History

Barabkunda, Chattogram: Where fire rests on water and legends don’t sleep

The Barabkunda Agnikunda in Sitakunda, Bangladesh, is a sacred flame mysteriously burning on water for centuries. Fuelled by natural methane, it blends myth, science, and spirituality into a rare, unforgettable travel experience.

Rethinking how we teach and study History

Why history education must go beyond memorisation and embrace critical thinking

BOOK REVIEW: NONFICTION / Stitching fragments of a city lost in time

In the contested notion of creating a ‘nation,’ few ideas provoke as much ire among the everyday citizens of a bordered entity as the concept of a space—one that carries with it the weight of instilling an identity.

We must build a foundation for genuine democracy

Democracy cannot operate as a simple majority steamroller, as we also saw in the early days of our independence.

Mahalaya to Vijaya Dashami: What this year’s Durga Puja predicts

Durga Puja, an annual Hindu festival, celebrates the divine force “Shakti” embodied in Goddess Durga. This year, Mahalaya falls on 2 October, marking the start of Devi Paksha. Durga arrives on 3 October by palanquin, considered inauspicious, and departs on 12 October by horse.

#Culture / Vibrant puja culture of Shankhari Bazar: Where tradition meets tomorrow

Shankhari Bazar, one of Dhaka’s oldest neighbourhoods, is renowned for its vibrant cultural heritage. During Durga Puja, the area transforms with colourful decorations and bustling markets. Despite modernization, it retains its charm, offering a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

The desperate need for a nuanced narrative of history in NCTB textbooks

Through discourse and perception, these unknown tales of history continue to haunt us even today.

Images that changed history

Their deaths in the hands of cold-blooded law enforcement personnel might not have been in vain

Who are Bengalis?

A chronicle of race science in Bengal

September 14, 2022
September 14, 2022

'Infinite Library': An immersive experience of civilisation at Goethe Dhaka

The Infinite Library did not have books. It consisted of virtual spaces, a set of "eight jars" or volumes that—using a VR journey through the users' phones—told the story of our planet's evolution, starting from the beginning of cosmic dust to human consciousness.

August 25, 2022
August 25, 2022

‘The danger in telling a single Partition story is that it completely erases the individual’

1947 was overtaken almost immediately by the language question, and the question of identity.

July 24, 2022
July 24, 2022

The evergreen winning combo of black and gold

There are those well-regarded classic colour combinations like black and gold that never go out of style for anybody. Even if we date back to the 1900s when women’s fashion was neat, covered and detailed with ruffles, buttons and lace in layers; black and gold had an upper hand even there. Georgia Hale, a 20th century silent film artist sported black silk dresses with golden tassels.

April 24, 2022
April 24, 2022

Chapters on Mughals, Islamic empires removed from classes 11, 12 syllabi in India

India’s Central Board of Secondary Education has removed chapters on the Non-Aligned Movement, the Cold War era, the rise of Islamic empires in Afro-Asian territories, chronicles of Mughal courts and the industrial revolution from the history and political science syllabi of classes 11 and 12.

April 21, 2022
April 21, 2022

WORLD BOOK DAY: Books about books

For World Book Day on April 23, we bring together a list of books about books as a means to glimpse at and tap into the vast knowledge, power, and pleasure that is to be found in these complex objects. Are they, indeed, just objects? Or historical artefacts? Or weapons?

March 3, 2022
March 3, 2022

Denise Mina’s ‘Rizzio’: A bloody slice of Scottish history

In 2021, Polygon, an Edinburgh-based publisher, launched the Darkland Tales, a series of “dramatic fictional retellings of stories from history, myth and legend” written by Scotland’s greatest contemporary writers. Denise Mina’s novella Rizzio is the first in the series.

December 16, 2021
December 16, 2021

Stories of the liberation war, and how we must never forget to pass it on

Fifty years have now passed since that glorious day in December 1971 when we achieved victory after a battle for nine months.

December 2, 2021
December 2, 2021

In 'Thug', Mike Dash myth-busts British India’s cult of stranglers

It is nearly impossible to know nothing about British India’s infamous cult that systematically killed and robbed Indian travelers for hundreds of years. However, almost every write-up available today is an exaggerated horror story that fails to reflect upon the real events.

November 25, 2021
November 25, 2021

Staff picks for Nonfiction November

Cleghorn pairs her personal experiences and traces through history how women's bodies have been taught to be hidden and shamed, instead of being taken as what it is—a biological entity.

October 14, 2021
October 14, 2021

Books that changed the world: Gilgamesh through the sands of time

The epic antedates even the depiction of the famous Trojan war; it is, in effect, the oldest epic found till date.