Post doctoral researcher, department of History, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main. research intersts: Nazi Germany, modern India, politics of Hindu nationalism.
NTM Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Wissenschaften, Technik und Medizin
Ludwig Alsdorf (1904–1978) is primarily remembered as a scholar of ancient and medieval India. Th... more Ludwig Alsdorf (1904–1978) is primarily remembered as a scholar of ancient and medieval India. This paper examines a little known aspect of Alsdorf’s career: his role as an expert of modern India in Nazi Germany. Alsdorf, who was in India from 1930 to 1932, joined the NSDAP and a few of its subsidiaries after 1933. Political contacts as well as his claims of having “first-hand experience” of India secured Alsdorf writing assignments that aimed to fulfil the regime’s political objectives. In return, he gained professional advancement and the reputation of being an authority on modern India. This paper reviews Alsdorf’s trajectory within the NS state by focussing on the following aspects: the ways in which Alsdorf offered his knowledge of India to the Nazi regime; the material and symbolic resources that he received in return; the relative importance of political affiliations, professional networks and academic accomplishments for Alsdorf’s career; the “politics of the past” practised...
This article critically examines the ways in which Holocaust is perceived in India. Hitler was ad... more This article critically examines the ways in which Holocaust is perceived in India. Hitler was admired by many of his contemporary Indians because of his opposition to their colonial masters, the British. Hitler is still held in esteem by many Indians, due to this legacy and also because of a lack of historical awareness. Most people in India receive their knowledge of history in schools, where textbooks are often influenced by political propaganda. The portrayal of Holocaust also varies, since individual schools can choose one of the two pan-Indian curricula or that of any of the 29 federal states. The all-India book designed by the central government is the only one to provide a critical perspective on Holocaust. This article analyses different representations of Holocaust in Indian textbooks and suggests connecting the lessons of Holocaust to India's colonial experience in order to counter the dangerous glorification of Hitler. Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel befasst sich kritisch mit der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Holocaust in Indien. Hitler wurde von vielen seiner indischen Zeitgenossen und Zeitgenossinnen gutgeheißen, da er ihren Kolonisatoren, den Briten, feindlich
The bilingual (English/German) periodical Azad Hind/Freies Indien ('Free India') ... more The bilingual (English/German) periodical Azad Hind/Freies Indien ('Free India') was published in Berlin from 1942 till at least 1944. It was the mouthpiece of the Free India Centre, established in Berlin by the Indian nationalist leader Subhas Chandra Bose with the help of the German Foreign Ministry, to conduct diasporic anti-colonial politics. Based mainly on unutilized archival material, this article focusses on the following facets of this magazine: (i) its role in synthesizing Indian anticolonialism with Nazi propaganda and Axis military goals. (ii) intersections between the knowledge production for the magazine and the dynamic political trajectories of the Indians who produced such knowledge, particularly the expression of certain leftist visions and ideals in the magazine by a number of Marxist anti-colonialist Indians. Notably, the Nazis displayed remarkable pragmatism in suspending their ideological antagonism to all forms of leftist politics as far as Azad Hind was concerned.
`My latest publication, an article titled "Pragmatism paves the way? A scholar`s adventurous exis... more `My latest publication, an article titled "Pragmatism paves the way? A scholar`s adventurous exist from Nazi Germany." I write about how Heinrich Zimmer, the brilliant and avant garde professor of Indian Studies at the University of Heidelberg managed to escape from Nazi Germany, where his professorial title and teaching license were rescinded because his wife was considered to be "of Jewish origin." The article is published in the annual journal, Jahrbuch für Universitätsgeschichte. The theme of this issue, is Universities and politics. The issue is a French-German special number.
Max Müller's scholarship combined elements of romantic German Orientalism with colonial perspecti... more Max Müller's scholarship combined elements of romantic German Orientalism with colonial perspectives that characterized the British attitude towards India. This paper focuses on an aspect of Müller's intellectual legacy that best reflects this fusion: namely, his scholarly influence on the formation of homogenous and potentially majoritarian community identities from the end of the nineteenth century up until the middle of the twentieth century in India and Germany. Müller's contribution to the politicization of the Aryan discourse was the trope common to the emergence of group identities among the Hindus in India and Germans in Germany who regarded themselves as 'Aryan'. These groups, formed on the basis of identity politics, used the Aryan question as part of their aspirations for political power.
This paper examines the tropes through which the Hindi (Bollywood) historical films Bajirao Masta... more This paper examines the tropes through which the Hindi (Bollywood) historical films Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018) create idealised pasts on screen that speak to Hindu nationalist politics of present-day India. Bajirao Mastani is based on a popular tale of love, between Bajirao I (1700-1740), a powerful Brahmin general, and Mastani, daughter of a Hindu king and his Iranian mistress. The relationship was socially disapproved because of Mastani`s mixed parentage. The film distorts India`s pluralistic heritage by idealising Bajirao as an embodiment of Hindu nationalism and portraying Islam as inimical to Hinduism. Padmaavat is a film about a legendary (Hindu) Rajput queen coveted by the Muslim emperor Alauddin Khilji (ruled from 1296-1316). Alauddin was a historical character. Padmavati is not mentioned in any historical sources. But the legend has been viewed as history and used for political mobilisation of Hindus during the colonial era.The film projects a Manichean nar...
The Long Shadow of the "Kristallnacht" on the "Gujarat Pogrom" in India? A Comparative Analysis b... more The Long Shadow of the "Kristallnacht" on the "Gujarat Pogrom" in India? A Comparative Analysis by Baijayanti Roy ujarat Pogrom" refers to three days (February 28-March 1, 2002) of intense violence-mostly "Gp erpetrated by members of the majority Hindu community against the minority Muslims-in the Indian federal state of Gujarat. Hindu-Muslim clashes, usually referred to as communal riots, are not uncommon in India. But the violence in Gujarat was not a riot; it was a premeditated, carefully orchestrated mob attack on Muslims, instigated by right wing Hindu nationalist groups with the aim of ethnic cleansing. The state government, under the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stands accused of being complicit in starting the bloodshed and condoning the perpetrators. The episode resulted in the death of between one thousand and two thousand people, mostly Muslims. 1 Around 150,000 people, also overwhelmingly Muslim, were rendered homeless. 2 Residences, business establishments and places of worship of Muslims were systematically desecrated and destroyed. This episode has been compared in general to anti-Jewish pogroms in Central and Eastern Europe in the last several centuries, and in particular with the pogroms that took place in the villages of Jedwabne and Radzilow in Poland in 1941, during the German occupation, when Catholic Polish residents of
Dieser Artikel befasst sich kritisch mit der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Holocaust in Indien. Hitl... more Dieser Artikel befasst sich kritisch mit der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Holocaust in Indien. Hitler wurde von vielen seiner indischen Zeitgenossen und Zeitgenossinnen gutgeheisen, da er ihren Kolonisatoren, den Briten, feindlich gegenuberstand. Bis heute erfreut sich Hitler in Indien groser Beliebtheit, nicht nur wegen dieses Vermachtnisses, sondern auch aufgrund des fehlenden historischen Bewusstseins. In Indien erlangen die meisten Leute ihr historisches Wissen in der Schule; dort werden Bucher genutzt, welche oftmals propagandistisch gefarbt sind. Jedoch variiert die Darstellung des Holocaust in indischen Schulbuchern, da Schulen sich entscheiden konnen, entweder die beiden landesweiten Lehrplane oder die der einzelnen 29 Bundesstaaten zu verwenden, wobei das von der zentralen Regierung gestaltete Lehrbuch das einzige ist, welches eine kritische Perspektive bietet. Dieser Artikel analysiert die Darstellungsweise des Holocaust in indischen Lehrmaterialien und pladiert fur eine Ver...
Annäherungen an das Unaussprechliche, Dec 31, 2020
This article analyses the different tropes through which two recent Hindi (Bollywood) historical ... more This article analyses the different tropes through which two recent Hindi (Bollywood) historical films, Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018), both directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, create idealized pasts that speak to contemporary Indian politics.
NTM Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Wissenschaften, Technik und Medizin
Ludwig Alsdorf (1904–1978) is primarily remembered as a scholar of ancient and medieval India. Th... more Ludwig Alsdorf (1904–1978) is primarily remembered as a scholar of ancient and medieval India. This paper examines a little known aspect of Alsdorf’s career: his role as an expert of modern India in Nazi Germany. Alsdorf, who was in India from 1930 to 1932, joined the NSDAP and a few of its subsidiaries after 1933. Political contacts as well as his claims of having “first-hand experience” of India secured Alsdorf writing assignments that aimed to fulfil the regime’s political objectives. In return, he gained professional advancement and the reputation of being an authority on modern India. This paper reviews Alsdorf’s trajectory within the NS state by focussing on the following aspects: the ways in which Alsdorf offered his knowledge of India to the Nazi regime; the material and symbolic resources that he received in return; the relative importance of political affiliations, professional networks and academic accomplishments for Alsdorf’s career; the “politics of the past” practised...
This article critically examines the ways in which Holocaust is perceived in India. Hitler was ad... more This article critically examines the ways in which Holocaust is perceived in India. Hitler was admired by many of his contemporary Indians because of his opposition to their colonial masters, the British. Hitler is still held in esteem by many Indians, due to this legacy and also because of a lack of historical awareness. Most people in India receive their knowledge of history in schools, where textbooks are often influenced by political propaganda. The portrayal of Holocaust also varies, since individual schools can choose one of the two pan-Indian curricula or that of any of the 29 federal states. The all-India book designed by the central government is the only one to provide a critical perspective on Holocaust. This article analyses different representations of Holocaust in Indian textbooks and suggests connecting the lessons of Holocaust to India's colonial experience in order to counter the dangerous glorification of Hitler. Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel befasst sich kritisch mit der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Holocaust in Indien. Hitler wurde von vielen seiner indischen Zeitgenossen und Zeitgenossinnen gutgeheißen, da er ihren Kolonisatoren, den Briten, feindlich
The bilingual (English/German) periodical Azad Hind/Freies Indien ('Free India') ... more The bilingual (English/German) periodical Azad Hind/Freies Indien ('Free India') was published in Berlin from 1942 till at least 1944. It was the mouthpiece of the Free India Centre, established in Berlin by the Indian nationalist leader Subhas Chandra Bose with the help of the German Foreign Ministry, to conduct diasporic anti-colonial politics. Based mainly on unutilized archival material, this article focusses on the following facets of this magazine: (i) its role in synthesizing Indian anticolonialism with Nazi propaganda and Axis military goals. (ii) intersections between the knowledge production for the magazine and the dynamic political trajectories of the Indians who produced such knowledge, particularly the expression of certain leftist visions and ideals in the magazine by a number of Marxist anti-colonialist Indians. Notably, the Nazis displayed remarkable pragmatism in suspending their ideological antagonism to all forms of leftist politics as far as Azad Hind was concerned.
`My latest publication, an article titled "Pragmatism paves the way? A scholar`s adventurous exis... more `My latest publication, an article titled "Pragmatism paves the way? A scholar`s adventurous exist from Nazi Germany." I write about how Heinrich Zimmer, the brilliant and avant garde professor of Indian Studies at the University of Heidelberg managed to escape from Nazi Germany, where his professorial title and teaching license were rescinded because his wife was considered to be "of Jewish origin." The article is published in the annual journal, Jahrbuch für Universitätsgeschichte. The theme of this issue, is Universities and politics. The issue is a French-German special number.
Max Müller's scholarship combined elements of romantic German Orientalism with colonial perspecti... more Max Müller's scholarship combined elements of romantic German Orientalism with colonial perspectives that characterized the British attitude towards India. This paper focuses on an aspect of Müller's intellectual legacy that best reflects this fusion: namely, his scholarly influence on the formation of homogenous and potentially majoritarian community identities from the end of the nineteenth century up until the middle of the twentieth century in India and Germany. Müller's contribution to the politicization of the Aryan discourse was the trope common to the emergence of group identities among the Hindus in India and Germans in Germany who regarded themselves as 'Aryan'. These groups, formed on the basis of identity politics, used the Aryan question as part of their aspirations for political power.
This paper examines the tropes through which the Hindi (Bollywood) historical films Bajirao Masta... more This paper examines the tropes through which the Hindi (Bollywood) historical films Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018) create idealised pasts on screen that speak to Hindu nationalist politics of present-day India. Bajirao Mastani is based on a popular tale of love, between Bajirao I (1700-1740), a powerful Brahmin general, and Mastani, daughter of a Hindu king and his Iranian mistress. The relationship was socially disapproved because of Mastani`s mixed parentage. The film distorts India`s pluralistic heritage by idealising Bajirao as an embodiment of Hindu nationalism and portraying Islam as inimical to Hinduism. Padmaavat is a film about a legendary (Hindu) Rajput queen coveted by the Muslim emperor Alauddin Khilji (ruled from 1296-1316). Alauddin was a historical character. Padmavati is not mentioned in any historical sources. But the legend has been viewed as history and used for political mobilisation of Hindus during the colonial era.The film projects a Manichean nar...
The Long Shadow of the "Kristallnacht" on the "Gujarat Pogrom" in India? A Comparative Analysis b... more The Long Shadow of the "Kristallnacht" on the "Gujarat Pogrom" in India? A Comparative Analysis by Baijayanti Roy ujarat Pogrom" refers to three days (February 28-March 1, 2002) of intense violence-mostly "Gp erpetrated by members of the majority Hindu community against the minority Muslims-in the Indian federal state of Gujarat. Hindu-Muslim clashes, usually referred to as communal riots, are not uncommon in India. But the violence in Gujarat was not a riot; it was a premeditated, carefully orchestrated mob attack on Muslims, instigated by right wing Hindu nationalist groups with the aim of ethnic cleansing. The state government, under the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stands accused of being complicit in starting the bloodshed and condoning the perpetrators. The episode resulted in the death of between one thousand and two thousand people, mostly Muslims. 1 Around 150,000 people, also overwhelmingly Muslim, were rendered homeless. 2 Residences, business establishments and places of worship of Muslims were systematically desecrated and destroyed. This episode has been compared in general to anti-Jewish pogroms in Central and Eastern Europe in the last several centuries, and in particular with the pogroms that took place in the villages of Jedwabne and Radzilow in Poland in 1941, during the German occupation, when Catholic Polish residents of
Dieser Artikel befasst sich kritisch mit der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Holocaust in Indien. Hitl... more Dieser Artikel befasst sich kritisch mit der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Holocaust in Indien. Hitler wurde von vielen seiner indischen Zeitgenossen und Zeitgenossinnen gutgeheisen, da er ihren Kolonisatoren, den Briten, feindlich gegenuberstand. Bis heute erfreut sich Hitler in Indien groser Beliebtheit, nicht nur wegen dieses Vermachtnisses, sondern auch aufgrund des fehlenden historischen Bewusstseins. In Indien erlangen die meisten Leute ihr historisches Wissen in der Schule; dort werden Bucher genutzt, welche oftmals propagandistisch gefarbt sind. Jedoch variiert die Darstellung des Holocaust in indischen Schulbuchern, da Schulen sich entscheiden konnen, entweder die beiden landesweiten Lehrplane oder die der einzelnen 29 Bundesstaaten zu verwenden, wobei das von der zentralen Regierung gestaltete Lehrbuch das einzige ist, welches eine kritische Perspektive bietet. Dieser Artikel analysiert die Darstellungsweise des Holocaust in indischen Lehrmaterialien und pladiert fur eine Ver...
Annäherungen an das Unaussprechliche, Dec 31, 2020
This article analyses the different tropes through which two recent Hindi (Bollywood) historical ... more This article analyses the different tropes through which two recent Hindi (Bollywood) historical films, Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018), both directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, create idealized pasts that speak to contemporary Indian politics.
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