Stories written by
Romila Thapar
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Romila Thapar: ‘The rights of citizenship have faded’
To mark India’s 75th Independence Day, PEN America asked authors from India and the Indian diaspora to write short texts expressing what they felt.
Romila Thapar
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Why Romila Thapar went to China in 1957: To study the history of Buddhism, not Communism
Excerpted with permission from ‘Gazing Eastwards: Of Buddhist Monks and Revolutionaries in China’, by Romila Thapar.
Romila Thapar
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Romila Thapar on the secular view of Indian history (and its differences with the communal one)
Excerpts from a conversation between Romila Thapar and her fellow historian Neeladri Bhattacharya.
Romila Thapar & Neeladri Bhattacharya
Trending
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Mauritian Bhojpuri is being dressed in Hindu nationalist robes – and I’m in mourning
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Young professionals are fleeing crisis-hit Pakistan in hope of a better future
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Toddler says she didn’t like ‘Pathaan’, Shah Rukh Khan posts video with a promise to work harder
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Watch: ‘3 Idiots’ stars Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi, R Madhavan comically reunite to promote new film
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‘Class’ review: An immersive and revealing show about privilege
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Romila Thapar: ‘Who were the Aryans?’ is a less important question than what it meant to be ‘Aryan’
The book ‘Which Of Us Are Aryans?’ approaches the question through various disciplines such as genetics, linguistics, and archaeology, besides historiography.
Romila Thapar
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‘Urban Naxals’: It’s essential that right to dissent is not discarded in India, says Romila Thapar
In November, the historian delivered a video message at the Unesco headquarters on the freedom of speech and expression in India.
Romila Thapar
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Release the wrongfully arrested activists: Full text of petition filed by Romila Thapar and others
Five prominent civil society members petition the Supreme Court against the arrest of five activists.
Romila Thapar, Devaki Jain, Prabhat Patnaik, Satish Deshpande & Maja Daruwala
Video
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Toddler says she didn’t like ‘Pathaan’, Shah Rukh Khan posts video with a promise to work harder
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Watch: TV host Ellen DeGeneres surprised with marriage vow renewal ceremony by wife Portia de Rossi
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Watch: This dog was taking a ride on the roof of a car in Bengaluru
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Eco India: Why are sparrows continuing to disappear from Indian cities?
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Watch: Adele moved to tears as fan shows up with picture of his late wife to her Las Vegas show
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The man who built JNU understood what a university stands for – the freedom to question and debate
First vice-chancellor Gopalaswami Parthasarathi’s vision of an institution of academic quality and wide accessibility made JNU iconic.
Romila Thapar
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India should draft a fresh secular code applicable to all citizens, writes historian Romila Thapar
The eminent historian says that any evaluation of culture requires us to understand why certain groups have been historically excluded or discriminated against.
Romila Thapar
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'Why can't we think of civilisation as a process of tracking cultures?': Historian Romila Thapar
Full text of the speech delivered at the 8th BR Ambedkar Memorial Lecture that pitched for rethinking civilisation as history.
Romila Thapar
The Reel
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Start the week with a film: Horses and a quietly thumping heart in ‘The Rider’
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‘Class’ review: An immersive and revealing show about privilege
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‘Jehanabad – Of Love & War’ review: A heavily spiced account of an audacious jailbreak
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‘Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat’ review: A throbbing musical about forbidden passion
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‘Faraaz’ review: A shallow exploration of 2016 Dhaka terror attack
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Bhagat Singh as revolutionary terrorist: Romila Thapar on why context is key to studying history
As politicians urge action against Bipan Chandra for his description of the freedom fighter, his colleague explains how the meanings of words change over time.
Romila Thapar
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How our education infrastructure is being systematically demolished
The attempt is to make everyone conform to one body of information, that, inevitably, will be dictated by those who are without specialised knowledge – politicians and bureaucrats.
Romila Thapar
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It's essential to question the fantasy pasts being palmed off as history
It is ironic that the historian today can be confronted by non-historians insisting on their version of the past being correct and accusing the historian of prejudice.
Romila Thapar
The Field
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Fitness watch: Do you get shin splints after running? Here's how to avoid them
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Political overreach, government control, low scrutiny: The challenge of reforming Indian sports
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Fantasy football: Stressful or fun – is it the enjoyable hobby it was meant to be?
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Chamari Athapaththu column: Sri Lanka have never been as confident as we are ahead of this World Cup
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Premier League: Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool’s poor run of form – ‘I have no words for it’