Indian History Research Articles

Kathakali character identification – Using deep learning techniques and web technologies for Indian cultural heritage

Technology advancements have proven to benefit every part of our life. It has shown visible results in all domains including medicine, retail, governance, entertainment to quite a few. There are several ways technology has been used for art and culture. In this paper, we examine the use of technology for a 400 year old art form Kathakali, one of the most sacred arts of Indian Cultural Heritage. Kathakali is known for hand-gestures, dance elements, music and sophisticated costumes and makeups. Kathakali is salient part of Indian Cultural Heritage. However, there haven't been much work to promote this part of Indian history. Through this paper, we aim towards taking one major step between our technological field and Indian cultural heritage. We use artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as convolutional neural networks for Kathakali character identification from images. We employ different deep learning techniques for the same and evaluate the performance of our algorithms. We observe that through rigorous parameter tuning and experiments, up to 97.5% accuracy has been obtained. We have personally recorded images of Kathakali from live performances over 20 years. The data set developed for this study contains images for 6 Kathakali characters - Pacha, Kathi, Minukku-Female, Red Beard, White Beard and Kari-Male and have been made available for the public to use in future. We then develop a web platform wherein users can upload new Kathakali images and the platform uses the AI algorithm behind to identify its character type. The web platform has been designed to deploy in a cloud environment so that it can benefit the public. We show how technology advancements can help improve audience reach for such old Indian art forms through this paper.

Women Empowerment: Identity of Women in Ancient India and Modern Indian Globalized Society

India's history and culture have earned itself a unique place on the global orb. In the world's top ten, our nation excels in terms of culture, politics, economy, military might, and other areas. Even if there were attempts to ameliorate these circumstances in the nation following independence, these measures have been more intense recently. Given that women comprise 50% of the population, they should be given ample deliberation. Consequently, to empower the human resources of the society, efforts are being initiated to strengthen, empower, and develop their innate qualities. Dr. Ambedkar had once stated that understanding a society's women's status is crucial to understanding its advancement. Just how robust can a civilization get? The idea of women's empowerment has gained traction in recent years and is now a hotly debated subject in today's culture. Women have historically been disadvantaged and mistreated in countries like India, thus empowering them is now essential to societal advancement. Globalization has brought about a paradigm shift in the Indian women's identity, presenting them with new opportunities as well as challenges in the contemporary world. Women in ancient India had a distinct identity that was moulded by cultural customs, religious beliefs, and social conventions. The purpose of this paper is to examine women's identities in Ancient India and Globalised Modern Indian scenario, with emphatic emphasis on their rights, roles, and difficulties. Patriarchal core value is the persistent perception of women as second-class citizens.

Bollywood, Maratha imperialism and Hindu nationalism

ABSTRACT Critical scholars assert that the Bharatiya Janata Party is using commercial Hindi films, controlled by the censor board, to portray a ‘Hindu’ version of Indian nationality. Left-liberal intellectuals and activists further claim that Bollywood is also pandering to the diktats of the ruling party by making films which depict a right-wing version of Indian history. Films to a great extent define our social consciousness. This article attempts to show that the two films Bajirao Mastani and Panipat make a conscious attempt regarding the presentist use of medieval Indian history for furthering the process of national integration. Further, these two films partially challenge the patriarchal depiction of women in Indian society.

A History of India's Groundwater Crisis

A History of India's Groundwater Crisis

Transgenders of the Mughal Empire in Hindustani Cinema: Politics of Representations in Period Films

Transgender identities and sexualities find a visibly accepted presence in the medieval history of India, especially in the Mughal era. Historical accounts and studies have indicated the prestige and power enjoyed by the third gender in the Mughal Empire to the extent that some of the writings have located them as an integral part of Mughal courts of law, holding some key positions of the royal palaces. In the extant literature on transgender, the analysis of their position as depicted through Hindustani Cinema in the Mughal period remains inadequate. The cinematic representation of the transgenders in the Mughal period can certainly offer a wide window to analyse their status in the given era, as this period has been documented as one of the most liberal periods for the transgender in Indian History. The present article aims to fill this gap through a mise-en-scene analysis of Hindustani Cinema based on the Mughal Empire during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The Hindustani Cinema has offered a marginalised space on-screen to transgender people for a long time by putting them only in humorous and comic roles. By providing an intense analysis of all the films based on the Mughal period in Hindustani Cinema, the present article argues that even period films are not devoid of the politics of representation of contemporary times.

Indo-Islamicate Perfumes in Early Modern India: Textualisation, Transmissions and Assimilations

This article brings to focus the material life of early modern perfumes in the Indian subcontinent. It offers a ‘documentary archaeology’ by foregrounding texts that recorded perfumes in their stage of production and preparation. By studying this corpus, it presents perfumes as a locale where craft, technology and labour interacted with each other in blending scientific knowledge with the natural landscape. With a focus on textualised perfume recipes, listed aromatic ingredients and distillation methods, it examines the various shifts, transitions, cross-cultural material borrowings and finally the assimilations that occurred in the olfactory landscape of an Indo-Islamicate political empire, especially during the Mughal rule in India. A rich perfume-repository, where divergences and acculturations took place could be best understood by identifying the various methods and processes in which material practices and literary traditions were shaping each other. In understanding this, it goes beyond the ephemerality of perfumes and argues in favour of a craft that was labour-intensive, skill-based, technologically innovative and culturally adaptive. Finally, it explores the diversification of its forms, significance of receptacles and amplification of its production, both in texts and in practice, to highlight the pervasive materiality of Indo-Islamicate perfumes in early modern India.

Interfaith dialogue in India: Its need and challenges

India has been the land of diverse cultures and religions over a long period of time. The adherents to different religions have been coexisting peacefully and sharing both the glories and the downfalls together. Though there is a long and well-established tradition of religious engagement and debate in India, the process of religious dialogue, particularly Hindu-Muslim dialogue, has yet to find a cohesive expression and a stable foundation on which to stand. Who isn’t aware about the riots, violence and killings on the name of religion in the history of India? The hatred and the disbelief against Muslims have dealt a huge blow for the unity and diversity of India. However, there is still hope for religious dialogue in India, as the country has been a pluralist culture for centuries and the people have lived through religious tolerance and coexistence. The only solution to this would be interfaith dialogue which is mandatory if not dynamic for everyone to have the understanding of different religions or belief systems. In this article, I would start with a brief introduction about interfaith dialogue, its history in India and then discuss in detail the need, importance and contemporary challenges of interfaith dialogue in India. This would help in understanding the dialogue between Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs, as well as to eliminate prejudices and misunderstandings regarding each other's faiths. It would also assist in the achievement of common goals such as the establishment of justice and world peace, the protection of human rights, and the promotion of moral values.

A critical review of the history and practices of millets in India

Millets have a long-standing history in India, and one can trace their cultivation and consumption to ancient times. This critical review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the history, practices, significance, and diverse applications of millets in India by drawing information from a range of ancient texts. Millets have played a crucial role in India's agriculture and dietary landscape for millennia. However, despite their historical importance, there has been a recent resurgence of interest in millets due to their potential health benefits, climate-resilient nature, and sustainable agricultural practices. The literature on millets is scattered across various historical texts such as Veda, Purana, and Samhita, making it imperative to consolidate this information systematically. The review of historical sources reveals a rich diversity of millets in India, with over 28 distinct species. These include Balbaja, Kangu, Priyangu, Shyamaka, Kodrava, Nivara, Yavanala, Gavedhuka, Chinaka, Uddalaka, Charuka, Chanaka, Venuyava, Varuka, Varaka, Varattika, Todaparani, Madhulika, Nandimukhi, Nala, Nali, Mukunda, Sarabeejam, Shimbira, Nartaka, Prashatika, Ragi, and Kuri. Historical texts provide insights into millet cultivation techniques, traditional practices, and their importance in Indian diets. The consolidation of historical knowledge about millets is essential for understanding their potential as a sustainable and nutritional food source. Further research is needed to explore the mechanistic aspects of their nutritional and ecological significance.

Hess, Peter (2021) Violent First Contact in Venezuela: Nikolaus Federmann's Indian History, Pennsylvania State University Press (University Park, PA), its:xiii + 136 pp. £11.37pbk.

Hess, Peter (2021) Violent First Contact in Venezuela: Nikolaus Federmann's Indian History, Pennsylvania State University Press (University Park, PA), its:xiii + 136 pp. £11.37pbk.

Museums and the Fashioning of National History in Postcolonial Pakistan

This article uses the deliberations of the Museums Association of Pakistan to demonstrate the collaborative and multidisciplinary nature of national history-writing that took place in the wake of Pakistan’s independence from British colonial rule. It repositions museums as an important stage on which new national narratives—and, by extension, new South Asian histories—were generated, rather than their being mere showcases for histories scripted elsewhere or being dismissed as colonial relics. It also draws attention to the individuals and the networks that shaped these histories, widening the net to include more than elite politicians and grand narratives.

Paytm Ipo : Unravelling The Behemoths Downfall

adhur Deora, the Group Chief Financial Officer at Paytm's parent company, One 97 Communications, made a striking statement, "A higher valuation could have been achieved but we decided to price it at a level where everyone makes money." Paytm had embarked on an ambitious journey to raise over ₹18,000 crores ($2.2 billion) through its initial public offering (IPO) filed in July 2021. This IPO marked a significant moment in the stock market, drawing global investors' attention. Notably, it stands as the largest IPO in the history of India, surpassing Coal India's previous record of ₹15,000 crores.

Hospitals and Medicine in Medieval and Early Modern India

Hospitals and the practice of medicine have been known in India since long. This paper focuses on hospitals (bīmāristān, dārush shifā’ and shifā’-khāna) that were established during the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries in the Indian subcontinent. This is a theme that needs to be studied, for our primary sources do reveal some information about these institutions. The help of a miniature from Bāburnāma, illustrated during the reign of Akbar, is taken to demonstrate how imperial shifā’-khānas were organised.

The Story of the Dilli Durbar of 1911

The Delhi Durbar of 1911 represents a pivotal moment in the annals of British India, epitomizing the zenith of imperial authority and showcasing the opulence and splendor of the British Raj. Hosted in Delhi, the capital of British India, this grand event served as a platform for King George V, the British monarch, to assert his dominion and consolidate control over the subcontinent. This paper extensively examines the significance of the Delhi Durbar of 1911 in the context of both Indian history and the evolution of Delhi, delving into its historical backdrop, the motives driving its organization, its ceremonial intricacies, and its enduring impact on the Indian nationalist movement. The Delhi Durbar of 1911 emerges as a potent emblem of fortitude, defiance, and the unyielding determination of a populace striving for emancipation. It can be asserted that this event remains a watershed moment not only in the narrative of British India, signifying the pinnacle of imperial dominance and providing insight into the intricate interplay between the colonizers and the colonized, but also in the history of Delhi itself, influencing its urban, demographic, and architectural evolution in significant ways. This paper endeavours to establish the Delhi Durbar of 1911 as a crucial focal point for the examination of Delhi's role first as the capital of the British Empire and subsequently as the capital of independent India. The carefully curated Bibliography presented in this paper serves as a valuable resource for scholars and enthusiasts of Delhi, offering a means to consolidate dispersed knowledge about this momentous event and accord it its rightful place in the layered history of Delhi as both an imperial and national capital.

Disability History in India: Conceptual Formations in Religion and Law

The conceptions on disability have been coursing through different forms. Disability history is recognised as an emerging and developing sub-discipline of the social history of medicine. The concept of disability has a vital position in the domains of religion and law. This paper attempts to examine the historical conceptualisation of disability in the domains of religion and law in India.. Though the experience of disability in India is historically distinct from that of western tradition, there may be similarities between the western and Indian high culture tradition of exclusion and stigmatisation of people with disabilities, particularly in the pre-modern period, these cultures are grounded in different concepts of social inclusion. Though the term disability is interpreted in various ways by the social context of religion and political context of law, presently it has been conceived as something to be synchronised with inclusion, equality and accessibility.

Contested Approaches to the Past and Its Significance in Twenty-First-Century India

The recent attempt to exclude large portions of India’s past, including figures like Akbar and Abul Kalam Azad from the History syllabus without following any due process of wide academic consultation is unacceptable. The historians they invoke, such as R.C. Majumdar, show by their own writing that they would have never countenanced such misrepresentation of Indian history. The omission of Akbar and his policy of tolerance (ṣulḥ-i kul) from the syllabus, deprives Indian students of learning about the position that India occupied in the world at the time.

Secularism as Theopolitics: Jalāl ud-Dīn Akbar and the Theological Underpinnings of the State in South Asia

Abstract Carl Schmitt’s well-known declaration that “all significant” modern political concepts are “secularized theological concepts” has sometimes been treated as hyperbole: a metaphorical axe aimed at the frozen sea of legal positivism, a provocation rather than a thesis. In this article, I demonstrate the fecundity of this thesis by applying it to secularism, a concept undeniably central to the Liberal state; crucially, however, I do so in the context of early modern South Asian history and ongoing debates over the secularism of premodern Mughal polity. As I argue, Jalāl ud-Dīn Akbar (1542–1605 CE) – a monarch of the Mughal dynasty often cast by South Asian secularists as a precocious emblem of the neutral state – was, in fact, an ideal type of Schmittian sovereign, who nonetheless stands equidistant from both Schmitt and his Liberal opponents in his stance toward religious pluralism. The theological correlate to Akbar’s “secularism” was an Islamicate theology of religions, which provided a contentful religious justification for religious pluralism, very different from contemporary “post-metaphysical” arguments. The final section of the article takes a critical turn, as I examine Akbar’s legendary reputation in the present, my intervention into his “secular” mythos, and the special difficulties involved in applying Schmittian concepts to an early modern, non-Western sacred king.

Mythology, Cosmogonies, and Indian Science Fiction

This paper examines the cultural significance of the intersection between Indian mythology, cosmogonies, and science fiction. India has a rich history of diverse religious traditions and corresponding world views, many of which have influenced each other. The Hindu pantheon has included the Sun from early times. With the planets also gaining in importance after the rise of astrology, the need to predict their paths saw the development of astronomical observations and spherical trigonometry. These serve as examples of how scientific and religious ideas have interacted throughout Indian history. Despite a strong tradition of fiction in India, there is a lack of science fiction that combines elements of mythology and astronomy except in superficial ways. This paper explores the potential reasons for this gap and argues that an examination of this genre can offer insight into the ways in which science and religion are perceived and valued in contemporary Indian society. The paper also offers a commentary on the current state of Indian science fiction that blends mythology and astronomy

The Forgotten History of Our Times: Revisiting Utpal Dutt's Titu Mir in Contemporary India

This paper is an exploration of the most recent revival of Utpal Dutt's play Titu Mir in 2019 by the ensemble group Theatre Formation Paribartak in India. Islamic religious reformer Titu Mir led a peasant rebellion from 1827 to 1831 in the Barasat region of Bengal and the play focuses on a narrative of revolutionary resistance to colonialism. Titu Mir becomes an articulation of political theatre against the Hindu right-wing agenda of expunging Muslim national heroes from Indian history. This essay seeks Titu Mir's relevance as a site and theory of materializing historical contradictions, and as part of a ‘gestic’ feminist criticism of theatre. The essay attempts to understand how critique of patriarchal ideology is enmeshed in critique of colonialism in Titu Mir, especially in those moments where the play addresses complexities of political violence, interracial romance, martyrdom, alienation in the colony and deep-rooted misogyny in the project of colonialism.

Is the Derivative Action Regime in India a Historical Relic?

In 1843, the Court of Chancery pronounced its landmark judgment in Foss v. Harbottle.((1843) 67 ER 189) The judgment sparked the evolution of a critical common law remedy, in the form of derivative actions, to protect a company’s interests. Soon courts in other countries, including India, adopted this approach, allowing interested parties to initiate suits on behalf of companies. Over time, most countries, including the United Kingdom, proceeded to codify derivative actions into a statutory remedy. India however continued with the common law route. Indian civil courts have been entertaining derivative actions, initiated by interested parties on a company’s behalf, for several years now. However, recently an interesting judicial trend has emerged wherein High Courts are restricting the jurisdiction to consider such actions solely to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCPL), a specialized forum established for adjudicating upon company law related matters. In this article, we discuss the reasons leading to this new trend, the position taken by the High Courts on derivative actions in three recent judgments, the shortcomings of this approach and its impact on the future of corrective actions which may be initiated by third parties on the company’s behalf in India. Big data, business secret, cybersecurity, data right, e-commerce platform, information processing, legal boundary, market competition, network platform, personal privacy

Need of Demonetization to wash away the Black Money of the Corrupt People and Market: A Review of the Lesson from India

This research paper presents corruption and demonetization with respect to some impacts on people, production and market. The research question to be answered is" Why was demonetization of Rs. 500 and 1000 notes in India and Nepal needed? The methodology is qualitative and related to interaction with people and document analysis. Demonetization is the process of stripping units of currency from their legal status. After demonetization, those units of currencies will not be used as before. It means their age will be passed away. The units of currencies will have no any existence. If someone circulates these units of currencies after demonetization, it will be a matter of fraud or doing illegal activity and the person will be the subject of deserving candidate for legal action and punishment for blackmailing government and people. Narendra Modi's midnight announcement of the legal proceeding of demonetization of the notes of Rs 500 and 1000 made the silently sleeping citizens wake up around the thunderstorm without cloud and amidst many sink holes without landslides. Millions of corrupted people counting their dreamful beautiful golden notes turned amongst heavy and scaring ghosts haunting around them. This situation was nearly compared to the philosophy of Nietzsche's "Death of God". It is because blackmailed money is the form of God for the blackmailers. The silent sound turned into the unending shape of murderer. It was one of the greatest decisions made by The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, in the history of India and other territories in the proximity of India. In the overall situation, it was a feeling of patriotic ideology in controlling black money in India, Nepal and Bhutan.