24 JULY 2019
Was ‘Gumnami Baba’ actually Subhash Chandra Bose?
The Justice Vishnu Sahai Commission’s report on the mysterious ‘Gumnami Baba’, which was tabled in the UP cabinet on Tuesday, says it’s difficult to determine whether he was indeed Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, as popularly believed
https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/was-gumnami-baba-actually-subhash-chandra-bose-1.1563944050326
31 MAY 2019
How Britain tried to ‘erase’ India’s third gender
14 MAY 2019
Painter, provocateur and exile who was M.F. Hussain ?
We know him as a painter and as a provocateur; we know of his love for the female form and for horses; his fondness for Madhuri; his likeness to Picasso and, not to forget, his penchant for walking barefoot
https://www.dawn.com/news/1482242/painter-provocateur-and-exile-who-was-mf-hussain
27 APRIL 2019
The Free India Legion, Hitler’s Indian soldiers
On August 15, 1947, after 150 years under British rule, India gained independence. Gandhi and Nehru earned their place in the history books. But few mention Subhas Chandra Bose, an Indian independence activist controversial for his agressive nationalism – and who solicited Adolf Hitler’s help in liberating India from colonial rule. Our reporters have been finding out more
https://www.france24.com/en/20190426-video-reporters-hitler-free-indian-legion-subhas-chandra-bose-india-world-war-two
Churchill’s policies contributed to 1943 Bengal famine – study
The Bengal famine of 1943 was the only one in modern Indian history not to occur as a result of serious drought, according to a study that provides scientific backing for arguments that Churchill-era British policies were a significant factor contributing to the catastrophe
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/29/winston-churchill-policies-contributed-to-1943-bengal-famine-study
9 JANUARY 2019
Harappa grave of ancient ‘couple’ reveals secrets
About 4,500 years ago, a man and a woman were buried in a grave together in a sprawling cemetery on the outskirts of a thriving settlement of one of the world’s earliest urban civilisations
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46806084
30 DECEMBER 2018
How ancient DNA may rewrite prehistory in India
New research using ancient DNA is rewriting prehistory in India – and shows that its civilisation is the result of multiple ancient migrations, writes Tony Joseph
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46616574
21 NOVEMBER 2018
Anti-Sikh riots: What happened in 1984 and after?
After the assassination of Indira on October 31, 1984, anti-Sikh riots erupted in some areas for several days, killing more than 3,000 Sikhs in New Delhi and an estimated 8,000 across India
https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/anti-sikh-riots-what-happened-in-1984-and-after-1.60501721
Britain Finally recognizes India’s WWI Contribution
Until four years ago, virtually nothing had been done in either Britain or India to recognize the sacrifice of more than 74,000 Indian troops who died fighting in World War One. Also ignored was the vital role played in almost all the theaters of the conflict – Europe, the Middle East and East Africa by the 1.3 million-plus servicemen from what was then undivided India
https://www.asiasentinel.com/society/britain-recognizes-india-world-war-contribution/
https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/vp-naidu-inaugurates-war-memorial-in-france-remembers-indian-soldiers-sacrifice201811101932040001/
https://www.trtworld.com/asia/wwi-centenary-forgotten-soldiers-who-died-for-british-raj-21552
28 OCTOBER 2018
Indians in the trenches: voices of forgotten army are finally to be heard
1.5 million fought with the British and 34,000 died. Now their sacrifice in the face of prejudice is being recognised
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/27/armistice-centenary-indian-troops-testimony-sacrifice-british-library
https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781408707708
27 JULY 2018
The Maulvi who joined hands with Lenin
Maulvi Barkatullah Bhopali, who was born 159 years ago on the 7th of July earlier this month, was a glorious standard-bearer of the Indian independence movement. He toured Great Britain, Europe, Japan and America, in addition to the Soviet Union, in connection with the struggle against British imperialism
http://www.thefridaytimes.com/tft/the-maulvi-who-joined-hands-with-lenin/
17 JUNE 2018
The search for India’s first Olympic medallist
Norman Gilbert Pritchard was the first Indian athlete to win an Olympic medal, but little is known about his life and his family. Delhi-based sports journalist Gulu Ezekiel writes about his search for Pritchard’s family that lasted for more than three decades
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-44722759
5 JUNE 2018
RSS fought harder than Congress for India’s freedom, claims Sangh author
In the backdrop of allegations that the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) had no presence in the freedom struggle movement, the organisation has claimed that their contribution was much bigger than Congress
https://theprint.in/politics/rss-fought-harder-than-congress-for-indias-freedom-claims-sangh-author/66705/
21 MARCH 2018
Monica Mathen obituary
9 MARCH 2018
The Forgotten History of Sikhs in Shanghai
For the Tsinghua University history professor, the outing carries a sense of déjà vu after years of research on his new book, “From Police to Revolutionaries: A Sikh Diaspora in Global Shanghai,” which highlights an important chapter in the city’s colonial past
http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1001893/the-forgotten-history-of-sikhs-in-shanghai
24 FEBRUARY 2018
India freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose’s daughter calls for DNA test of his remains
The daughter of one of India’s most iconic freedom fighters, Subhas Chandra Bose, has called for a DNA test of her father’s remains to put to rest the “fantastic claims” and conspiracies surrounding his mysterious death
https://www.thenational.ae/world/asia/india-freedom-fighter-s-daughter-calls-for-dna-test-of-his-remains-1.707582
24 DECEMBER 2017
70th anniversary of Malayan Emergency: a moment for reflection on involved Gurkha Rifles
After Indian independance, four regiments, the 2nd, 6th, 7th & 10th Gurkha Rifles, followed the British side and moved to the Malaya Federation, which was Malaysia and Singapore
http://www.atimes.com/article/70th-anniversary-malayan-emergency-moment-reflection/
17 NOVEMBER 2017
Indian WW1 soldiers laid to rest after French mystery
The discovery of human remains near a small town in northern France last year sparked a search that quickly spread half-way across the globe. The two men, it turned out, were Indian soldiers who died on French battlefields more than 100 ago during the World War One
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-42016574
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-31937266
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33317368
7 NOVEMBER 2017
Kolhapur: The Birthplace of Indian Cinema
The Marathi film industry is arguably the oldest film industry in India. It pioneered film-making in India in 1912 with the release of Shree Pundalik, directed and produced by Ramchandra Gopal “Dadasaheb” Torne. But technically, this 22-minute long recording of a Marathi play is not considered a full length feature film. Since it involved a British cameraman and all the processing work was completed in London, it is not considered a full Indian-made venture
4 NOVEMBER 2017
How Kipling helped quell an Indian mutiny in first world war trenches
He was one of Britain’s most celebrated writers of the 20th century, the Nobel prizewinning author of The Jungle Book. But Rudyard Kipling’s work for British intelligence during the first world war has been lost in the mists of time
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/04/rudyard-kipling-india-first-world-war-mutiny-british-intelligence
16 SEPTEMBER 2017
Black dot on old Indian manuscript identified as first recorded use of zero symbol
A black dot on a third-century Indian manuscript has been identified by Oxford University as the first recorded use of the mathematical symbol for zero, 500 years earlier than previously thought
http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2111488/zeroing-zero-how-scientists-traced-mathematical-symbol-back
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-41265057
6 JULY 2017
Aryan Invasion May Have Transformed India’s Bronze-Age Population
An influx of men from the steppe of Central Asia may have swept into India around 3,500 years ago and transformed the population
https://www.livescience.com/59703-north-india-populated-by-central-asian-invaders.html