Antara Datta
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antaradatta.bsky.social
Antara Datta
@antaradatta.bsky.social
640 followers 200 following 39 posts
Historian of South Asia. Refugees, Migration and Borders.
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Reposted by Antara Datta
evansmithhist.bsky.social
In recent years, Jinal Parekh and @antaradatta.bsky.social have published on aspects of the ‘virginity testing’ practice that had not been studied explored yet. For example, they wrote about the Indian response in this article for @globalhistjnl.bsky.social

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
India, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and the 1979 Virginity Testing Scandal | Journal of Global History | Cambridge Core
India, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and the 1979 Virginity Testing Scandal - Volume 19 Issue 1
www.cambridge.org
February 1, 2026 at 9:57 AM
antaradatta.bsky.social
Shame on all those news channel that would quote the death tolls with the caveat: ‘according to the Hamas controlled Gaza Health Ministry’ to cast doubt.
January 29, 2026 at 4:20 PM
antaradatta.bsky.social
The teenager who once asked me if I had ‘ever heard of a cricketer called Rahul Dravid’ has also just asked me if I’d heard of the Weimar Republic…?!
January 14, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Antara Datta
robinince.bsky.social
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
This is the saddest day of my professional life. Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage. I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys. I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show, A show that I named and helped develop over all those years. Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry. These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices. Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'. • I chose the latter. It broke my heart. I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make. I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence. One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career. I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more. I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost". James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice. Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences. I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness. Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire. I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal. I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that you can understand my reasoning. I have to accept that I am not what the current BBC expects of their freelance presenters. Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not "just a job" I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world. From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too. The strawberry is dead. Long live the strawberry. B
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by Antara Datta
esherukweku.bsky.social
If handing someone their arse, was a video clip
December 12, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Reposted by Antara Datta
benoloughlin.bsky.social
Excited our department seminar tomorrow is @duncanbell.bsky.social on #Socialism and #Telepathy: Group Minds and Freedom in Interwar British Political Thought. The talk takes place 1-2pm in McCrea 2-01, all welcome.
November 18, 2025 at 3:12 PM
antaradatta.bsky.social
Apparently my copy is on the way! Congratulations @kalathmika.bsky.social!
kalathmika.bsky.social Kalathmika Natarajan @kalathmika.bsky.social · Nov 4
My book Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy is out with @hurstpublishers.bsky.social. It has been shaped by the support of a great community of scholars - grateful for generous endorsements from
@rahulraothariel.bsky.social @katesde.bsky.social @kalramnath.bsky.social

Order here - shorturl.at/55NjW
Book cover with passport stamps Endorsements for book
November 4, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Antara Datta
pastpresentsoc.bsky.social
New on advance access: "Air Travel, Statelessness, and the Rights Claims of Ugandan Asians, c.1973"

by @riakapoor.bsky.social (@qmul.bsky.social)

#OpenAccess

doi.org/10.1093/past...
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doi.org
October 10, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Reposted by Antara Datta
rahulraothariel.bsky.social
UK universities claim to be reckoning with their imperial and colonial pasts, but refuse to see their implication in the genocidal settler colonialism of the present – so how serious are these exercises? wrote about this for @versobooks.bsky.social blog

www.versobooks.com/en-gb/blogs/...
Race Reports
In July 2025, the University of Edinburgh published a wide-ranging ‘Review of Race and History’ that attempts to confront its legacies of enslavement and colonialism. Four months earlier, the Universi...
www.versobooks.com
October 8, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Reposted by Antara Datta
andreucasas.bsky.social
🚨Hiring a fully funded (3.5 years) PhD for the @ldnsocmedobs.bsky.social to research social media and politics. Candidates should have quantitative/computational skills and/or be interested in content curation/moderation. UK home candidates only unfortunately. www.royalholloway.ac.uk/media/hquftp...
www.royalholloway.ac.uk
September 29, 2025 at 5:21 PM
antaradatta.bsky.social
A superb special issue on caste and Indian diplomacy. Well done @kalathmika.bsky.social and the other editors! brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com
September 21, 2025 at 6:48 PM
antaradatta.bsky.social
Congratulations to my lovely colleague Andreu @andreucasas.bsky.social on his fellowship- keep an eye on all the stuff he’s going to be doing!
andreucasas.bsky.social Andreu Casas @andreucasas.bsky.social · Sep 16
🚨Very honored to receive the Future Leaders Fellowship from @ukri.org I’ll use this 2.3 million £ investment to create the London Social Media Observatory, for cutting-edge research on social media and politics, and novel computational tools for social science research. www.ukri.org/news/ukri-an...
September 16, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by Antara Datta
lrb.co.uk
‘The conditions in the hotels are very bad: most residents share rooms with complete strangers, have no laundry or cooking facilities, no choice about when or what they eat, with any visits strictly policed by security.’

Helen Charman on ‘our girls’ vs asylum hotels: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/se...
Helen Charman | Of Flags and Families
The new home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said in May (in an interview with Michael Gove for the Spectator) that she has...
www.lrb.co.uk
September 9, 2025 at 4:50 PM
antaradatta.bsky.social
Come to our lovely campus to hear about how @danielalai.bsky.social, Will Jones, Ibrahim Halawi and Mohammad Kalantari and I have been re-designing our ‘intro to IR’ class over the last five years.
August 5, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Reposted by Antara Datta
lrb.co.uk
‘Israel’s allies are still buying time for Israel to change course or come to a deal with Hamas over how many trucks to allow in, as though food were a legitimate bargaining chip. Gazans cannot afford to wait for either.’

Amjad Iraqi on the blog: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/ju...
Amjad Iraqi | Walking Corpses
Israel’s allies are still buying time for Israel to change course or come to a deal with Hamas over how many trucks to...
www.lrb.co.uk
July 30, 2025 at 11:50 AM
antaradatta.bsky.social
Re-stating the obvious for any one still in doubt.
lottelydia.bsky.social Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · Jul 24
All famines are man-made, all famines are political. Historians of empire and humanitarianism have known this forever. Gaza is not starving, Gaza is being starved, by Israel, and this starvation is enabled by our government and by every other government that does not step in to force food and aid.
July 25, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Antara Datta
saimanasar.bsky.social
I am working on 'The Asian Mother and Baby Campaign' which ran from 1984-1986. I would love to interview any linkworkers who were employed by the campaign or any women who were supported by linkworkers. Please spread the word or get in touch if this is you! My email is saima.nasar@bristol.ac.uk
July 8, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Reposted by Antara Datta
jbeisermcgrath.bsky.social
📣 If you’re in London on 7 July, join us at our mini workshop on Global South Politics! The programme is below. If interested, please email me!
July 1, 2025 at 8:06 AM
antaradatta.bsky.social
Read @uttara.bsky.social’s excellent new paper on exit control!
uttara.bsky.social Uttara @uttara.bsky.social · Jun 23
I’m thrilled to finally share my article on citizenship, caste, and exit control at the time of the India-Pakistan partition out now on first view in Modern Asian Studies: www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #skystorians
Bonded citizenship: Caste, Partition, and the prevention of exit | Modern Asian Studies | Cambridge Core
Bonded citizenship: Caste, Partition, and the prevention of exit
www.cambridge.org
June 23, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Antara Datta
amandazillo.bsky.social
[And since we're finally asking questions, why is Israel allowed to commit genocide?]
Wait, Why Is Israel Allowed To Have Nukes?
According to our elected leaders, we should be very scared of the possibility that Iran could get a nuclear bomb. But Israel already has them, and its government is increasingly unstable and belligere...
www.currentaffairs.org
June 22, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by Antara Datta
danielalai.bsky.social
"diverted" is when the 75 bus goes through an alternative route due to roadworks, not when a boat is seized in international waters
June 9, 2025 at 6:30 AM
antaradatta.bsky.social
Congratulations @sandipto.bsky.social and if you haven’t read his book, you absolutely should!
sandipto.bsky.social Sandipto Dasgupta @sandipto.bsky.social · May 29
Very honored to receive the 2025 Francine Frankel Prize for the best book on South Asian Politics from APSA.

Many thanks to the award committee. And it is a privilege to receive this alongside scholars like Adam and Tariq whose work I have long admired.
alexandermlee.bsky.social Alexander Lee @alexandermlee.bsky.social · May 28
Congratulations to @sandipto.bsky.social, Tariq Thachil and Adam Auerbach for winning the South Asia Section's Francine Frankel prize for their books Machines and Migrants and Legalizing the Revolution

Prizes will be presented at APSA 2025
May 29, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Reposted by Antara Datta
rhulpir.bsky.social
Our students on the final-year visual writing module will be exhibiting a selection of their work Thursday 29th May at 5pm in the Chris Rumford Library in the McCrea Building
Come along to meet the markers and enjoy their excellent work 🖼️🎨
Poster advertising the event. Across the top is the text "Visual/Writing Exhibition of student work. Chris Rumford Library, Royal Holloway (Egham) 29 May 2025, 17:00" Taking up most of the page is a collage piece by Phoebe Solomon. Most of the image is a black and white shot of a white family. The child in the centre is watching a TV which has a colour union jack on it. The child's face has been collaged over with black features. Out of the window behind the family is a colour photo of Grenfell tower burning and in the top right hand corner is an England flag. The right hand side of the poster is a quote from Stuart hall about racialised forms of looking.
May 23, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Reposted by Antara Datta
kalramnath.bsky.social
Please see this @radhistreview.bsky.social call for proposals on Mobility Regimes | Edited by Amy Chazkel, Jecca Namakkal, Evan Taparata, and myself | Deadline June 15, 2025.
radhistreview.bsky.social Radical History Review @radhistreview.bsky.social · May 17
New Radical History Review Call for Proposals: *Mobility Regimes* – Abstract proposals due June 15, 2025: www.radicalhistoryreview.org/mobility-reg...
May 19, 2025 at 4:18 PM