Naveen Prasad Alex writes about Poikayil Appachan’s radical vision of caste abolition, memory, and unity—revealing the revolutionary potential of PRDS in reshaping Kerala’s subaltern history.
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Tag: history
Representing “Rooh”: Islamic Debates Around Images and the Visual Culture of Colonial Malabar
Islam’s relationship to images is widely discussed, often in ways that perpetuate Islamophobic stereotypes, erasing context, history, diversity, and change. Countering such popular narratives, Mohammed Sadik shows that conversations around image use in Malabar’s Muslim communities represents a long and dynamic history of debating and adapting Islamic principles to a changing world.
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Unveiling Women’s Leadership in The Kerala Renaissance
Popular readings of modern history in Kerala tend to focus on the many male leaders who led struggles for social justice. Naveen brings to light less-known incidents from these struggles to shine a light on the leadership of women in the struggles for caste and gender justice.
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Why The Legendary Cartoonist Abu Abraham Still Matters
A retrospective in his native Kerala displays Abu Abraham’s many creative tensions – as cartoonist and parliamentarian, patriot and cosmopolitan[…]
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A Window into The World of The Svadesabhimani (1905-1910)
The Svadeshabhimani was an influential newspaper of the Kerala Renaissance that was banned. Thought to be lost, its archives have been partially recovered over a century later. Sajitha Bashir presents us a glimpse into the recently digitised archives and the labour that went into making the archives accessible for all.
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Mythical, Conventional, or Lost Histories: The Islamic and Cultural Heritage of Tirurangadi
In light of a lack of conventional historical sources, Sadik weaves a cultural and Islamic history of Tirurangadi using available archival materials and oral narratives from his fieldwork.
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Women’s Football in Kerala: Some Reflections from The Ground
In this reflective account on the women’s football in Kerala, Amritha shares her uneasy feelings around the less visible Kerala Women’s League.
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ജനകീയ ശാസ്ത്ര ചരിത്രത്തിലെ മറന്നൊരേട്
പത്തൊൻപതാം നൂറ്റാണ്ടിന്റെ അവസാനത്തിലും ഇരുപതാം നൂറ്റാണ്ടിന്റെ തുടക്കത്തിലും പ്രഭാഷണങ്ങളിലൂടെയും പ്രദർശനങ്ങളിലൂടെയും പൊതുജനങ്ങളെ ബോധവൽക്കരിച്ച തിരുവിതാംകൂർ പബ്ലിക് ലെക്ചർ കമ്മിറ്റിയുടെ പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങൾ ഊർമിള ഉണ്ണികൃഷ്ണൻ അവലോകനം ചെയ്യുന്നു. കേരളത്തിലെ ശാസ്ത്രത്തിന്റെ ജനകീയവത്കരണ ചരിത്രത്തിലെ അധികമാരും പരാമർശിക്കാത്ത എന്നാൽ കൂടുതൽ പഠനം ആവശ്യമുള്ള ഒരേടാണത്.
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[Podcast] Rethinking ‘Keraleeyatha’: Clothing and the Politics of the Body
We wrap up this season of our podcasts with Malavika Binny and Rekha Raj. In this episode, we explore how clothing, and by extension, the body itself, have been both sites of violence and protest in Kerala, and closely tied to questions of class and caste.
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‘Soap, Cheep, Kannadi’: Consuming Soap in Keralam, c. 1900-1950
Was foreign soap a luxury product or an everyday commodity in early-twentieth-century Kerala? Greeshma Justin John follows the interesting history of soap as a commodity at this time, examining how it became a popular staple commodity in the region.
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