you are. Everyone here is the same’: Fieldnotes from the Jaydev Kenduli Baul Mela—Debayan Das
The Dam and The Deluge: Decoding the Tripura-Bangladesh Floods—Ananyo Chakraborty
Artwork by Tanun In the third week of August 2024, disturbing visuals of people — poor and helpless — relocating to relief camps from their houses submerged under water were seen on social media. With no regard for national boundaries, an unprecedented deluge had affected North Unkoti, Dhalai, Khowai, Gumti and South Tripura districts of … Continue reading The Dam and The Deluge: Decoding the Tripura-Bangladesh Floods—Ananyo Chakraborty
MANIK BANDYOPADHYAY’S ‘A SPECIMEN’—TRANSLATED BY PRITHA BANERJEE
Manik Bandopadhyay (1908-1956) This short story by Manik Bandyopadhyay is set during the time of the 1943 famine in Bengal. It was a time of abject poverty, destitution, and breakdown of the moral economy of the society. The lack of rice and other staples compelled a father to sell off his daughter to an unknown … Continue reading MANIK BANDYOPADHYAY’S ‘A SPECIMEN’—TRANSLATED BY PRITHA BANERJEE
Looking at Hindutva Through The Visual Medium of Memes—Supratik Sinha
Hindutva as an ideological force has gained prominence and visibility after 2014 with the election of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the Centre. Christophe Jaffrelot, in his book Hindu Nationalism: A Reader, comments that Hindu Nationalism emerged from the “superimposition of a religion, a culture, a language, and a sacred territory-the perfect recipe for … Continue reading Looking at Hindutva Through The Visual Medium of Memes—Supratik Sinha
Lokayata 