The politics of the 'clash' between Bangalees and Paharis

The term “Bangalee-pahari conflict” is used as a contextual term for the English “ethnic conflict.” The rhetoric of ethnic conflict or ethnic violence views ethnic identity as an immutable feature of human nature. Or, in other words, these terms create the assumption that violence along ethnic lines is “primordial” or inherent to ethnic or cultural differences. This is seriously problematic because such assumptions normalise violence. In reality, both pahari/Indigenous people and the settler Bangalees are victims of state experimentation.
8 October 2024, 12:31 PM

What robots tell us about ourselves

When writing about robots, it's almost a reflex to begin by referring to them as an enduring science fiction trope – momentarily
31 May 2017, 18:00 PM

WE'RE ALL PROPAGANDISTS

If you're anything like me – alive and on social media – you've seen your fair share of people dissatisfied with modern life and the people who live it.
10 May 2017, 18:00 PM

ROME AND ITS MANY SEQUELS

The experiences of puberty strongly shape the adults we become. Let us talk about something that happened during the world's adolescence.
8 February 2017, 18:00 PM

The Big Mongol Break-up

History is basically the worst writer you can imagine. Always picks the least believable plots, over and over.
27 July 2016, 18:00 PM

Racists do stupid things that ruin the world

Racism is far from dead, but we have come a long way. Plenty still living remember when racial discrimination wasn't an illicit practice but explicit state policy...
22 June 2016, 18:00 PM

A REALLY WEIRD STORY ABOUT FLOWERS

I'd be the first person to admit that I have no clue about flowers. At most I can identify a sunflower or a rose – but only if it's red.
1 June 2016, 18:00 PM

My Private Country

In November of 1871, the Welsh journalist Henry Morton Stanley successfully found the long missing, legendary medical missionary David Livingstone.
11 May 2016, 18:00 PM

WHEN SPORTS CLUBS - TRIED REPLACING AN EMPEROR

Long before it became Istanbul, Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
30 March 2016, 18:00 PM

Give Peace a Chance (or Else)

Sengoku Jidai was a period in Japan's history when every samurai and their granddaddy wanted to be the shogun, chief of warriors and the real authority in the country.
9 March 2016, 18:00 PM

The Hottest Trend in Medieval Japan

“Hereafter, the guns will be the most important arms. Therefore decrease the number of spears per unit, and have your most capable men carry guns.”
10 February 2016, 18:00 PM

KING OF KINGS: The Life and Death of Haile Selassie I

You ever have those mornings when you wake up to people thinking you're Jesus?
20 January 2016, 18:00 PM