Assistant Professor (Senior Lecturer) in History
@NorthumbriaUni
.
History/Politics of India & Britain, migration & diasporas.
Previously
@Cambridge_Uni
.
He/Him.
Havelock Road in Southall - London's 'Little India' - is finally to be renamed Guru Nanak Road. This is a big deal. Havelock Rd was named after the colonial British general who fought in the Sikh wars & later suppressed the 1857 Uprising. It is home to London's largest gurudwara.
Fantastic. My stupid idli comment has now been connected - ever so tenuously - to the US election. For the record: I love Indian food... and especially south Indian food! (Just not idlis).
Just been gifted the most beautiful masala dabba by the mother-in-law. It's easily going to make my cooking twice as good, I'm sure. What dish should I make with it first?
Romila Thapar is one of the world's most distinguished and respected historians of India. Any top university in the world would have given their right arm to have her on their faculty, but she devoted her entire career to DU & JNU.
My dumb idli tweet has led to media coverage across India & beyond (BBC, CNN!), TV reports, a radio interview & lots of fun - and more heated - debate. Best of all may be this cartoon of
@ShashiTharoor
& me in today's Manorama, one of the world's biggest circulation newspapers!
Funnily enough *exactly* the same arguments were used when Ugandan Asians were fleeing Idi Amin's regime in 1972. Around 27,000 ended up settling in the UK & went on to achieve enormous success. As it happens Priti Patel's parents were among those who emigrated from Uganda to UK.
"We can not accommodate 20,000 people in one go."
Home Secretary
@pritipatel
tells
@KayBurley
it is "important" to have a system "that delivers" regarding the new Afghan refugee scheme.
Latest:
#KayBurley
Just rewatched the Richard Attenborough's 1982 Gandhi film for the first time in ages. It's remarkable in many ways and, of course, problematic in others. But the total absence of Ambedkar is maybe the most shocking part of all.
A tweet by a UK professor invoked the wrath of netizens after he called the famous South India dish Idli- one of the most 'boring' and 'insufferable' things in the world. Do you feel the same?
#NewsMo
#UnitedKingdom
#SouthIndia
#Idli
|
@Akshita_N
Who knew that Sikkim's top export was cooked stuffed pasta, Nagaland's was human hair, and Chandigarh's was needles? (Perhaps lots of people... but I didn't!)
One problem with pissing off south Indian twitter is that they are in literally every timezone - even when India sleeps, the irate replies keep coming! 😉
Fantastic to hear today that official permission has been granted to preserve the former London home of Dr B.R. Ambedkar as a museum and memorial. Jai Bhim!
Brought my dad some provisions and (from a distance!) introduced him to his granddaughter for the first time. Maya is one month old today - a strange time to come into the world!
How have I only just found out about Kismi biscuits?? An absolute revelation! Basically the lovechild of Parle-G and Biscoff. With a cup of tea, perfection.
Having accidentally enraged the entirety of South India (and its omnipresent diaspora) on twitter, it was only right to order idlis for lunch. I'm very sorry to report that my unpopular - or "blasphemous", as some have said - opinion remains unchanged.
#sorrynotsorry
p.s. Before the whole of south India attacks me, can I just say that I love dosa and appam and basically all south Indian food. But idli (and puttu for that matter) are insufferable.
Wonderfully detailed map showing global trade routes in the 11th-12th century. Great illustration of the myriad layers & reach of global connectivity - and with Europe decentred - that long predates modern notions of globalisation. Zoomable version here:
India becomes the first country to ever receive more than $100bn from its overseas migrant population, according to new World Bank figures. This represents a 12% increase on last year and ~$1 of every $6 remitted globally. Equivalent to 3% of India's GDP.
'Why Kerala, not Bollywood, is India’s rapid-response unit for Covid films' - great piece by
@Namrata_Joshi
on the thriving Malayalam film industry (featuring a quote from the world's best mother-in-law).
Amazing map showing the distribution of India's 1.1 million students studying abroad. I was surprised recently to find out there were 18k Indian students in Ukraine. Many people also seem to have a rather Western-centric notion of where Indian students study. (via
@indiainpixels
)
Often wonder whether any actual terrorists or spies have been caught out by the US visa question: "Do you seek to engage in or have you ever engaged in terrorist activities, espionage, sabotage, or genocide?"
"This is to introduce to you an Indian gentleman, Mr B R Ambedkar... He is not only a very able, but an exceedingly pleasant fellow." This reference, written in 1920, is part of a new exhibition on Babasaheb's time at LSE. His whole student file has just been digitised. Jai Bhim!
Daily Mail hatchet job on my colleague,
@PriyamvadaGopal
, is as hateful & racist as you'd imagine. But it does collate some of her 'greatest hits'! We fully stand by her. And it seems everyone the snivelling hack contacted at Cambridge either ignored him or told him where to go!
In case you're wondering, this manhole cover from Chandigarh was sold a couple of years ago in London for £10,800 (£12,960 or c.14 lakhs with fees). Lots of these Le Corbusier-designed covers, which lined the streets of Chandigarh, have been stolen & replaced with concrete ones.
Just come across this rather wonderful photo of Nehru at a Penicillin factory in Pune (August 1956). Indira is seen behind him. This captures a pioneering period in the development of India as a major manufacturer of pharmaceuticals.
An estimated 5 million women joined hands today across the length of Kerala, demanding gender equality. Incredibly powerful & moving. Here are some pics I took in Trivandrum of the last 1km of the 620km route.
#WomensWall
#VanithaMathil
Does anyone else find it unbelievably frustrating that you can currently go into all 'non-essential' shops, to buy anything you fancy and mill around in a confined space, but we're all still prohibited from going to museums and galleries. What does that tell us?
If I took up everyone's offers to provide me with delicious idlis - from all corners of India & beyond - I wouldn't have to cook or buy food for a year! It's confirmation that Indian people's passion for food is matched by their generosity. 🙏
Wow. I now know to criticise south Indian food at my peril! The idli defenders appear to be a seriously passionate bunch. But will my in-laws in Kerala forgive me??
Yes, my son, there are some who are truly challenged in this world. Civilisation is hard to acquire: the taste & refinement to appreciate idlis, enjoy cricket, or watch ottamthullal is not given to every mortal. Take pity on this poor man, for he may never know what Life can be.
@ShashiTharoor
Oh no, I feared that the world's most famous idli evangelist would see this after
@ishaantharoor
tweeted it! Coincidentally 'this poor man' is currently re-reading one of your books which I've set my students to read for a class next week!
This video - of Europe's constantly shifting borders - is superb. Apparently, less than 1% of international borders were created before 1500. Will definitely be showing this video at the start of my next lecture on nationalism and national identity.
If an academic requires a rail ticket reimbursing they must have it approved by about four different people. But somehow a £50,000 political donation can be made by a university due to an 'administrative error'.
Why did
@AngliaRuskin
donate £50k to the Conservative Party ahead of the general election?
Big questions for the vice-chancellor to answer... 👇
@AngliaRuskinUCU
Have always found this photo from 1941 captivating. It shows Indian soldiers drinking tea outside Woking's Shah Jahan Mosque: the UK's first purpose-built mosque. I think it's the juxtaposition of something so ordinary - having a mug of tea - with the remarkable moment & setting.
People saying that I want to remove or erase history because I support a street being renamed. I'm a historian. I have literally made it my life's work to teach people about the past. I'm sorry for you if the extent of your understanding of history is a road name or a statue.
Brilliant, well done Rishi. You're sabotaging one of the most successful and important sectors of the British economy. And for what? International students and their families have no recourse to public funds and contribute tens of billions to the UK economy every year.
For the record, the sambar and chutney were good. And I still adore almost all of the wonderful cuisine of south India. Thanks to Newcastle's Malayali restaurant, Ury, for the idlis. I may not have finished them, but the delicious fish curry, dosa and payasam were devoured.
This story is shocking. Not only for Liddle's intentionally upsetting remarks but those of the head of the college who invited him to come and say all this hateful stuff at a Christmas bloody dinner. And then calls his students "pathetic." What a nasty man.
Another twist in the tale of idli-gate. (He must be keeping an eye on me to make sure I don't denounce any other South Indian delicacies.... which I won't!)
Visited Dr Ambedkar's bust
@LSEnews
. Babasaheb Ambedkar was awarded a Masters & PhD in Economics at LSE in 1922-3 (whilst also studying law at Gray's Inn, having already completed postgraduate studies at Columbia). His LSE thesis was published as The Problem of the Rupee in 1923.
My two impossibly lovely ladies all dressed up for
#Onam
. (If anyone can point us in the direction of a good sadhya in Newcastle we'd be very grateful!!)
#HappyOnam
#Onam2020
Maradona will be missed the world over. But not least in Kerala, where you can witness unbelievable adulation of him. He visited in 2012 to the elation of the state's innumerable Argentina football fans. RIP
You can't properly understand WW1 without the context of Empire. In turn, WW1 tells us so much about imperialism in the 20th century.
These records of 320k troops from Punjab will help shed new light on these often misunderstood & overlooked connections.
I promised myself never to tweet about idlis again, but this article by
@Poojaspillai
is great. The story of how they became so popular and ubiquitous is a fascinating history of labour, migration, and more. Not remotely boring!
Distraught to learn that the digitised archive of Spare Rib - the iconic feminist magazine - is no longer accessible due to Brexit. My students and I spent weeks exploring the archive just last semester: it's an invaluable resource for studying the Women's Liberation Movement.
@nadinebh_
Regardless of what you think about Bolton, I like how she demands "deference and respect" at the end, but a couple mins earlier calls a very senior journalist "darling".
Currently thinking of Kala Ghoda ('Black Horse') in Mumbai. This was a statue of Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, mounted on a horse. In 1965 it was removed & relocated to the city's zoo. Then, in 2017, a near replica of the horse was restored to the original site... sans rider!
Massive turnout at the
#USSstrike
really
@Cambridge_Uni
. Incredibly heartening & quite emotional to see such remarkable solidarity & support from our students.
#UCUstrike
"I've been fighting against empire... slavery & colonialism all my life. I've been writing to connect with people, not to impress governments & monarchy. So how could I accept an 'honour' that puts the word 'empire' onto my name?"
RIP Benjamin Zephaniah
To all those in the replies who feel the need to defend the legacy of Havelock, why not try to adopt the considered, respectful & sensible approach of one of his actual ancestors...
@edanderson101
@EalingCouncil
@VirendraSharma
@juliangbell
As a descendant of Henry Havelock, this news makes me really happy. My ancestor's story will always be part of British history, but his living relatives have a much different view on the world and are very happy to celebrate Sikh influences and culture in the UK.
Young people protesting in London against the 1971 Immigration Act. This restricted migration to the UK & eroded the right of Commonwealth citizens to settle. Such a fantastic, dynamic picture; just chosen for cover of my Migration & Diaspora module guide. (Photo by Peter Arkell)
Here is
@EalingCouncil
's official announcement (which avoids mentioning anything about why it was called Havelock in the first place!) Great news. Congrats to
@VirendraSharma
@juliangbell
and all others involved in campaigning for & effecting this change.
@LukeDon80051530
It's good to debate these things but if your best example is Vikings then you may not have a great case. The Vikings haven't invaded Britain for 1000 years, whereas many of Britain's >4.5 million people of South Asian descent have a living memory of suffering under colonial rule.
My article on colonial statues, how India dealt with them after independence, and why one of them ended up in a garden outside Cambridge. Out now in the July issue of
@thecaravanindia
.
A few pictures of Jawaharlal
#Nehru
around his time at Trinity College, Cambridge, on the 129th anniversary of his birth. He referred to his undergraduate days as "three quiet years... moving slowly on like the sluggish Cam".
Putting together the reading list for a new second-year history undergraduate module I'm launching next year: 'Migration, Diaspora & the Making of Modern Britain.'
Alongside these classics, what absolutely must be on the list? Books/articles/blogs/source suggestions all welcome!
In awe of this man - who spent 8 hours under an immigration enforcement van to stop it from moving - and the people of Glasgow, who banded together and refused to let the police and Home Office kidnap two men from their community.
#RefugeesWelcome
#GlasgowSaysLetThemGo
Many replies reveal not just bigotry but a worrying - and often causative - lack of understanding of two areas:
1) The history of British colonialism
2) The history of South Asian communities in Britain
This is why decolonisation must go well beyond removing & renaming things.
Some news: very happy (and feeling extremely lucky) to share that I'll soon be joining
@NorthumbriaUni
as Lecturer in History.
@NorthumbriaHist
is a brilliant, dynamic department full of fantastic colleagues and I can't wait to get started.
Another blinder from
@Cambridge_Uni
VC Prof Toope in today's letter to The Times. He totally gets that the
#USSstrike
is about marketisation & not just pensions. Exciting possibilities to where we go from here...
Just treated myself to this 1924 Bombay guidebook, published exactly 100 years ago. As you can tell from the map at the back, the city has changed rather a lot since it was written!