Why was the East India Company so concerned about knowledge and scholarship? @drjehrlich.bsky.social joins Past Imperfect to explain, painting a historical canvas which stretches from Warren Hastings to the first rumblings for mass education in the early 19th century: scroll.in/article/1091...
My interview with @dinyarpatel.bsky.social for the Past Imperfect podcast is now up: www.spjimr.org/podcast/past...
Our latest Past Imperfect podcast features @johncassidysays.bsky.social, author of "Capitalism and Its Critics," profiling over 30 thinkers, writers, and activists who have both critiqued capitalism and acknowledged its resilience: scroll.in/article/1090...
For those in Mumbai: I'm leading a curatorial walkthrough at CSMVS of the "Disobedient Subjects" exhibit, on Bombay and the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930-31. Register at: tinyurl.com/BLHS6Feb26
Thanks to @scroll.in for carrying!
Our latest Past Imperfect podcast features Avrati Bhatnagar and Sumathi Ramaswamy of Duke University. They speak about the remarkable collection of Civil Disobedience Movement-era photos from Bombay which is now the subject of a book and two museum exhibits: scroll.in/article/1089...
More on good books to read: my contributions to Harvard's Mittal South Asia Center winter reading recommendations: mittalsouthasiainstitute.harvard.edu/2025/12/wint...
Sam Dalrymple discusses his remarkable new book, Shattered Lands, on South Asia's five partitions, in our latest episode of Past Imperfect: scroll.in/article/1089...
I write in @historytoday.com about three of my favorite books from 2025: www.historytoday.com/archive/revi...
A recently discovered album of photographs from 1930-1 shine new light on the Civil Disobedience Movement, demonstrating the scale of female participation and leadership. My article in BBC: www.bbc.com/news/article...
Gillian Tindall's "City of Gold" was one of the first Bombay history books I read--and I continue to refer to it for my own work. Tindall passed away last month: scroll.in/article/1088...
Many congratulations to Aparajith Ramnath for winning this year's Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize! www.newindiafoundation.org/winner-nif-b...
And cultural phenomena in India, as well! John Bright was so popular in Bombay that a cricket club was named in his honor in the late 19th century.
Why did the Great Irish Famine occur, and what did it have in common with famines in other parts of the British Empire, including India? Listen to Padraic X. Scanlan discuss his book, "Rot: A History of the Irish Famine" in our latest Past Imperfect podcast: scroll.in/article/1088...
Peacemaker: U Thant, the United Nations and the Untold Story of the 1960s by Thant Myint-U captures the optimism and ambition of Burma’s bridge between worlds.
✍️ John Sidel reviews the recent #historybook
www.historytoday.com/archive/revi...
Tracing the rise and decline of Chettiar businesses across Asia challenges the idea that caste-based capital can always deliver fortunes. CJ Kuncheria on Raman Mahadevan's 'Fortune Seekers'
www.theindiaforum.in/book-reviews...
Taking place tomorrow!
Henry Fawcett was also a staunch supporter of Indians clamoring for more political rights, befriending many Indian political leaders resident in London.
This Sunday at Literature Live!, I'll be in conversation with Sam Dalrymple about his excellent new book, Shattered Lands: www.litlive.in/fest25/sched...
Murali Ranganathan writes on how photos in a long-forgotten album reveals the role of women in suburban Bombay during the Civil Disobedience Movement: scroll.in/article/1087...
In @thetls.bsky.social I write about Dadabhai Naoroji, Indian nationalism, and the power of print: www.the-tls.com/history/mode...
My piece on the closure of Parsiana and how the career of its editor, Jehangir Patel, mirrored major social and political changes in India: scroll.in/article/1087...
In this epic account, Bancroft Prize–winning historian Sven Beckert charts the rise of the modern global economic order. An unparalleled work of scholarship that is also a joy to read, this is a monumental achievement. @penguinbooksusa.bsky.social
Some photographs from the launch of "Disobedient Subjects" at CSMVS: an exhibit on photographs from the Civil Disobedience Movement in Bombay, 1930-31.
Taking place this Saturday! Murali Ranganathan, Sumathi Ramaswamy, and I will be in conversation about Bombay during the Civil Disobedience Movement -- specifically, an incredible volume of photography which we have written about. CSMVS, 11 Oct, 5:30pm.
I'll be giving a talk this Saturday on three Indians in the age of global liberalism: Rammohan Roy, Dwarkanath Tagore, and Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy. How did their global links help shape Indian critiques of colonialism? khakitours.com/experiences/...
Job alert: IIHS University in Bangalore is hiring! www.iihs.ac.in/careers/
Happening this evening!
Brougham was also a supporter of Indian reform, and a well-respected figure in India, associated with Indian liberals' hopes for changes in the fundamental structure of Company rule.
Today is Dadabhai Naoroji's 200th birth annniversary. I write in @scroll.in about the divergence between, on the one hand, the early Indian nationalist vision for mass education and, on the other hand, independent India's woeful record on mass education. scroll.in/article/1086...