The Sociopolitical Impact of A Passage to India
E. M. Forster’s novel captured not only the tensions between colonizers and colonized but also the fraught internal politics that shaped India’s fight for independence.
The Hybrid Heroines of “Bollywood Chick Lit”
Material consumption and marriage have different meanings for South Asian American women, and those meanings should shape the way we read Desi “chick lit.”
A History of Diwali
Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is observed across the length and breadth of India as well as among the large Indian diaspora around the world.
Black Freedom and Indian Independence
Activists including W. E .B. Du Bois in the United States and Lajpat Rai in India drew connections between Black American and Indian experiences of white rule.
A Utopia—for Some—in India
In 1968, an international group led by an Indian freedom fighter and a French spiritualist formed a utopian—and problematic—community called Auroville.
Women in the Vijayanagar Empire
According to legend, a woman played a central role in the founding of the Vijayanagar empire. But what was it really like to be a woman in India’s medieval era?
Pakistan’s Ambiguous Islamic Identity
Pragmatism, not faith, drove Muhammad Ali Jinnah to lead the call for the founding of the new Islamic state of Pakistan.
The Taj Mahal Today
In parallel with the recent shift in political attitudes toward Islamic heritage, India’s most famous monument may need to find a new place in history.
The Legal Struggles of the LGBTQIA+ Community in India
A recent judgement by the Supreme Court of India put off the question of allowing same-sex marriage, but it still may be seen as a victory for the community.
Jain Ascetics in a Material World
The Jain Śvētāmbara Terāpanth sect began as an ascetic discipline, but it has increasingly emphasized physical health over renunciation of the body.