All posts tagged: historian

Varsity created needless controversy, says renowned feminist historian Uma Chakravarti

Varsity created needless controversy, says renowned feminist historian Uma Chakravarti

Published by Parlour News

Prof. Uma Chakravarti criticises SNDT University for cancelling her lecture without providing any reason. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu Taking a swipe at the SNDT University, the varsity that allegedly cancelled her lecture without providing any reason, feminist historian Uma Chakravarti, 84, who delivered the Neera Desai Memorial Lecture on Saturday (March 14, 2026), said that the university had created a needless controversy. “It is amusing. SNDT was a university which was set up by Maharshi Karve by bringing together Brahmin widows who were cast off in Hindu society by Brahminical patriarchy. I had written the article on Brahminical patriarchy 30 years ago. I wasn’t even going to speak about it during my lecture. But it is counterproductive to be so concerned about it,” she said. She was speaking at Shivaji Mandir in Dadar on ‘A Feminist Looks Back: Four Decades of a Long March’ for a series titled ‘Lectures That Needed to Happen’ organised by the non-profit Mumbai Peace. The invitation to the programme had stated: “Dr. Uma Chakravarti’s talk, scheduled for March …

SNDT Women’s University cancels lecture by historian

SNDT Women’s University cancels lecture by historian

Published by Parlour News

MUMBAI: The Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) Women’s University has cancelled the 16th Neera Desai Memorial Lecture, which was scheduled to be held on March 14 and was to feature noted historian and feminist scholar Uma Chakravarti as the keynote speaker. SNDT Women’s University cancels lecture by historian Chakravarti, a prominent historian and women’s rights activist, is widely recognised for her work on gender, caste and social history in India. Over the years, she has authored several books and research papers examining women’s movements and issues of social justice. The lecture, organised by the university’s Women’s Studies Department, was to focus on the theme “A Feminist Looks Back: Four Decades of Long March.” The programme also included the premiere screening of the documentary Voh Subah Hami Se Aayegi, produced by Movement People. University officials confirmed that the event was called off just days before the scheduled date. When contacted, professor Pratul Sathe said the lecture had been cancelled due to “technical reasons.” Chakravarti also confirmed that the organisers had informed her about the cancellation but …

‘Need Nerves Of Steel To Let Military Lead’: Historian Praises Political Leadership For Op Sindoor | India News

‘Need Nerves Of Steel To Let Military Lead’: Historian Praises Political Leadership For Op Sindoor | India News

Published by Webster

Last Updated:February 28, 2026, 17:07 IST Adrien Fontanellaz touched upon Pakistan winning the info war but said it would benefit India in the long run as the adversary would become complacent due to their own propaganda Swiss-based military historian Adrien Fontanellaz. At the Rising Bharat Summit, Swiss-based military historian and author Adrien Fontanellaz highlighted the critical role of political courage and institutional trust in high-stakes military operations, citing India’s Operation Sindoor as a case in point. “On the political level, you really need nerves of steel to let your military be in charge of the escalation ladder and to do what they need to do because the stakes are so high,” Fontanellaz said. “You need trust in your own institutions—this was quite striking and rare.” Operation Sindoor, carried out after the Pahalgam terror attack, involved carefully calibrated strikes and military maneuvers aimed at countering insurgent networks while minimising escalation. Asked about India dominating the battlefield but losing the information war, the historian reflected on the complexities of modern conflict, where strategic outcomes are no longer …

“Pakistan Massively Misusing Religion Breeding Jihadism”: Military Historian Tom Cooper

“Pakistan Massively Misusing Religion Breeding Jihadism”: Military Historian Tom Cooper

Published by Webster

Vienna:  Stating Pakistan is “massively misusing religion,” breeding jihadism, Military aviation analyst and historian Tom Cooper said he does not expect the situation to change. Cooper, while talking to ANI, said that the religion-based terrorism has spread to Nigeria and the Philippines. “They (Pakistan) are massively misusing religion in particular, creating de facto breeding jihadism, financing, organising, commanding jihadism, through the history from Nigeria in West Africa to the Philippines in the Pacific. So, well in this regards, nothing is going to change. I do not expect anything to change,” he said. Cooper said that Pakistan is plagued by military dictatorship. “The relationship between Pakistani military and civilian leadership was never good. There are several coups and the country was subjected to military dictatorship through much of its history. So this issue is never going to be sorted out. The armed forces in Pakistan have their own aims,” he said. Cooper said that Indian intelligence has precisely monitored its targets and activities at Pakistani nuclear bases. “I find this commentary by the Indian defence minister …

Daily Briefing: Wrestling federation back in Brij Bhushan’s shadows, inside historian Irfan Habib’s home, and more | Live News

Daily Briefing: Wrestling federation back in Brij Bhushan’s shadows, inside historian Irfan Habib’s home, and more | Live News

Published by Parlour News

In this week’s Big Picture, The Indian Express visits Professor Irfan Habib’s charming home in Aligarh, an oasis of history and nature. At 94, the eminent historian continues his work, chronicling India’s past, especially its Mughal and medieval eras. While the world around him changes, Prof. Habib remains a critical voice in today’s polarised times. From editing historical journals to completing a book on Akbar, his passion for history remains undimmed. His reflections offer insights into the importance of objective history, untainted by nationalism, and the enduring value of India’s Constitution. Big Story The Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) office has controversially returned to its previous location: the residence of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the outgoing president of the WFI and a BJP MP who faces serious allegations of sexual harassment. Singh’s home in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, had been WFI’s headquarters for several years. Despite protests from wrestlers and ongoing legal investigations, the office has quietly resumed operations at this location. Singh’s involvement with the WFI remains a contentious issue amid calls for transparency and …

Calicut had areas of economic importance even before Zamorins: historian M.R. Raghava Varier

Calicut had areas of economic importance even before Zamorins: historian M.R. Raghava Varier

Published by Parlour News

The rise and growth of Calicut is unlikely to be “a cause and consequence of the ascendancy of the Zamorins alone,’‘ as it had areas of economic importance in the early historic period of the megalithic phase itself, historian M.R. Raghava Varier has said. He was presenting a paper at a symposium on ‘Calicut in history’ on the second day of the 43rd South Indian History Congress at Malabar Christian College in Kozhikode on Saturday (November 9). It was K.V. Krishna Ayyar who linked the establishment of the port town to the emergence of the dynasty in his seminal work The Zamorins of Calicut. Mr. Varier pointed out that the conflict between the Zamorins, who originally belonged to the Nediyiruppu Swarupam near Kondotty in Ernad taluk (now in Malappuram district), and the Polanad chiefs of the Porlatiri Swarupam, the traditional rulers of the coast of Calicut, was probably to get the ownership of those areas of economic importance. It could also be to gain control over the trade routes which spread all over the hinterland, …

Historian appointed as expert by CBFC defends Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency: ‘They haven’t altered the truth’ | Bollywood

Published by Webster

Sep 26, 2024 04:25 PM IST Historian Makkhan Lal, appointed as subject expert by CBFC for Emergency, has defended the portrayal of late PM Indira Gandhi in the Kangana Ranaut-starrer. Historian Makkhan Lal, sho has been appointed as ‘subject expert’ by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for Kangana Ranaut’s political biopic Emergency, has defended the film. The film, which retells the life and Prime Ministership of PM Indira Gandhi, has been stuck with the CBFC for months leading to a delay in its release as well. (Also read: Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Emergency’ can be released with cuts: Censor board to court) Kangana Ranaut stars as PM Indira Gandhi in Emergency In an interview with India Today, Makkhan Lal clarified that he found the film factual and that it does not portray the late Prime Minister in a negative light. “The film is entirely based on facts, and they haven’t altered the truth. I would say the filmmakers are very sympathetic to the issue depicted. While every political leader has flaws, the film does not …

Caleb Carr, military historian and author of best-selling novel “The Alienist,” dies at 68 | Hollywood

Published by Parlour News

NEW YORK — Caleb Carr, the scarred and gifted son of Beat poet Lucien Carr who endured a traumatizing childhood and became a bestselling novelist, accomplished military historian and late-life memoirist of his devoted cat, Masha, has died at 68. Caleb Carr, military historian and author of best-selling novel “The Alienist,” dies at 68 Carr died of cancer Thursday, according to an announcement from his publisher, Little, Brown and Company. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! A native of Manhattan, Caleb Carr was born into literary and cultural history. Lucien Carr, along with Columbia University classmates Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, helped found the Beat movement, an early and prominent force in the post-World War II era for improvisation and non-conformity — on and off the page. Kerouac, Ginsberg and such fellow Beats as William Burroughs and Herbert Huncke were frequent visitors to the Carr apartment, where Caleb Carr remembered gatherings that were enriching, bewildering and, at times, terrifying. “Kerouac was …

Bengaluru pays tribute to Kosambi, pioneering historian, public intellectual and scientist

Published by Parlour News

Professor K. Paddayya discusses a book written by British archaeologist and army officer Mortimer Wheeler titled Early India and Pakistan to Ashoka. Two chapters of the book dedicated to prehistory were called “Stones” and “More Stones.” “This is how prehistory was viewed in Indian archaeology till the 1960s, and to some extent, even now,” says the archaeologist and Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at Deccan College, Pune, at a recent talk titled Scientific Study of History and Society, part of a day-long conference held at the National Centre for Biological Sciences focusing on the life, ideas and perspectives of the noted scholar, scientist and historian D.D. Kosambi.  Paddayya, who shared the forum with archaeologist Sharada Srinivasan, professor in archaeology and history at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru, offers more insights into the study of prehistory.  “Prehistory is regarded as being a very dull subject dealing with the collection of stones… classifying and describing them… giving good photographs,” he says. Kosambi, however, had a very different take on prehistory, as pointed out by Paddayya. …

William Dalrymple to pay tribute to art historian BN Goswamy | Chandigarh News

Published by Parlour News

In memory of internationally acclaimed art historian BN Goswamy, who passed away in November last year, Panjab University (PU) is holding a commemorative meet on Tuesday evening. Goswamy’s illustrious academic career began after he resigned from the Indian Administrative Service in 1958, went on to do his PhD at PU, and then joined as a lecturer here in 1960. At the event, in remembrance, well-known Bharatanatyam exponent Malavika Sarukkai and celebrated author William Dalrymple will give a performance and talk, respectively. Sarukkai, who has been honoured by the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2002 and is the recipient of the Padma Shri in 2003, is trained in Odissi as well. She will present a dance choreography titled, ‘Celebrating Myth in Miniature Painting’ – a tribute to Goswamy’s immense contribution to the corpus of knowledge on Indian painting through his research. William Dalrymple, a recognised historian writer, broadcaster, curator and critic, will give a talk titled, ‘Taking Forward BNG’s Legacy – Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company’ which moves forward Goswamy’s seminal work …