Reasserting the Ramayana

The Ramayana is multiple narratives, recreated over time, as the story has passed from teller to listener and from place to place. There is no singular text. With the recent decision to withdraw Wendy Doniger’s book, it is time to once again ask: what is the Ramayana? How can it inspire us to counter intolerance?


The story of the Sassoons

On January 24, Gateway House and the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, hosted a talk on ‘The Jewish community of Bombay: Diaspora, Identity and History’ by Gateway House's Mumbai History Fellow Sifra Lentin. This article, based on the talk, tells the story of the Sassoons, a prominent family of Baghdadi Jews


Dialogue on Trusteeship: futuristic ideal

Gateway House and Sabarmati Ashram hosted a dialogue on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary. The topic of the dialogue was Trusteeship, a Gandhian ideal and how it needs to be looked at as a basis for addressing problems related to environmental distress and income disparities



African Union: accelerating agriculture

At the just-concluded African Union Summit in Ethiopia, speakers discussed the urgent need to focus on agriculture – which remains central to the African economies – by increasing investments and productivity. The summit was a time for reflection on the state of a sector that can transform the continent


SAARC: dawdling but optimistic

With intra-regional trade at a low 4.23%, South Asia is the ‘least integrated region in the world.’ At the recent fifth SAARC Conclave in New Delhi, officials spoke about the need for better integration. But this is only possible if problems such as political differences and inadequate connectivity are addressed




Latin America: Looking ahead to 2014

The death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, election of President Michelle Bachelet in Chile, reforms in Mexico and the legalisation of cannabis in Uruguay have implications for the Latin American region. Gateway House examines how these will shape the region’s politics and economy in the coming years