From Kolkata to Harrow – a culinary journey
I grew up in the suburban neighbourhoods of Kolkata where my neighbours were like my extended family. I had the run of the neighbourhood and often meals were with friends’ families who hailed from different neighbouring states in India. This meant that from childhood I was exposed to various niche regional cuisines that I would otherwise never had encountered. My...
Indian business delegation visits the UK to boost ties
A Multi-product business delegation from India representing a wide cross-section of business sectors visited the United Kingdom from May 20-24th, 2019. The Consulate General of India in Birmingham facilitated three major events at Manchester and Birmingham on this occasion. From the Indian side, the visit was organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), which is the apex...
Winning Indian elections – a critical analysis of the tactics and strategies
For any political mobilisation, leadership plays a major role. The mobilisation essentially happens in two parts, first part is consensus mobilisation and second part is action mobilisation. Consensus mobilisation requires political party and political leader to influence the identity and ideology of people. Influencing identity and ideology is a comparatively easy process to understand. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi...
The first Maharashtra Divas celebrated at HCI London
Maharashtra Day or Maharashtra Divas was celebrated for the first time in the UK on the 10 May with great pomp and grandeur at the prestigious Gandhi Hall, in the Indian High Commission, London. The participants for the cultural evening were mainly people belonging to the state of Maharashtra, who came from all over the UK to perform and engage...
The Taj Mahal becomes first Indian monument with breastfeeding room
Public breastfeeding still carries a social stigma in India where mothers are expected to be covered head-to-toe The Taj Mahal, built as a monument to a woman who died in childbirth, is set to get a baby feeding room in a first for India where conservative attitudes toward public breastfeeding mean nursing mothers are often shamed and told to cover...
‘Found my soulmate’: Sprinter becomes India’s first openly gay athlete
Dutee Chand says she got the courage to come out after India's top court scrapped a colonial-era ban on gay sex last year Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has revealed she is in a same-sex relationship, becoming the first openly gay athlete in the socially conservative country, according to an interview published on Sunday. Chand, 23, told The Sunday Express she was...
Samskrtam: the language of culture
An evening to celebrate 'Samskrtam the language of culture' through cultural programmes and an inspiring talk on "Sanskriti and Universal Culture" was organised by Samskriti Bharati UK, along with Nehru Centre and High Commission of India on 1 May. I was honoured to be able to host the programme. The esteemed guests were Mr. Nandkumar G - Head of Communications, Samskriti...
Dr Ambedkar’s contribution to Political Theory
Dr. Ambedkar has been often known as a politician, an economist, a jurist and a social activist, all well earned descriptions and endearments. However, the subject that interests me the most and where I believe his role needs to be curiously studied is his role as a political theorist. His concerns for the sociological, legal and political I believe...
Indian politicians don’t walk the talk on women
The men contesting India's general election are vying for women voters but the paltry number of female candidates shows the battle women face in Indian politics - as in so much else in Indian life. When not trading barbs, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his arch political rival Rahul Gandhi have both promised a safer life and new opportunities...
Federation of Ambedkarite & Buddhist Organisations UK in the last three decades
During sixties and seventies, a number of organisations were formed in various towns on the name of Dr Ambedkar. These organisations started organising functions to propagate the ideas of Dr Ambedkar by paying tributes to him on his birth and death anniversaries. Unfortunately in all functions, the speakers and audience were more or less the same as the followers...
