A Kerala Studies Blog
What does the ‘love jihad’ narrative mean for the people who are often forgotten amid all the fearmongering–the lovers themselves? Maggie Paul draws on her life to reflect on the insidious logics behind the idea of ‘love jihad’ and how it has taken root in Kerala.
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The Mappila rebellion of 1921 has been the subject of much debate and analysis in the historiography of Malabar. Colonial accounts at the time and popular discourse thereafter portrayed the rebellion solely as an instance of religious fanaticism. Fazal Rahman reviews Abbas Panakkal’s 2024 book, Musaliar King, which meticulously examines primary data to counter this image, showing instead that the rebellion was a milestone in anti-colonial resistance in India.
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Ahnas offers a visual and experiential entry into the spectacular festival of Irupathettaam Onam of Ochira. At a moment when dislocated histories and reinterpreted myths are increasingly mobilized for divisive political ends, the article finds value in staying with the ‘feeling’ of belongingness and participation that a festival can generate and an art can nurture.
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ശബരിമലയെപ്പറ്റി ദീർഘകാലമായി നടന്നുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്ന സാമൂഹിക-രാഷ്ട്രീയ ചർച്ചകളിൽ പുതിയ ഒരേടെഴുതപ്പെടുന്ന ഈ വേളയിൽ, നിയമവിദഗ്ധയും ആന്ത്രോപോളജിസ്റ്റുമായ ദീപ ദാസ് അസെവെദോയുമായി അല നടത്തിയ അഭിമുഖം വീണ്ടും പ്രസക്തമാകുന്നു.
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Editorial from 1910 published in The Svadeshabhimani critiques the role of certain publications in promoting religious hatred.
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How is the Mappila ‘qualified’ in Malayalam Cinema? Ahnas Muhammed dives deep into the popular cinematic representations of the Malabar Muslim identities and explores how the changing representations have reshaped societal perceptions and cultural values.
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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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The recently released film, Kaathal, has ignited public discussions of gender and sexuality in Kerala. But to what extent does it subvert Kerala’s norms around family, caste, and class? Sandra Elizabeth Joseph reflects.
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Ala speaks to Ruchi Chaturvedi, whose book, Violence of Democracy, published this year, draws on years of engagement with political violence in north Kerala to think about the forms of violence produced by the very practice of democracy.
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Through oral narratives collected during their fieldwork, Shibina and Anjitha delve into the obscure history of a bonded labour system that was practiced in the Valliyurkaav temple of Wayanad.
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