Happy to have shared my thoughts on the excellent 'Friend of the Court' podcast. Roy's secret presence at the 1931 annual session of the Indian National Congress at Karachi is very interesting and contentious. Also a matter of some conflict, is how tall he was.

M.N.Roy attended the 1931 Karachi session of INC in disguise—a fascinating historical episode. Sources point to his role in the writing of the Draft Resolution on Fundamental Rights which later entered the Indian constitution. I share my thoughts here: push.fm/fl/mi2bsrub

Interesting to see the popular nazm being invoked by the SC. दक्कन के 'वली' ने मुझे गोदी में खेलाया 'सौदा' के क़सीदों ने मिरा हुस्न बढ़ाया है 'मीर' की अज़्मत कि मुझे चलना सिखाया मैं दाग़ के आँगन में खिली बन के चमेली x.com/dekkani/status…

The invocation of Iqbal Ashhar's popular poem on Urdu points also to #Dakhani. The poet metaphorically alludes to the infancy of Urdu in the lap of Wali Dakhani/Aurangabadi/Gujarati...

Out next month and 15 years in the making, Srinath Raghavan's latest sharply examines the paradoxes and high drama of Indira Gandhi’s years in power. [And it's not a bad time at all to be paying attention to the precarious relationship between authoritarianism and leadership.]

Chittagong Armoury Raid #otd ...prison sketches

Very good episode of the excellent podcast Friend of the Court on the human rights lawyer KG Kannabiran. Great to hear Kalpana Kannabiran share thoughts. A timely reminder of constitutional principles of justice, liberty and the excesses of the state. Vijay Burgula

#MayDay 1920, Moscow — MN Roy's first public speech. #History #Politics

My article, "Nazi propaganda and ethno-religious nationalism: The German Society of Aligarh Muslim University" has been published in the edited volume on Anti-liberal Internatiinalism (Routledge 2025).

The latest India-Pakistan ceasefire isn't peace or reset; it's a pause on a more perilous plateau. Future crises will erupt faster, escalate harder, and risk nuclear disaster sooner. I write Foreign Policy on why South Asia's new baseline is so dangerous. foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/15/ind…

Drops today: this week's ARB New Books Network (@newbooksnetwork.bsky.social) podcast with Nicholas Gordon in conversation with Vappala Balachandran, author of “China at Odds in the Asian Century: A Diplomatic and Strategic History” Hurst Publishers asianreviewofbooks.com/podcast-with-v…

A lovely 'trans-sensory' evocation of chaat.

On the need for 'semiotic reform'.

In the time between the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile the American me labeled two countries as "India's Cuba." My latest for Scroll scroll.in/magazine/10833…

As monsoon clouds roll into Mumbai, here’s a wild story from the city’s past—Bombay once gambled on the rains. Literally. ☔🎲 Read more on the 'barsaat ka satta' to which #Mumbai was once addicted to: #Mumbai #history #MumbaiHistory #heritage #MumbaiHeritage #Bombay

Language war | A linga fracas over Hindi: The NEP's three-language policy and the union government's push for Hindi have sparked a hostile reaction from several states. My story for @indiatoday with voices from Manu S Pillai Apoorvanand अपूर्वानंद Anil Shidore अनिल शिदोरे #Hindi #Marathi #Tamil