univerCity

Via Naim Sahib comes the sad news that Simon Digby, 79, passed away in Delhi. Anyone who has touched any scholarly/popular work on medieval to colonial India – esp. aspects of religion and art – has seen the fruits of his amazing intellect reflected in those works. I will try and find a full biography [...]

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Two great opportunities for students from South Asia to pursue graduate education in NY. It is wonderful, and a testimony to the work of the scholars and administrators behind these initiatives, that even in these economic downturns we have these possibilities. At Columbia: Applications are sought for the Ambedkar Sanskrit Fellowship at Columbia University in [...]

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I know that I need to do more than just put photos but, some of us are trying to get ready for teaching, ok? In any case, these are cool pictures. So for the commemoration of the official unification of Germany, two giants walked the streets of Berlin from Oct 1-4th. Die Riesen Kommen by [...]

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Via Manu Bhagavan and the Society for Advancing the History of South Asia: Please support the establishment of an endowed South Asian History book prize by the American Historical Association! Historical work on South Asia has become increasingly prominent and influential in the world academy in recent decades. Numerous books written about the region have [...]

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It only took a month, but I am sorta situated now. Just a week or more and then classes begin. I will post my syllabi here, as soon as I finalize them. And we need to have a discussion on the greatest essays in SA history for pdcs. In the meanwhile, enjoy some more snaps, [...]

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I must say that this long hiatus has made me lose my blogging legs. Weird. It’s like I have never done this before. As usual, instead of sitting down and writing a long, thoughtful piece on the art of staying in touch with my ghostly audience, I thought I’d upload some random pics I have [...]

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updated below the fold… You may have read about the sudden and tragic passing away of a fine scholar, Aditya Behl. It is a great loss not only to his family and friends but also to the field of South Asian Literature. His translation of Shattari’s Madhumalati (2000) was pitch-perfect and a valuable addition to [...]

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I am still in the weeds. But, classes are about to start around towns and I just got a note from a new blogger and graduate student, Mircae – which reminded me to put up a general call for SA academic blogs. If you have one, or read one, put it up here in the [...]

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K. K. Aziz, 82, one of the most renowned historian of Pakistan, is gravely ill in Lahore. He is one of those cherished individuals who dare speak truth without the fear of consequence. He acted as the nation’s conscious for a long while [See especially, The Pakistani Historian: Pride and Prejudice in the Writing of [...]

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In 1806, James Mill (1773–1836) – father of John Stuart Mill – began writing his monumental History of British India. It was finally published in 1817, in 3 vols, and he claimed, in his preface, that it was the first such comprehensive history to have dealt with India. The preface of this history is one [...]

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If one was interested in plunging the murky depths of the ways in which US academia began to study “South Asia” – specifically within the Area Studies framework, one could begin with these preliminary sources: W. Norman Brown. “South Asia Studies: A History,” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 356 [...]

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Gentle readers, I wanted to let you all know about two forthcoming presentations. It would be great if you all could come and cheered me widely, before, during and after my presentations. In fact, I would appreciate a solid wall of sound drowning out every word I utter. That would be helpful. I. At the [...]

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Wendy Doniger has graciously, and generously, agreed to respond to some of the comments at CM. I thank her. I have followed with great interest the conversation between Conrad Barwa and Qalandar on this website, and the first thing I want to say is how grateful I am for the reasoned, intelligent tone of both [...]

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My narrative is alternative both to the histories promulgated by some contemporary Hindus on the political right in India and to those presented in most surveys in English–imperialist histories, all about the kings, ignoring ordinary people. But the texts tell us not just who was the ruler but who got enough to eat and who [...]

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Ahmad Hasan Dani, the leading archeologist and historian of Indus Valley as well as other ancient sites has passed away. A notice of his life and career. Also, an interview with Omar Khan from 1998. A great loss.

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Below are the comments I gave at the Mumbai Panel, yesterday. I. Yesterday, at her Senate confirmation hearing, Senator Clinton faced a number of questions about Pakistan and Afghanistan. Her most detailed conversation was with Senator Kerry – who will head the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Kerry spoke about his trip to South [...]

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As professional meetups go, AHA is less painful than COMDEX but slightly worse off, sartorially speaking (some of these sweaters – sheesh!). For the first time, in a long while, I attended panels and listened to scholars and thought about their words. My favorite panel was a Silver Jubilee retrospective of Guha’s Elementary Aspects of [...]

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Irfan Habib, senior Mughal historian, has some thoughts in The Hindu, Subaltern studies a challenge to historians [via Naim Sahib]: Talking to The Hindu on the sidelines of the 69th session of the Indian History Congress, which concluded on the Kannur University campus at Mangattuparamba on Tuesday, Professor Habib said globalisation was accompanied by an [...]

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update: On FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, there will be a roundtable discussion of the state of the field, moderated by David Ludden and possibly others. The event will be held in THE HILTON NEW YORK, NEW YORK SUITE (4TH FLOOR), FROM 5-7PM. I will be there. See you all there, too. Thinking out aloud about the [...]

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