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Dinyar Patel

@dinyarpatel.bsky.social

Associate Professor (South Asian History) at SPJIMR, Mumbai. Author of Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism (Harvard University Press, 2020).

77 Followers  |  155 Following  |  29 Posts  |  Joined: 09.06.2025  |  1.783

Latest posts by dinyarpatel.bsky.social on Bluesky

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India freedom struggle: The hidden heroines found in long-lost photographs Newly found photos highlight women’s key role in Mahatma Gandhi’s civil disobedience movement against British rule.

A recently discovered album of photographs from 1930-1 shine new light on the Civil Disobedience Movement, demonstrating the scale of female participation and leadership. My article in BBC: www.bbc.com/news/article...

30.11.2025 06:20 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Gillian Tindall (1938-2025): A Bombay biographer who opened the city’s eyes to its own stories More than 40 years after it was published, β€˜City of Gold’ remains an important text for historians and researchers.

Gillian Tindall's "City of Gold" was one of the first Bombay history books I read--and I continue to refer to it for my own work. Tindall passed away last month: scroll.in/article/1088...

24.11.2025 06:13 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
New India Foundation

Many congratulations to Aparajith Ramnath for winning this year's Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize! www.newindiafoundation.org/winner-nif-b...

19.11.2025 05:56 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

And cultural phenomena in India, as well! John Bright was so popular in Bombay that a cricket club was named in his honor in the late 19th century.

16.11.2025 12:33 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Podcast: Why Ireland’s Great Famine matters Padraic X Scanlan discusses his new book, β€˜Rot: A History of the Irish Famine’ with Dinyar Patel.

Why did the Great Irish Famine occur, and what did it have in common with famines in other parts of the British Empire, including India? Listen to Padraic X. Scanlan discuss his book, "Rot: A History of the Irish Famine" in our latest Past Imperfect podcast: scroll.in/article/1088...

13.11.2025 10:14 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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β€˜Peacemaker’ by Thant Myint-U review

Peacemaker: U Thant, the United Nations and the Untold Story of the 1960s by Thant Myint-U captures the optimism and ambition of Burma’s bridge between worlds.

✍️ John Sidel reviews the recent #historybook

www.historytoday.com/archive/revi...

21.10.2025 13:51 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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What the Chettiar Story Reveals about Caste and Business Tracing the rise and decline of Chettiar businesses across Asia challenges the idea that caste-based capital can always deliver fortunes.

Tracing the rise and decline of Chettiar businesses across Asia challenges the idea that caste-based capital can always deliver fortunes. CJ Kuncheria on Raman Mahadevan's 'Fortune Seekers'
www.theindiaforum.in/book-reviews...

10.11.2025 04:36 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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Taking place tomorrow!

08.11.2025 06:22 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Henry Fawcett was also a staunch supporter of Indians clamoring for more political rights, befriending many Indian political leaders resident in London.

06.11.2025 14:29 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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FRAGMENTNATIONS | The Mumbai LitFest

This Sunday at Literature Live!, I'll be in conversation with Sam Dalrymple about his excellent new book, Shattered Lands: www.litlive.in/fest25/sched...

03.11.2025 10:54 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
From the photo-book: How Mumbai suburban women contributed to the freedom struggle Women were at the forefront of the Civil Disobedience Movement – leading processions, picketing foreign cloth shops, breaking the salt laws.

Murali Ranganathan writes on how photos in a long-forgotten album reveals the role of women in suburban Bombay during the Civil Disobedience Movement: scroll.in/article/1087...

27.10.2025 06:13 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Truth teller of Empire Under colonial rule, the written word was one of the few weapons available to Indian political leaders. They made remarkable use of it. It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that Indians used b...

In @thetls.bsky.social I write about Dadabhai Naoroji, Indian nationalism, and the power of print: www.the-tls.com/history/mode...

17.10.2025 09:06 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
As β€˜Parsiana’ closes, Indian journalism loses a small but important voice The magazine, started in 1964, chronicled the achievements and arguments of the Parsi community around the world – with an eye on the big picture.

My piece on the closure of Parsiana and how the career of its editor, Jehangir Patel, mirrored major social and political changes in India: scroll.in/article/1087...

15.10.2025 17:25 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Capitalism: A Global History by Sven Beckert In this epic account, Bancroft Prize–winning historian Beckert (Empire of Cotton) charts the rise of the modern global economic ...

In this epic account, Bancroft Prize–winning historian Sven Beckert charts the rise of the modern global economic order. An unparalleled work of scholarship that is also a joy to read, this is a monumental achievement. @penguinbooksusa.bsky.social

04.09.2025 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Some photographs from the launch of "Disobedient Subjects" at CSMVS: an exhibit on photographs from the Civil Disobedience Movement in Bombay, 1930-31.

13.10.2025 12:34 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Taking place this Saturday! Murali Ranganathan, Sumathi Ramaswamy, and I will be in conversation about Bombay during the Civil Disobedience Movement -- specifically, an incredible volume of photography which we have written about. CSMVS, 11 Oct, 5:30pm.

09.10.2025 11:12 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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I'll be giving a talk this Saturday on three Indians in the age of global liberalism: Rammohan Roy, Dwarkanath Tagore, and Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy. How did their global links help shape Indian critiques of colonialism? khakitours.com/experiences/...

02.10.2025 05:53 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Job alert: IIHS University in Bangalore is hiring! www.iihs.ac.in/careers/

30.09.2025 15:37 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Happening this evening!

25.09.2025 10:49 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Brougham was also a supporter of Indian reform, and a well-respected figure in India, associated with Indian liberals' hopes for changes in the fundamental structure of Company rule.

19.09.2025 09:06 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Dadabhai Naoroji’s 200th birth anniversary: How early nationalists thought about mass education There is a yawning gap between their visions and independent India’s woeful track record in educating its citizens.

Today is Dadabhai Naoroji's 200th birth annniversary. I write in @scroll.in about the divergence between, on the one hand, the early Indian nationalist vision for mass education and, on the other hand, independent India's woeful record on mass education. scroll.in/article/1086...

04.09.2025 07:43 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Looks like you're finding some really interesting stuff!

26.08.2025 05:39 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Podcast: Indira Gandhi’s disastrous legacy that defined Indian democracy Was India’s only female prime minister a populist, an authoritarian, or something else? Author Srinath Raghavan discusses why her regime could be β€˜Caesarist’.

Our latest Past Imperfect podcast, with Srinath Raghavan, looks at Indira Gandhi's rule: was she populist, authoritarian, socialist -- or perhaps Caesarist? scroll.in/article/1085...

21.08.2025 05:20 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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I'll be delivering a talk this Thursday on "Dadabhai Naoroji at 200," marking the two-hundredth birth anniversary of one of the world's pioneering anticolonial figures. 14 August, 6pm, CSMVS Museum, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai. See images for details.

11.08.2025 06:19 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Panic and fear: How Bombay experienced the Great Uprising of 1857 The alarm and fright in the city revealed the brittle, ultimately ephemeral nature of the British empire – the most powerful empire in world history.

How did Bombay experience the Uprising or Mutiny of 1857? Find out in my latest piece in @scroll.in, where I describe how fear and panic shaped the British response in the city: scroll.in/article/1084...

27.07.2025 14:23 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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β€˜Gods, Guns and Missionaries’ by Manu S. Pillai review

My review of Manu S. Pillai's Gods, Guns, and Missionaries is now out in @historytoday.com: www.historytoday.com/archive/revi...

25.07.2025 15:35 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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We are proud to announce that South Asian Britain: Connecting Histories, a landmark educational website on the histories of South Asians in Britain, is now live!

Visit southasianbritain.org

@qmul.bsky.social @bristoluni.bsky.social @britishlibrary.bsky.social #AHRC @uobartsmatter.bsky.social

22.07.2025 08:00 β€” πŸ‘ 50    πŸ” 41    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 6
Podcast: The radical legacy of the 19th century β€˜Young Bengal’ movement Though mocked for their dietary and drinking habits, the group set a template for progressive reform that resonates in India even today, says Rosinka Chaudhuri.

Young Bengal was infamous for hard drinking and a propensity to fling beefsteaks into the houses of orthodox Brahmins. Rosinka Chaudhuri scratches beyond this surface, however, to discover their remarkable politics and principles. Listen here: scroll.in/article/1084...

17.07.2025 06:45 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks to @scroll.in for carrying!

16.07.2025 07:09 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Podcast: The radical legacy of the 19th century β€˜Young Bengal’ movement Though mocked for their dietary and drinking habits, the group set a template for progressive reform that resonates in India even today, says Rosinka Chaudhuri.

What was Young Bengal and why was it so controversial? Find out more in our newest Past Imperfect podcast with Rosinka Chaudhuri, author of India's First Radicals, the most comprehensive treatment of a generation which shaped modern India: scroll.in/article/1084...

16.07.2025 07:09 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

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