Freedom Struggles

Spotlight

India before Independence: Smaller struggles for freedom

The leaders, battles and victories of the Uprising of 1857, aka India’s First War of Independence. Accompanied by rare archival material from the Sarmaya collection

Spotlight

Pristine views of the Ganga – World Environment Day 2023

The Ganga is one of the largest contributors to plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. But this wasn’t always the case

Spotlight

Whose land is it anyway?

We examine the themes presented in Saju Kunhan’s work as they are represented in our collection of rare 19th-century portraits, war photography, engravings, contemporary art and Warli painting

Spotlight

‘majha’ by Gaurav Ogale x Farah Mulla

Notes by the artist on ‘majha’, an audio-visual mix media installation by Gaurav Ogale x Farah Mulla

Spotlight

Drawing Strength – How Madhubani Artists Have Challenged Caste Oppression

Dalit and Bahujan artists always have infused creative genius into Madhubani painting and kept it relevant. As their struggle for equality rages vigorously in society at large, it flows too through the veins of this art

Reads

Now reading: our favorite Tagore

Something is daunted when one attempts to remember the bequests of India’s early multi-hyphenate on his death anniversary. A good profile should be a seamless whole of the inner and outer life of the poet, Rabindranath Tagore had said, commenting on Tennyson’s biography by his son, which he admonished for being full of trivialities. But… Read more »

Collections

Sir Robert Montgomery

Sir Robert Montgomery was a British administrator in India. He was appointed to the Indian civil service in 1827 and at the start of the Uprising of India, he disarmed the native garrisons in Lahore. He was awarded with a knighthood for this action. After the quelling of the Uprising, Montgomery served as Chief Commissioner… Read more »

Collections

Major General Henry Tombs

Sir Henry Tombs was gazetted to the Bengal Artillery as a Second Lieutenant and served in the First and Second Anglo-Sikh wars, as well as the Uprising of 1857. More about the Uprising here and fascinating insights from the frontlines and on the ground by Prof. Rudrangshu Mukherjee here. Felice Beato was a European photographer renowned… Read more »

Spotlight

India & Independence

As Independent India turns 71, we look back at the movements that won us our freedom, the struggles that have held us back and the symbols that give us strength. We journey with Delhi as it steps from the medieval world to the modern; we see India through the eyes of historical map-makers; and we… Read more »