Disease is both a pathological reality and a social construction. It befalls individuals, and since individuals are the actors in the drama of history, it may well happen that the illness of a man in position of power influences his…
I met Pandian in the corridors of the Centre for Historical Studies the day before he went into hospital briefly, only to pass out of our lives forever. He was there to meet his students and had just finished a…
The iconoclastic British philosopher Roy Bhaskar died of heart failure on 19 November 2014, aged 70. He was a productive scholar, consistently original and interesting, often ahead of his time. His work is, unfortunately, not nearly as influential in contemporary…
Amrik Singh, Mulk Raj Anand: Role and Achievement, National Book Trust, Delhi, 2008, 138 pages, Rs 45. Lisa Balabanlilar, Imperial Identity in the Mughal Empire: Memory and Dynastic Politics in Early Modern South and Central Asia, I.B. Tauris, New York,…
The lead article in the current number of Social Scientist, which contains the text of Romila Thapar’s Nikhil Chakravartty Memorial Lecture this year, discusses an issue which has not received the attention it deserves, namely the role of the ‘public…
Deciding on a topic for this lecture has been problematic. As has been rightly said, Nikhil Chakravartty was a man of many parts. He was a warm and affectionate friend; he was curious about people, about politics and about the…
From the Neolithic to the Urban Revolutions Roughly 13,000 years ago, mankind discovered how to domesticate wild plants and animals for its own use, as sources of food, shelter, transport and tools. Cattle, sheep, goats, camels and horses were used…
The entrance to the shrine is situated at the extremity of a long bazaar, which runs the whole length of the town. Several monumental gateways, marble domes, and mosques can be seen above the exterior line of wall sand stand…
… A cooperative is an association of women and men who come together to form a jointly owned, democratically controlled enterprise where generating profit is only part of the story. Cooperatives put people before profit. They also help their members…
The marriage laws of many communities either originate or receive sanction from religious scriptures and are legitimised through religious rules and rituals. Different religions differ on different counts on the notion and nature of marriage. Yet, even before marriage as…