Associate Editor at Down To Earth (Web). His main interests include history, wildlife, culture, cuisine, theology and indigenous peoples
The big transition that was Project Tiger
The landmark programme marked the transition from a very big game-centred view of nature, prevalent among imperial British officials, Indian …
Sikhs of Lakhimpur-Kheri: How India has to discover itself everyday because of its education system
The elevation of Charanjit Channi to chief ministership and the tragic deaths of Sikh farmers in Lakhimpur-Kheri show us just what exactly is …
How ‘Golden Boy’ Neeraj Chopra got caught in India’s caste cauldron
A number of caste groups have tried to claim Neeraj Chopra as their own ever since he won the gold medal at Tokyo; the cancer of caste is alive …
Sherni: A Bollywood film that knows its environmentalism well
Every scene is finely etched in this very accurate portrayal of how India’s forest service actually works
Why I remember DN Jha as an exemplary food historian
His defining work was about a food item whose reality is markedly different from the narrative that has been built around it
Farmers at Singhu and Tikri have a host of global peasant revolts to look up to
As the farmer protests continue in Delhi, we examine other instances in world history when cultivators have rebelled
The ‘qissa’ of Basmati
As the European Union gets set to pronounce whether to give a GI tag to India’s Basmati rice, we explore the history of a grain that …
How peasants are an indelible part of Sikh theology, history and tradition
The latest protests against the new farm laws only validate the importance of the peasant in Sikh religion and society
Spare me my noodles
As the India-China standoff becomes more tense and anti-Chinese sentiment builds up in India, will ‘Chinese food’ be banned
Yes, black Africans did construct architectural marvels
The persistent racial stereotype of blacks not having intelligence has often had tragic consequences. It is time to end it
George Floyd killing is time to say it again: Racism has no place in science
A single mutation in a gene called ‘SLC24A5’ is responsible for giving Europeans their light skin
Is America redeeming itself vis-à-vis its First Nations?
The country appointed its first Native American poet laureate and apologised for the genocide of aborigines in its largest and richest state on …
Will the Indian Army’s Yeti post boost interest in cryptozoology?
For many in the academic world, it is still a pseudoscience, not to be taken seriously at all
Tulsi Gabbard’s decision to contest is a victory for Polynesia
Let us, for a moment, forget the Hawaii Congresswoman’s links to Hindu nationalism and instead, focus on her indigenous Pacific roots
The revenge of the boar
The wild pig can be a danger to humans, as some very special ones in northern Iraq found recently
A ‘kick’ass jibe
Could Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘gadha’ comment increase awareness about wild equid conservation in India?
