R. Mahalakshmi

May 23, 2024 | frontline.thehindu.com | R. Mahalakshmi |Neera Chandhoke |Vaishna Roy

At a time when science and scientists are increasingly being yoked to the services of the state and the capital for their aggrandisement, it was illuminating to learn about a scientist who came out openly against fascist powers and devoted his life for the upliftment of humanity. On April 29, the India International Centre, New Delhi screened a documentary film titled Sergej in the Urn.

Apr 18, 2024 | frontline.thehindu.com | Patrick Olivelle |R. Mahalakshmi |Lawrence Liang |S.v. Srinivas

As you drive from the airport to the Outer Ring Road or near Race Course Road in New Delhi, it is impossible to miss seeing three large snarling lions—seated back to back, beady-eyed, threatening. Apparently based on the Mauryan emperor Asoka’s pillar capital at Sarnath, the claim for creating a 6.5-metre-long, 9,500-kilogram colossus atop the central foyer of the new Parliament building was that it represented the decolonisation of the capital city.

Jan 28, 2024 | thewire.in | R. Mahalakshmi

Historians like S. Gopal, Romila Thapar, Bipan Chandra, Satish Chandra, or B.D Chattopdhayaya, Suvira Jaiswal, Harbans Mukhia, K.N. Panikkar and Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, who established the Centre for Historical Studies (CHS) in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in the 1970s, making it one of the most remarkable departments for historical scholarship, stood out for several reasons.

Oct 5, 2023 | frontline.thehindu.com | R. Mahalakshmi |Vaishna Roy |Anand Mishra |Anando Bhakto

The term sanatana refers to that which is eternal and dharma is generally understood to be law or the order of things. Thus, the term Sanatana Dharma as it began to be articulated in the 19th century referred to an eternal law. When we look at the history of the term, the term dharman is known as early as in the Rig Veda, but it is primarily in terms of the upholding of the cosmic order, or rita that it appears; sanatana does not appear in the Vedic samhita.

Jul 27, 2023 | tinyurl.com | Arati Kumar-Rao |Bahar Dutt |Akhil Sood |R. Mahalakshmi

Her photographs are a eulogy to a planet on the brink.When a copy of Arati Kumar-Rao’s Marginlands landed on my desk, I wondered: could someone who is so adept with the visual craft also play magic with words? A few pages into the book, and I realised that if her pictures are a brushstroke, her words are definitely her sword. Kumar-Rao writes with searing clarity, weaving strands of history, prose, and science together into a compelling narrative.