Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and the Muslim Renaissance in South Asia
This year marks the 207th birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who was born into a prominent family with ties to the Mughal court in Delhi on 17 October 1817, and passed away on 27 March 1898.
From Controversy to Classic: Lal Shalu After 75 Years
Syed Waliullah’s (1922-1971) debut novel Lal Shalu drew significant attention upon its release but faced mixed reviews, including outright rejection. Since then, it has been translated into multiple languages, adapted for the stage, and made into a film. Today, it is regarded as the first major modern novel by a Bengali Muslim writer.
The Bengali Mahanayika & Mahanayak
On November 29, 1957, the Bengali-language newspaper Jugantor carried an advertisement placed by the management of Metro Goldwyn Mayer’s (MGM) Metro Film Hall of Kolkata.
Utpal Dutt and Postcolonial Political Theatre
The inspiration for decolonization, as a philosophical term, writes Achille Mbembe, was the ‘active will to community’ which can be translated as something like ‘to stand up on one’s own and create a heritage’.
Concert for Bangladesh
Ravi Shankar methodically plucked the seven top strings on his sitar, drawing twanged melodies out of the four-footlong instrument.
A forgotten chapter in the intellectual movement of Bengali Muslims
Anwarul Quadir (1887-1948) was a key literary figure whose work significantly influenced the intellectual movement of Bengali Muslims in late colonial Bengal.
Australian involvement in the Bangladesh Liberation War
If you think about the international reaction to the Bangladesh Liberation War, you most likely would consider the United States government openly siding with Pakistan.
An Iconic History of Bengal
In the sixties of the last century, I earned my primary degree with majors in Philosophy and Indian Studies and became a secondary school teacher.
Cartographic Imagination and Colonial Landscape Paintings in and around Bengal
Cartography in India might have had its roots in this expansionist ambition but went on to achieve much more than this. Rennell’s Map of Hindostan, published by an act of Parliament in 1782, inaugurated the cartographic identity of modern India for the first time on the world stage.
The Santal Hul: Arrows against muskets
Exactly 169 years ago, in the jungles of what is now the Indian state of Jharkhand, Bengal Army sepoys fired the final shots in what became known as the ‘Hul’, or uprising, of 1855.
Rammohun Roy’s Grammar(s) of Bangla
Although Rammohun Roy was notably many things, he was not an unlikely person to write a grammar—or, in fact, two grammars: one in English and one in Bangla, the latter being a free translation of the former.
Bengali and Non-Bengali Riots at Karnaphuli Paper Mills
When writing a confidential report on the Bengali workers of Karnaphuli Paper Mills to the Superintendent of Police, D.I.B Rangamati, Sub-Inspector of Police Md. Nurul Islam noted with disgust and frustration:
