Ganju Lama, an ethnic Bhutia, wangled his way into the Gurkha regiments and won a Victoria Cross in the Second World War – and proved that a true Gurkha need not come from a “martial” race, or be defined only by battles and bravery
The Indian-Francophone writer Ari Gautier on Black and Dalit struggles, indentured labour, and the little-known histories of French colonialism in South India
An investigation into cardamom cultivation in Kerala exposes how India is failing abjectly to regulate pesticide overuse and contamination in its spice production and trade
Maharashtra’s politics has been pushed so far to the right that progressive voices are endorsing the Maha Vikas Aghadi – which includes Uddhav Thackeray’s faction of the Shiv Sena, with its history of Hindutva vigilantism
Environmental researcher Pankaj Sekhsaria says that large-scale disruptions to a geologically sensitive region like Great Nicobar puts ecology, infrastructure, indigenous people and migrants to the island at significant risk.
A conversation with the writer Zara Chowdhary on her debut memoir ‘The Lucky Ones’, exploring the past of her multigenerational Muslim family and reckoning with a sense of unbelonging within one’s own home and state
Assembly election results present headaches for New Delhi thanks to renewed demands for restored statehood, while the chief minister, Omar Abdullah, must reckon with curtailed powers and growing polarisation between Jammu and Kashmir
Payal Kapadia’s brilliant film, a winner at the Cannes Film Festival, portrays friendship, love and acceptance amid the chauvinism and exploitation rife in India today
The International Booker Prize-winning author-translator duo discuss their latest book – and why its story, based loosely around the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid, remains deeply relevant today
With the collapse of India-backed authoritarianism in Bangladesh – and Myanmar too – ‘India’s Near East: A New History’ reads like a testament to the failure of New Delhi’s policy on its eastern flank
The BJP’s reduced seat count after the 2024 election prompted rare public criticism from the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, offering a glimpse into the recurring power struggle between the two organisations
