History
Ranajit Guha was the youngest at heart: Dipesh Chakraborty
"The enthusiasm which Ranajit Guha created in our minds in the field of thinking and writing history for more than a decade has never been replicated in the past nor will it be replicated in the future", Dipesh Chakraborty said.
Things you probably didn’t know about mosque architecture in Bangladesh
The cultural legacy of Bengal is imbued in its breath-taking religious structures. Being a predominantly Muslim land, it's unsurprising that mosques constitute the majority of such architectural wonders. Throughout the course of Islamic rule in Bengal, stretching from the early Sultanate period to modern times, the designs of mosques have undergone a continual evolution.
‘We are the only species to have threatened life on the planet’: Dipesh Chakrabarty
Historian Dipesh Chakrabarty discusses human and geological evolution in an exclusive conversation with The Daily Star
The significance of Dipesh Chakrabarty’s work with history
“The real history of this region is known in Dipesh Chakrabarty's history books,” said historian and essayist Professor Ahmed Kamal.
Opinion / Let’s not interpret old media through a modern lens
Historical backdrop and our understanding of the relevant historical backdrop are important when we try to study a material or even enjoy it.
Capturing the war stories of medical professionals
Muktijuddher Chikishsha Itihas captures the stories and struggles of medical professionals during the Liberation War.
THE SHELF / The best that we read this year
We asked the DS Books editors and contributors about the books that most moved them this year.
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / The Bhawal story through women’s voices in Aruna Chakravarti’s ‘The Mendicant Prince’
The story of the ailing Bhawal prince, Ramendranarayan Roy, the Mejo Kumar, who while taken to Darjeeling to recuperate, died and was cremated there, under mysterious circumstances, and who then returned years later as a wandering ascetic with partial amnesia!
Art vs Development: Should we erase our rich architectural history?
Dhaka's transitions carries the question of whether our historic buildings shall be preserved. From an economic viewpoint, there is financial gain in replacing them with buildings. The question now becomes whether the cultural heritage outweighs this financial gain.
Nazrul, Rabindranath, and Their Admiration for Each Other
Today is the 45th death anniversary of the younger of the two icons.
In Suchitra Vijayan’s new book, borders are as arbitrary as history
In Midnight's Borders (Westland Publications, 2021), author and photographer Suchitra Vijayan travels the 9,000 miles of India's borders to understand what Partition did to individual lives and communities, and how it continues to incite violence, displacement, prejudice, and trauma among those who live in the border regions.
7 recent books on the Partition of India
With this list, we bring to attention the books recently released which deal with the politics and loss associated with this defining moment in history, in the form of both fiction and nonfiction.
Chinmay Tumbe's 'The Age of Pandemics': Lessons from history in desperate times
Chinmay Tumbe’s The Age of Pandemics (1817-1920): How They Shaped India and the World (HarperCollins, 2020) is a timely read, touching upon three historic pandemics and the effects they had on the culture, economy, and politics of the Indian subcontinent.
50 Years of the Concert for Bangladesh: How It Came to Be
The backstory of the concert scripted in the heavens.
Into the nuances of history: Sudeep Chakravarti unpacks the Battle of Plassey
Sudeep Chakravarti is an eminent commentator and author whose narrative non-fiction and fiction have been translated into Bangla, Hindi, Spanish, Portuguese, German and more. In January 2020, his book—Plassey:
A quiet masterpiece that serves as Dhaka's gateway
These buildings also had a political history. They were the products of what the military regime of Muhammad Ayub Khan called the “Decade of Development” (1958-68), intertwined with West Pakistan's shrewd political strategy of placating East Pakistan's agitating Bengalis through architectural and infrastructure development.
Five infamous India-Australia controversies
Five previous flashpoints between India and Australia. The four-match Test series will begin in Pune on Thursday.
Pakistan lose a legend
Imtiaz Ahmed, a member of Pakistan's first-ever Test team, died in a Lahore hospital Saturday after a brief illness, his family said.
FIFA loses the man who led fight against match-fixing
The man who was leading FIFA's fight against match-fixing has left his post, soccer's world governing body said on Monday.
