Mughal Occidentalism:

You so lose yourself in the memory of a gaze, Bedil
That from your grave's dust wafts the scent of Europe!
- Abdul Qadir Bedil, d. 1721

Zi khūd bih yād-i nigāhī ki mīravī, Bīdil
Ki az ghubār-i tū būy-i Firang mī-āyad

Worried the World Is Falling Apart? That’s OK. It’s Happened Before.

Worried the World Is Falling Apart? That’s OK. It’s Happened Before.

A review of two new books

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/b...

FROM ETERNITY TO APOCALYPSE: TIME, NEWS, AND HISTORY BETWEEN THE MUGHAL AND BRITISH EMPIRES, 1556–1785 The eighteenth-century origins of colonial orientalism in India spurred not just the translation of Indian texts but the production of interstitial histories, works that were forged in the intellectu...

How did Mughal understandings of the historical past evolve and change over time?

This is the question explored in my new essay, which focuses particularly on the early eighteenth century.

It is open access, and I look forward to your comments.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Chinese-American mathematician Huaxin Lin leaves US for Shanghai institute A top academic has returned to China as a professor at the new Shanghai Institute for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences.

Second scientist recruited to PRC in the past two days. There is more of this to come and much more happening at lower levels:

www.scmp.com/news/china/s...

Mughal Emperor Alamgir's advice in Braja-Bhasha:

Pt. Lajjaram Mehta wrote abt a 'Hitopdesh' (beneficial advice) manuscript that was passed down in his family. It had Alamgir's advice as heard by one Shankar Pant.

Was translated from Alamgir's 'Yāminī bhākhā' (Persian?) to Braja dohas

A history that raises a question

Grierson, The Modern Vernacular Literature of Hindustan, 1889

Past & Present Fellowships Past & Present Fellowships are available for two years, and open to researchers who have completed a doctorate in history.

Applications for our 2025-27 ECR Fellowships @ihr.bsky.social close on 31 Jan 2025

For full details and how to apply see below:

www.history.ac.uk/fellowships/...

kosambi did not mince words

The Yoga of Power | Columbia University Press In Indian languages from Sanskrit to Marathi, yoga has an enormous range of meanings, though most often it refers to philosophy or methods to control the min... | CUP

This fascinating new book by Sunila Kalé and Christian Novetzke shows us #yoga in a refreshingly unconventional light: its political and even militant applications over history. cup.columbia.edu/book/the-yog...

Baig’s mushaira is the portrait of a #Delhi and a way of life that now solely exists in the collective memory of ‘Dehli-wallahs’. It was a powerful urge to record the city’s older face in photographic detail.

Read my translation of the urdu classic "Dehli ki aakhri shama"

Pakistani dictator General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq shaking hands with National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski; President Jimmy Carter stands by, 3 October 1980. By that point, with the Soviet war in Afghanistan raging, the nuclear problem had become a secondary issue in U.S-Pakistani relations. (Photo courtesy of Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, contact sheet 19520.24)

Pakistani dictator General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq shaking hands with National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski; President Jimmy Carter stands by, 3 October 1980.

This is an incredibly ambitious paper, my god.
(with a bunch of interesting implications)

The annual American Historical Association meeting is in NYC in Jan. Every year (since 2006 or so), I count how many papers this gathering has on Iraq and/or Afghanistan. It has never ever been more than 5. This year's count is 2.

You will be visited by ONLY these three spirits

Four year departmental lectureship in Modern Chinese History.

This position is based at the China Centre at St Hugh’s College, close to central Oxford. This is a full-time, fixed-term position until 31 August 2029.

Details here: tinyurl.com/57nku4u5

A six-week journey beginning in Beirut and proceeding by way of Damascus, Baghdad, Tehran, down along the Zagros range, and then up the Helmand river valley to Kabul.

Seems unlikely ever to be possible, but that's probably my #1 bucket trip concept.

Adventures in the Indies

"Medicinal Property of Owl's Body Organs"
Folio from Manāfiʿ al-Ḥayawān (Usefulness of Animals), early 14th century, Tabriz, Iran

In 'Disrupted City,' a Columbia Historian Brings Lahore to Life In his new book, Manan Ahmed shows readers that the cultural center of Pakistan has not disappeared, but it can only be glimpsed in reflections.

A short Q&A about *Disrupted City* with my employer's news service

Live updates: Rebels in Damascus claim victory; Assad has left country, Russia says Bashar al-Assad’s prime minister pledged a transition of power after rebels entered Damascus. Assad’s whereabouts were unknown.

Russia’s version of what happened this week is very funny. Points for comedy & creativity. “As a result of the negotiations held between B. Assad and a number of participants in the armed conflict … he decided to leave the post” www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/1...

Here's my latest article: "Wearing Many Hats: Chinese Muslim General Bai Chongxi and the Chinese Muslim Association during the War of Resistance." It's Open Access and free to read/download!

brill.com/view/journal...

On #islands, #law and the making of #maritime sovereignty in the Indian Ocean - the first essay from a new bk idea that I am working on w/ support from ACLS:

#History #MaritimeHistory #legalhistory.