Andrew Robinson recalls conversations with the famous director about his work, and in particular the recently re-released Urdu film, The Chess Players, made in the 1970s, which explores events surrounding the British annexation of Oudh in 1856.
The British victory at Plassey in Bengal, on 23 June, 1757, was a crucial event in the history of India.
Mark Bryant describes the life and works of Abu Abraham, the Observer’s first ever political cartoonist.
Francis Robinson looks for the distinctively tolerant and worldly features of Mughal rule in India and that of the related Islamic dynasties of Iran and Central Asia.
The Indian Mutiny and Rebellion, which broke out 150 years ago this month, was the greatest revolt against British imperialism of its century. Joseph Coohill uncovers some Indian accounts of what happened and why.
Richard Cavendish describes how British prisoners were held captive by the army of the Nawab of Bengal, for one night, in the 'black hole' of Fort William in Calcutta.
The Theosophists Helena Blavatsky, Annie Besant, Margaret Cousins and others went to India at the end of the 19th century to search for God and universal brotherhood in the Hindu tradition. They also ended up supporting women’s rights against contemporary Hindu practices. Mark Bevir explores the tensions between their fascination with traditional culture and the reforming zeal of their proto-feminism.
Robert Carr assesses the nature of British rule in India during a key, transitional phase.
Seán Lang tells of the Dufferin Fund, an aristocratic initiative supported by Queen Victoria to improve medical conditions, particularly in childbirth, for Indian women in the late 19th century.
Mihir Bose investigates the case of Subhas Chandra Bose in Bengal in 1924 to show what can happen when a government is able to lock people up on the suspicion of terrorism.
