writings of a happy historian…
For someone adept at writing voluminous research documents, essays, and research papers, short writings or notes represent a huge task. However, I made every possible effort to surmount this fear during my visit to the United States. My travel, beginning on the 14th of September, 2017, lasted for about a month. A small notebook kept... Continue Reading →
WHAT LIES AHEAD? It has always been my intention to steer clear from international affairs, not because it demands a certain kind of academic knowledge but due to the sheer complexity that is global diplomacy! However, as historians we tend to assess, analyze and draw our attention to moments that appear historic; moments that have... Continue Reading →
A selfie today defines the great Indian family vacation. As uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, grandpas and grandmas throng to get that perfect shot, what lies forgotten is the purpose of the trip; the historical and cultural soul of the city visited frivolously hidden in the backdrop of those pouts and smiling faces. I remember a... Continue Reading →
“Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat!” If you’ve been closely following the ongoing conflict in Kashmir, it’s difficult to give these words a miss. They are noticeable in newspaper headlines and are voiced intensely in our corridors of power. These are “magic words” of a conflict; a conflict “handcuffed to history”. This writing, however, does not intend to... Continue Reading →
In the days when finding Pokémon, addressing Facebook challenges, sending Good Morning messages on What’s app groups weren’t tasks that required our immediate and utmost attention, life appeared easy. There was nothing that our country could offer in terms of entertainment in the early 90s. Globalization and privatisation were yet to display their economic and... Continue Reading →
“Congress main ek alasya sa aa gaya hai” (a sense of laziness has swept into the Congress) pointed Ravish Kumar, on his 9’ o clock daily, as he and the other panelists discussed the much-awaited U.P. elections, to be held next year. In this battle for the ballot, which some say also decides the fate... Continue Reading →
Brexit is old news and I do not wish to indulge in details tracing the events that led to the foundation of this geo-political establishment. Many of you may well be aware of the complexities of this economic and social union. What I do wish to highlight upon, albeit briefly, are the factors that created... Continue Reading →
I belong to Punjab or that’s what I have been told. Growing up in India’s many urban cities, we needed an emotional anchorage; an anchorage that was our village, our place of origin, and our belonging. “Where’s your native place?”, my brother and I were quite often asked by a legion of kids we went... Continue Reading →
My ‘doctoral cronies’ would agree that pursuing a PhD formulates an event of a lifetime. From the day the idea germinates, research determines every aspect of your life; the hypothesis evolving every second. It follows you to the library, the park, the gym, the dinner table and also pays a visit or two in your... Continue Reading →
PERSONAL HISTORIES AND MORE As the grueling summer sets in, I am reminded of my days in school when the month of May came with the much needed respite from textbooks, surprise tests, failed attempts to understand algebra and many such activities that my regimented and monotonous school life had to offer. What followed was... Continue Reading →
historical musings 