Vank Cathedral Courtesy: Rasool Abassi/Wikimedia Commons
27 October 2022

India in the global Armenian network

The 18th century wave of Armenian immigrants to India were at the forefront of reinforcing a national identity for the Armenian people who lived dispersed across the world and without an independent country. The English colonial city of Madras was an important Armenian trading hub soon became home to an Armenian liberation movement

5-things-to-know-about-Indias-youngest-billionaire-king-Maharaja-Padmanabh-Singh Courtesy: Instagram
11 August 2022

Is ‘Pukka’ Dead?

The old world order and the manners and values that went with it, have come to an end. Many of its aspects and aesthetics are outdated, but some remain – like the word ‘pukka’ which implies a certain sensibility, now with a new interpretation. Will its meaning hold in the new world order that has yet to emerge?

subnational action Courtesy: Hardik Joshi
16 June 2022

Activating sub-national climate plan in India

City-level climate action is gaining pace in India. This is crucial, given the country’s climate vulnerabilities and growing carbon footprint. Its success depends on mobilisation of climate finance, targeted devolution of central resources, inter-agency data-sharing and of course, public participation.

Maktoum-Modi INDIANS BUILD THE UAE Courtesy: Twitter : Narendra Modi
14 June 2022

Indians in the development of the UAE

Indians are the largest expatriate community in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Their contribution to building that nation is being celebrated this year, which is also the UAE’s golden jubilee year. Cultural fluency built on centuries-old trade and migration makes it easier for Indians and Gulf Arabs to collaborate.

Portuguese string of ports Courtesy: Diu Vanza Darji Samaj UK
28 October 2021

The Portuguese string of ports

Five hundred years before the ‘string of pearls’ or strategic naval bases surfaced as part of China’s global dominance plan, Imperial Portugal was a naval power which tried to impose its hegemony over vast swathes of the Indian Ocean. What informed this grand vision of a 16th-century Portuguese seaborne empire?

a history of india's currencies and banknotes Courtesy: Marg Publications (Mumbai)
20 May 2021

The Conjuror’s Trick: An Interpretive History of Paper Money in India

From the window of the earliest paper currencies issued by private banks in Calcutta, to the evolution of contemporary banknotes, The Conjuror’s Trick: An Interpretive History of Paper Money in India, deftly tackles political imperatives, monetary policy, global disruptions, schools of currency thought and even the science and art of printed paper money in India.

800px-Emergency_hospital_during_Influenza_epidemic,_Camp_Funston,_Kansas_-_NCP_1603 Courtesy: Wikipedia
17 September 2020

The 1918 ‘flu: India’s worst pandemic

The 20th century’s worst pandemic – Spanish Flu – erupted in March 1918 in Camp Funston (Kansas, U.S.) during the Great War. Much like Covid-19 it spread globally at an astonishing pace. Its Second Autumnal Wave took about 30 million lives in four months, half of those in India. It’s sheer virulence and high mortality makes this virus the correct analogy for Covid-19

Sifra - final Courtesy: Gateway House
25 June 2020

Mumbai-Shanghai: two COVID-19 stories

The sister cities of Mumbai and Shanghai have a shared history, population size, and economic significance. On 29 May, a roundtable between the Shanghai Institute of International Studies and Gateway House encouraged discussion on strategies to battle COVID-19, and kick-start city economies after a lockdown. Here are some workable solutions.

Image 2[6379] Courtesy: Gateway House
17 June 2020

Post COVID Mumbai: Governance, Planning & Realignments

Pankaj Joshi, Executive Director, Urban Design Research Institute, and Nitai Mehta, Founder, Praja, in discussion with Sifra Lentin, Bombay History Fellow, Gateway House, on the immediate and long-term steps Mumbai can take to combat COVID-19 and future emergencies.