Shri Akhilesh Yadav ji
@yadavakhilesh
, ex-Chief Minister of U. P. and the National President of
@samajwadiparty
supported our love marriage and blessed us. We share a vision of social justice & a continuous development of marginalised communities.Thanks to SP leaders for support.
Happy to announce that I got the British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant (also my first grant). It is funding my research on the popular histories of Indian labouring castes (OBCs). Happy to share the trade secrets (DM me for proposal copy)
@BritishAcademy_
@UoNHumanities
समाजवादी विचारधारा के सबसे अग्रिम नेता और उत्तर प्रदेश के पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री, आदरणीय श्री अखिलेश यादव जी
@yadavakhilesh
हमारे पैतृक क़स्बा Mallawan हरदोई में आयोजित विवाह समारोह में आकर हमें आशीर्वाद दिया। श्री अखीलेश जी हमेशा से मेरे लिए प्रेरणा श्रौत रहें है।
Friends, Happy to share my new research on the history of sleep violence under colonialism.
How the sleep of colonial British people produced violence against colonised on racial lines.
@scroll_in
Sleeping Masters, Drowsy Servants:
via
@scroll_in
Many congratulations JNU student community for making a great presidential choice.
I have studied in Europe, UK, and have visited USA, Latin America, & other countries.
There is no other JNU in the world. It is perhaps the most global and progressive universities of our times.
Scholarship for Dalit Bahujan and Adivasi (SC/ST/OBC) & First generation learners at Oxford University to do a Masters degree.
If you have got any questions about UK degrees, please feel free to ask.
A commendable initiative by
@UniofOxford
👏
My research on the history of working-class nights of Bombay workers is seeing light now. It will be out soon as an open-access chapter in edited vol. The work emerges from my PhD on working-class education and dreams.
My living cost at Delhi University in 2007-8
1250/per month for a shared room.
800/per month for tiffin service.
100/per month for a DTC bus pass.
200/per month pocket money.
150/per month phone.
It's hard for lower-income families to send their children to study in Delhi now.
Sad to read the news of the demise of Professor Ranajit Guha, the founder of Subaltern Studies Collective. I owe much of my use of social history & "history from below" approach to his remarkably insightful writings. We have lost the most brilliant historians of our times.
70 years of Independence & still no suitable OBC candidate has been found to become Assistant & Associate professor in 2021. And mind you the OBCs form roughly about 50 % per cent of the population. Can someone explain this to me?
I have joined the editorial team of the South Asian Studies Journal as an associate editor.
The Journal publishes high-quality, original research in the arts and humanities of South Asia and from across the South Asian Diaspora.
One of the fascinating autobiographies of a Dalit Intellectual who dealt with caste & class issue in the industrial city of Bombay. Usually the two are seen as very different categories, but how they interacted in individuals’ lives is shown here brilliantly.
A fascinating read
This is the time when a lot of university students would be leaving their homes/villages to start their university journey. This perhaps is the most exciting journeys of the life.
Here I am leaving my village in Uttar Pradesh to attend college in Delhi University.
I never passed their final round with the high table dinner in the 'great' Taj hotel. I must say that I wasn't the most polished guy in the room. The whole process was awkward for me because I stayed at a friend's chawl and then went to the grand Taj for the dinner and interview
After reading 'Merit Must Fall', the brilliant review of
@ajanthasub
book by
@SnehaK20
,
I am curious on these three things,
A. What are the numbers of SC, ST & OBC students selected for Rhodes Scholarship in the last two decades (2000-2019)?
@rhodes_trust
@nandankamath
Teaching is hard work. Hours go in preparing a 45 minute class. It requires kindness, high degree of empathy, and passion.
And when you try to combine it with research and family commitments, one could go nuts.
Three years on the job as a teacher, as a historian, as a son.
Historians have been relegated to archives, their desks, & classrooms while a new class of social media influencers have become the historians for the public. Media plays a key role in this
The media commodification of history is happening without historians being involved in it
We had the pleasure of meeting Mr Akhilesh Yadav ji
@yadavakhilesh
who gave an unprecedented result in the UP.
We discussed a vision of developed, inclusive, and powerful India.
Presented him the works of Ambedkar & Harishankar Parsai (अपनी अपनी बीमारी).
@heenaadelhi
From reading history together in Delhi University & getting drenched in Delhi rains to making history together & avoiding rains in the UK.
With
@heenaadelhi
Took 10 years to find the right wall for these…
I came to Delhi University in 2007 from my village with a bag of clothes & a quilt. DU was a cultural shock in every sense. Changed my medium from Hindi to English. Topped the University.
My native home wall now
Frames byManish🙏
Having studied in Delhi University for many years, I fell in love with momo. Hudson lane/Shagun was an iconic destination for the purpose.
But good momos are as rare in the UK as a sunny day. So made my own momos on a Saturday night with friends.
My essay on the discovery of a new colonial archive in global history, business and labour history of India and the British Empire
@thewire_in
@lnuccon
A Scandinavian 'Nabob' of the British Empire: The Discovery of a New Colonial Archive
So what? Your issue is that they sat on 5k$ seat or they discussed poverty? Had more rich people discussed and thought about poverty, things would have been different. Many rich people deny that the poverty exist as a systematic problem, but is a poor man’s own creation.
As we celebrate Delhi University's 100th year, I just want to say that what I am today is because of this great institution. Straight from my village, I was in the warm hands of my DU teachers & friends. They gave me knowledge, confidence, job &, not to forget, two lovely awards.
I’m facing a huge challenge of half-backed PHD proposals from Indian applicants. Precisely, for the reasons that students are not trained for research degrees. Unless masters & 4 year BA have research component, there is a danger of students not meeting required research skills.
all thanks to the UGC's discontinuation of the mphil, the great majority of master's graduate students are now expected to apply for PhD admissions despite having no formal training or even knowing how to approach a research proposal or research idea et all
I'm very happy to announce that our open-access book is published which looks at the history of Night-Time work.
This book brings new knowledge on how nights have histories to tell.
I have a chapter in the book titled 'The Nights of Bombay Workers'.
This is our 7th piece in the longest running series on Labour in India. We have written on tailors, carpenters, spinners, perfume makers, paper makers, bookbinders & typists.
It was very exciting to write on “How Cycle Mechanics Helped India Move”
It is my humble appeal that academics should consider reference letters to be very insignificant in weighing a candidate's worth. In fact, employers should abolish this archaic practice. Many students fail to secure them; some of them are not even at good terms with supervisors.
Reviewing Outcaste Bombay by Juned Shaikh. Congratulations Juned ji. His works explore the history of Bombay city, caste, Marxism, labour and Dalit literature.
Natalie Zemon Davis: She meant so much to us historians.
We have lost one of the most outstanding scholars and social & gender historians of our time. As a scholar of Indian history & then a Ph.D. in Germany, she had little business with my work. But she not only invited me 1/4
If you would like to know how colonialism drained Indian wealth and resources and led to the poverty of Indians, this recent book by Prof Moosvi explains this complex drain of wealth.
Thanks
@epw_in
for sending the book all the way from India.
I'm beginning a new research project on How India Became Literate? that aims to track India's pre & post-Independence literacy adventures, literacy campaigns, library movements, and rural night schools.
Please suggest ideas, readings, sources, and existing networks on the topic
On May Day, sharing the links of our “History of Labour in India” series. We are very proud that I &
@LanzilloAmanda
have been able to do this now year long running series with all our normal official work. It is the only series on labour.
@thewire_in
But capitalism itself was fuelled by slavery in the eighteenth & nineteenth century. Slave grown cotton found space in Lancashire mills. Slave produced Sugar enhanced taste of Europeans & increased their energy and productivity. ships banks & insurance benefitted fom slave trade.
Our book has been published!! Years of hard work.
The Imperial Underbelly looks at the history of capitalism and global economic connections between India, the British Empire & Scandinavia.
It is open access (free to download).
In my understanding 'recommendation/reference letter' is a very colonial/archaic practice. Colonial officials needed it from natives/servants to know their and behaviour as 'proper' candidates. I am open to be corrected here.
Supervising first-generation socio-economically/educationally marginalised background PhD scholars is hard work. No wonder many (abroad & home) supervisors reject such students based on the idea of 'pure' merit & language. Thankful to mine, Rupa Vishwanath & Neeladri Bhattacharya
However, what was more tragic was that some of my teachers who were ex-rhodes didn't write a reference letter for me. They said they couldn't spot my strengths in a class of 250 students. Many students and candidates in India suffer from 'recommendation letter' problem.
We're very excited to announce that our next piece in 'Workers of India Series' with
@thewire_in
would look at the history of labour behind perfumes. We will do the history of perfume/essential oil workers (itrsaz & khushbusaz) & how smell has a labour history.
@LanzilloAmanda
Our new essay on the invisible women of economic history and the widening gender pay gap.
In this series, I & the amazing
@LanzilloAmanda
uncover the history of the poor, the socially marginalised. Our first essays were on carpenters and tailors. 1/4
Mandal Commission Report & its implementation is perhaps one of the most social revolutionary event of the postcolonial India. It changed the dynamics of universities where students from peasant & labouring background could dream of education. I was one such student from village.
While elite histories are on rise globally, I &
@LanzilloAmanda
are trying to bring back the history of working people/class back to public realm. Latest in our series is the history of Indian perfume makers/industry.
The Labour of Smell
via
@thewire_in
Good News from my alma mater:
Masters & PhD fellowship for Indian students from marginalised backgrounds. Please apply and circulate. Thank you.
Centre for Modern Indian Studies, Göttingen ❤️
Charles Wallace India Trust Fellowship
2024-2025
This Fellowship is intended for early to mid-career scholars who are resident and domiciled in India to spend a term of study and residence in Cambridge
Charles Wallace India Trust Fellowship - CRASSH
Happy to share my new Past & Present article on the letter-writing culture of the labouring poor. 4 years of writing. Would love your comments and criticism. Thankful to
@nit_sinha
, Shahid Amin, Natalie Zemon Davis, Ulrike Stark, Rupa Viswanath.
Yesterday, I praised Yogendra Yadav’s Hindi piece on caste census.
Today, I find this new co-authored piece of him very problematic, full of assumptions.
1. Reservation is about representation—Representation of all communities in each reserved category. I agree but
In our artisans of India series, we're excited to write our next piece on the history of compositors and typesetters--people behind India's book revolution. I & Amanda
@LanzilloAmanda
go back to archives to understand such workers who gave words a physical reality.
Reading Agrarian Poverty in Colonial Uttar Pradesh by a stellar historian, Professor Shireen Moosvi.
It is sad that there have not been many works on the social history of poverty in India. Prof Moosvi fills the gap.
Trying to write my reflections/review of the book.
Here is a good book on historical methods with contents written in a clear manner. Highly recommend it to students and new research scholars. A good entry point in historical methods.
Our new piece on workers of the printing industry. It took a while for this one. Read our series on the history of labourers/workers who shaped modern India
@LanzilloAmanda
'The Workers Who Typed': The Labouring Stories of Book Production via
@thewire_in
Another generation of the best history teachers of Delhi have retired who gave history a distinct recognition:
Shahid Amin
Mukul Mangalik
Neeladri Bhattacharya
Mukul Kesavan
More in line 😔
Heena wrote & read a Nazm (नज़्म) for me on our wedding registration day.
चूकीं मैं गद्य का आदमी हूँ, पर फिर मैं पद्य सुनकर फ़िदा हो गया। आप भी सुनिए।
शुक्रिया
@heenaadelhi
On this
#VishwakarmaJayanti
, if you are interested in knowing more about history of artisans, read our longest running series on artisans of India with essays on carpenters, perfume makers, tailors, cycle mechanics, paper makers, etc.
@LanzilloAmanda
Writing this series on 'artisans/workers of India' with
@LanzilloAmanda
for
@thewire_in
has been an enriching experience. Our new piece on the history of tailors.
How Colonial History Contributed to the Socio-Economic Marginalisation of Indian Tailors
In the lush green campus of Nottingham University. First day of the teaching semester. Teaching following courses:
Rule & Resistance in Colonial India
Slavery, Caste, & Capitalism
Roads to Modernity
Past & Futures
We need research grants and permanent academic posts for universities that have been running without permanent faculties. We need alternative history, not “alternatives to history".
My piece in
@IndianExpress
on recent 'politically manufactured' history controversies.
My liberal friends always doubted UP and saw it a den of political conservatism and communalism, but UP has emerged as the land of hope, land of a new wave of inclusive and progressive politics, and land which wants development and jobs.
Touring UP gives new perspectives
डिग्री तो थी, पर दीवाल नहीं। दस साल लग गये सही दीवाल खोजने में इनको टाँगने के लिए।
खेती किसानी के घरों में बोरी और अनाज से भरे ड्रमों के बीच दीवालें अक्सर पंचांग और दुकानदारों के एडवर्टिजमेंट से भरे कैलेंडरों की होती है।
+1
Professor Shahid Amin, my teacher at Delhi University and one of the founding members of Subaltern Studies Collective, remembering Natalie Zemon Davis.
Across Fields and Disciplines, Historian Natalie Davis's Pathbreaking Work Has Left a Lasting Mark
A world class university of India will start paying its new faculty hire by hour. This will be the final death of JNU's academic excellence. DU has been doing it for its faculty for a while now. Universities, Why don't you have money to pay for your teachers?
I spoke to the
@bbcnewspunjabi
on the discovery of a new archive of 300k Indian (Punjabi) soldiers who fought in the First World War. I explain why the UK & India forgot about the contributions of Indian soldiers. It is an amazing archive of WW1.
A guide for colonial officials arriving in India:
‘Rise at daybreak, and ride gently for one hour in the hot season, and two hours in the cold season; make a moderate breakfast, avoiding melted butter, salt meats, salt fish, sweetmeats, &c., 1
Mr Rahul Gandhi is right in asking for the share of OBCs and SCs' representation. I mean, why not??
Not sure why Mr Mehta is shy of the social diversity question.
Fear about identity-related politicization should not strangle valid social justice questions.
Visited the Edinburgh University to deliver a lecture on Indian labor and social history. Great audience, interesting discussion, and beautiful campus.
Happy to share my column piece in the Indian Express on how the Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Yadav achieved 37 seats in the Lok Sabha and how a new class of subalterns supported his call.
@yadavakhilesh
@IndianExpress
@MediaCellSP
I will be giving a lecture on Silent Rebellions and Working-Class Dreams at the India International Centre, Delhi.
I will discuss the birth of industrial and technical education in India and labouring and socially subalterns’ experience of education.
Please attend and share
This election has given a new Rahul Gandhi.
One who is embedded into matters of Aam Jan Manas (subalterns), social justice politics, & constitutional values.
Godi media & influences have been cruel to his sharp intellect, perseverance, hard work & pushed a negative image of him
As a Professor of History, I write on the implications of Chat GPT and see an opportunity to reform our outdated education system.
@IndianExpress
A teacher writes: Challenges posed by ChatGPT are an opportunity to initiate long-overdue educational reforms
Amanda
@LanzilloAmanda
& I are excited to announce that the next piece in our one and only series on Workers of India with
@thewire_in
will be on cycle mechanics who helped India move. You can explore our series here to know the world of labourers and workers.
India has numerous great historical libraries which need our attention, both financially and as a reader. My friend
@LanzilloAmanda
explores the life of a Mumbai working-class library.
I am happy to speak with any potential postdoc candidate interested in South Asian history/British imperial history (in areas I work on) who wishes to apply for the British Academy Postdoc fellowship. Please read the eligibility rules before contacting