How is Hinduism Used to Erase Tribal Identities in India? We talk about colonialism like it’s something that happened to India in the past but to the indigenous peoples of India, colonialism is ongoing

We summarized Professor Virginius Xaxa's 10,000-word paper into 13 tweets 👇 Over the course of Indian history, indigenous groups have been given many names by non-indigenous people. In various old Hindu or Sanskrit texts, they are referred to as rakshasas and nishadas – words meant to insult and dehumanize them.

What is Hindutva history? Why are the RSS and its allies trying to replace India's actual history with it? How are they so successful?

14 tweets that summarise Tanika Sarkar's essay on how the Sangh Parivar manufactures its version of history and takes it to people 👇 1. For almost a century, the Sangh Parivar has relied on history to sustain itself & normalise its vision of society. Inventing & spreading its own version of Indian history is as crucial to the Hindutva political project as false claims of “racial science” were to Nazi ideology

India was last hit by a pandemic a century ago - the Spanish Flu in 1918. The colonial govt mishandled it & millions died.

Looking at newspaper reports from 1918, it becomes clear that many aspects of India's response to a public health crisis haven't changed much. Thread 👇 1. Early in the summer of 1918, Indian newspapers announced that a deadly new disease, the “Spanish Flu,” was spreading rapidly across the world. By June, it had arrived in Bombay, which quickly became “a huge incubator of the germs of the disease.”

What could caste in Muslims have to do with the Partition of India?

In the crucial 1946 elections only elite Muslims—who had land, education, and paid taxes—could vote.

A movement against Pakistan by Muslim weavers, veg sellers, and butchers went ignored

A 12-tweet history: In 1920, the weaver Muslims—the Julahas—of Bihar and its adjoining regions began to call themselves by a new name: “Momins". The community had been humiliated and oppressed by upper castes over the years and were now trying to craft a new, more assertive identity for themselves.

For how many generations will reservations continue, the SC asks. The question arises because quotas are seen as a concession given to disadvantaged castes.

What about those who benefited from discrimination? How did they become casteless & meritorious?

A history in 8 tweets👇 1. There is a strange paradox in India today. Upper castes constantly insist that they don’t see caste or benefit from it. For them, caste identity is no longer associated with hierarchy and discrimination, but with modern concepts such as merit and development instead.

If you liked our video on the Indian "middle class", you might want to check out the articles we've published that touch on their role in defining India's legal system, women's rights, and even how coffee was consumed! Tweet threads of all 3 linked below👇

https://twitter.com/IndiaInkHistory/status/1368544061221576708

First up, the story of how sati was abolished. A western-educated "middle class" intellectual - Raja Rammohan Roy - actively campaigned to end the practice. But not for the reasons you'd think.

https://twitter.com/IndiaInkHistory/status/1368542761486413827

In India, widows find it very difficult to remarry. But at one point, widow remarriage was actually quite common among Hindus across the country - until 1856, when the British "legalised" it.

Confused? We'll try and make sense of this tangled tale for you in 12 tweets. Thread👇 1. The legal system established by the British in India was based on a promise that in matters such as marriage, inheritance, succession and adoption, Indians would be governed according to their own laws.