Gaiutra Bahadur
@gaiutra.bsky.social
Wrote Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture. Other words in The NYT, The Nation, The New Republic, The Boston Review, Dissent et al. Teach some words, too. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K3l6Gqddnj0&t=512s&pp=ygUPZ2FpdXRyYSBiYWhhZHVy
Pinned
Gaiutra Bahadur
@gaiutra.bsky.social
· Dec 13
Is Guyana’s Oil a Blessing or a Curse?
More than any single country, Guyana demonstrates the struggle between the consequences of climate change and the lure of the oil economy.
www.nytimes.com
I’m rebuilding on higher ground. I’m an essayist, literary critic, journalist + prof doing work on the afterlives of empire, Afro-Asia, the Global South and creative nonfiction. Here is my most recent piece, on how the discovery of oil is reshaping my home country. www.nytimes.com/2024/03/30/h...
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
Feed: "NYT > Books > Book Review"
By: Gaiutra Bahadur on Thursday, August 7, 2025
By: Gaiutra Bahadur on Thursday, August 7, 2025
Book Review: ‘Indian Country,’ by Shobha Rao
Shobha Rao’s new novel, “Indian Country,” is a crime story as well as a multilayered saga of white empire in India and America.
www.nytimes.com
August 7, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Feed: "NYT > Books > Book Review"
By: Gaiutra Bahadur on Thursday, August 7, 2025
By: Gaiutra Bahadur on Thursday, August 7, 2025
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
This is why birthright citizenship is such a thing in the western hemisphere. We're not old enough to have Jus sanguinis.
I'm not a lawyer and I'm very tired, so excuse me if this is a stupid question:
But if the principles of birthright citizenship *were* ever dismantled ... what's the theory for how citizenship would be determined?
But if the principles of birthright citizenship *were* ever dismantled ... what's the theory for how citizenship would be determined?
April 26, 2025 at 5:24 PM
This is why birthright citizenship is such a thing in the western hemisphere. We're not old enough to have Jus sanguinis.
The last day to register for the PREE Writing Studio is April 30. As a tutor at the 4-day residential workshop for emerging writers, I'll lead a workshop “Object Lesson”, where we'll write creative nonfiction as a response to objects. Learn more at preewritingstudio.com or preeeditors@gmail.com
April 26, 2025 at 2:05 PM
The last day to register for the PREE Writing Studio is April 30. As a tutor at the 4-day residential workshop for emerging writers, I'll lead a workshop “Object Lesson”, where we'll write creative nonfiction as a response to objects. Learn more at preewritingstudio.com or preeeditors@gmail.com
Shameful, Jeff Bezos. Shameful. Teaching my students about the United Farm Workers boycott of grapes to protest the use of pesticides. A boycott seems an appropriate exercise of personal liberty… and of the free market.
Bezos declares he's changing the Wash Post to further restrict opinions he dislikes. David Shipley—Wash Post Opinions Editor—QUIT in response.
Join Shipley. Cancel your Wash Post Sub & invest in writers & human rights lawyers (ahem) committed to actual justice & facts: www.qasimrashid.com/subscribe
Join Shipley. Cancel your Wash Post Sub & invest in writers & human rights lawyers (ahem) committed to actual justice & facts: www.qasimrashid.com/subscribe
February 27, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Shameful, Jeff Bezos. Shameful. Teaching my students about the United Farm Workers boycott of grapes to protest the use of pesticides. A boycott seems an appropriate exercise of personal liberty… and of the free market.
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
"I never could have imagined, none of us could, that the government of the United States of America would openly ally itself with a fascist political party. In the heart of Europe. In Germany, for God’s sake."
JD Vance’s Debacle in Germany Exposes MAGA’s Sinister Global Endgame
Did you know that the United States is joining an international fascist network?
newrepublic.com
February 23, 2025 at 3:49 PM
"I never could have imagined, none of us could, that the government of the United States of America would openly ally itself with a fascist political party. In the heart of Europe. In Germany, for God’s sake."
Can’t wait to be in community in Jamaica in late May at the Pree Writing Studio, where I’ll be teaching a class on writing through objects. Many thanks to Annie Paul for the invitation. preewritingstudio.com/2025/02/07/c...
Object Lesson
GAIUTRA BAHADUR In this craft studio, we’ll read together short excerpts from writing that puts objects to work. And you’ll produce a piece of creative nonfiction in which you write thr…
preewritingstudio.com
February 23, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Can’t wait to be in community in Jamaica in late May at the Pree Writing Studio, where I’ll be teaching a class on writing through objects. Many thanks to Annie Paul for the invitation. preewritingstudio.com/2025/02/07/c...
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
For those of you who've never been to Guantanamo, I want to emphasize how isolated it is, how isolated even separate parts of it are from one another, and how restricted access is. Yes, parts of it are like almost any Navy base, but there are many other places that most people there can never go.
Migrants being sent to Gitmo are not being provide access to legal counsel, something which even alleged Al Qaeda member have been granted www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Why lawyers worry migrants sent to Gitmo are entering a ‘legal black hole’
The Trump administration has released almost no information on the migrants sent to Guantanamo. Lawyers are demanding they be allowed access to legal counsel.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 9, 2025 at 2:49 AM
For those of you who've never been to Guantanamo, I want to emphasize how isolated it is, how isolated even separate parts of it are from one another, and how restricted access is. Yes, parts of it are like almost any Navy base, but there are many other places that most people there can never go.
Boston, see you soon.
January 24, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Boston, see you soon.
Ravi Ragbir, the Trinidad-born director of the New Sanctuary Coalition, is among several immigrant rights activists put in deportation proceedings under the last Trump presidency. Supporters are calling for a presidential pardon before Biden leaves office. secure.ngpvan.com/QWikiDar30OW...
secure.ngpvan.com
January 10, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Ravi Ragbir, the Trinidad-born director of the New Sanctuary Coalition, is among several immigrant rights activists put in deportation proceedings under the last Trump presidency. Supporters are calling for a presidential pardon before Biden leaves office. secure.ngpvan.com/QWikiDar30OW...
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
A peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet estimates more than 64,000 deaths in Gaza due to traumatic injury between Oct. 7, 2023 and June 30, 2024 — a figure 41% higher than the Gaza Health Ministry’s official count. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Gaza war toll likely significantly undercounts deaths, says study
An official Palestinian tally of direct deaths in the Israel-Hamas war likely undercounted the number of casualties by 41% through the middle of 2024 as the Gaza Strip's healthcare infrastructure unravelled, according to the study.
www.reuters.com
January 10, 2025 at 3:50 AM
A peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet estimates more than 64,000 deaths in Gaza due to traumatic injury between Oct. 7, 2023 and June 30, 2024 — a figure 41% higher than the Gaza Health Ministry’s official count. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
AAUP condemns Faculty Arrests at NYU
AAUP Condemns Faculty Arrests Amidst Protest Crackdown at NYU
The AAUP condemns the reported arrests of two faculty members and three designations of faculty as "personae non grata" at New York University. As the AAUP has maintained since 1940, faculty should be...
www.aaup.org
December 12, 2024 at 10:12 PM
AAUP condemns Faculty Arrests at NYU
I’m rebuilding on higher ground. I’m an essayist, literary critic, journalist + prof doing work on the afterlives of empire, Afro-Asia, the Global South and creative nonfiction. Here is my most recent piece, on how the discovery of oil is reshaping my home country. www.nytimes.com/2024/03/30/h...
Is Guyana’s Oil a Blessing or a Curse?
More than any single country, Guyana demonstrates the struggle between the consequences of climate change and the lure of the oil economy.
www.nytimes.com
December 13, 2024 at 8:52 PM
I’m rebuilding on higher ground. I’m an essayist, literary critic, journalist + prof doing work on the afterlives of empire, Afro-Asia, the Global South and creative nonfiction. Here is my most recent piece, on how the discovery of oil is reshaping my home country. www.nytimes.com/2024/03/30/h...
Trump won in 91 percent of news desert counties: “In a large chunk of the country, there is no local paper even available, and in a much larger chunk the few papers that remain are private equity–gutted carcasses with little aside from Associated Press reprints.” prospect.org/politics/202...
Democrats Lost the Propaganda War
The party used up about $5 billion on political ads in 2024. There’s a better way.
prospect.org
December 13, 2024 at 8:30 PM
Trump won in 91 percent of news desert counties: “In a large chunk of the country, there is no local paper even available, and in a much larger chunk the few papers that remain are private equity–gutted carcasses with little aside from Associated Press reprints.” prospect.org/politics/202...
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
It is publication month for Devika Shankar's pathbreaking book An Encroaching Sea, bringing legal history, environmental history and histories of infrastructure - read the glowing endorsements from Debjani Bhattacharyya and Sunil Amrith! #History #LegalHistory
www.cambridge.org/core/books/a...
www.cambridge.org/core/books/a...
An Encroaching Sea
Cambridge Core - Asian Studies - An Encroaching Sea
www.cambridge.org
December 5, 2024 at 6:10 PM
It is publication month for Devika Shankar's pathbreaking book An Encroaching Sea, bringing legal history, environmental history and histories of infrastructure - read the glowing endorsements from Debjani Bhattacharyya and Sunil Amrith! #History #LegalHistory
www.cambridge.org/core/books/a...
www.cambridge.org/core/books/a...
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
Our #Hinduism101 resource guide is LIVE! 🕉️ Explore several topics related to #ProgressiveHinduism, from sacred texts to resisting caste.
Our full guide is available under the 'Hinduism 101' dropdown on our website, but for now, you can get started here: https://buff.ly/4iutUJh
Our full guide is available under the 'Hinduism 101' dropdown on our website, but for now, you can get started here: https://buff.ly/4iutUJh
December 13, 2024 at 7:43 PM
Our #Hinduism101 resource guide is LIVE! 🕉️ Explore several topics related to #ProgressiveHinduism, from sacred texts to resisting caste.
Our full guide is available under the 'Hinduism 101' dropdown on our website, but for now, you can get started here: https://buff.ly/4iutUJh
Our full guide is available under the 'Hinduism 101' dropdown on our website, but for now, you can get started here: https://buff.ly/4iutUJh
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
the Niger Delta already knows the answer to this question unfortunately - would be nice to have a political movement capable of forcing a different one
Shell's ultimate Houdini act 🪄
Shell is selling its problem oil assets in Nigeria, leaving behind a legacy of widespread pollution.
But who will pay for #Shell's toxic mess?
Oil giants like Shell shouldn’t be allowed to exploit and run. ❌
Insightful piece by @bloomberg.com ⬇️
Shell is selling its problem oil assets in Nigeria, leaving behind a legacy of widespread pollution.
But who will pay for #Shell's toxic mess?
Oil giants like Shell shouldn’t be allowed to exploit and run. ❌
Insightful piece by @bloomberg.com ⬇️
Who Will Clean Up Shell’s Mess in Nigeria?
The energy giant says it remedies spills it’s responsible for. Critics say a proposed sale of a subsidiary could help it avoid paying for countless leaks.
www.bloomberg.com
December 10, 2024 at 2:47 PM
the Niger Delta already knows the answer to this question unfortunately - would be nice to have a political movement capable of forcing a different one
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
Happy to be in NJ but also can’t believe we live in a world in which this needs to be a consideration
It's a good day to be a New Jerseyan.
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law Monday to prohibit public and school libraries from banning books in the state and to enshrine protections against civil and criminal charges for librarians who comply with the law.
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law Monday to prohibit public and school libraries from banning books in the state and to enshrine protections against civil and criminal charges for librarians who comply with the law.
December 10, 2024 at 2:02 AM
Happy to be in NJ but also can’t believe we live in a world in which this needs to be a consideration
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
I am devastated. A 17 year old boy was just stabbed to death outside our building because he didn’t speak English. An 18 year old was also stabbed for the same reason but survived. They have not captured the men who did this yet. I am shaking.
www.amny.com/new-york/man...
www.amny.com/new-york/man...
Lower Manhattan stabbing leaves teen dead, another wounded because victims did not speak English: sources | amNewYork
One teenager is dead and another was seriously injured in a Lower Manhattan stabbing on Thursday night carried out by a group of attackers allegedly angered
www.amny.com
December 6, 2024 at 4:32 AM
I am devastated. A 17 year old boy was just stabbed to death outside our building because he didn’t speak English. An 18 year old was also stabbed for the same reason but survived. They have not captured the men who did this yet. I am shaking.
www.amny.com/new-york/man...
www.amny.com/new-york/man...
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
This is the beginning of the end of higher education in the US if this kind of thing passes. Colleges will become trade schools. Make no mistake, this is part of the fascism playbook.
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
Republican higher ed overhaul could get House vote
The wide-ranging legislation likely won’t move forward in the Senate but serves as a marker for Republicans’ higher ed priorities in the next Congress.
www.insidehighered.com
December 6, 2024 at 9:02 AM
This is the beginning of the end of higher education in the US if this kind of thing passes. Colleges will become trade schools. Make no mistake, this is part of the fascism playbook.
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
“It was Maxine who started it, who liked to make words out of the silence of the long field they crossed and she rattled on like a broken wheel on a shopping cart until they reached the water pipe in the center of the labor camp.” -Viramontes, Under the Feet of Jesus
December 6, 2024 at 9:04 AM
“It was Maxine who started it, who liked to make words out of the silence of the long field they crossed and she rattled on like a broken wheel on a shopping cart until they reached the water pipe in the center of the labor camp.” -Viramontes, Under the Feet of Jesus
“…these systems interact differently with people of color …they’re a fun-house-style distorted mirror magnifying biases and stripping out the context from which their information comes; … and will wipe out the jobs of some marginalized communities.” www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
These Women Tried to Warn Us About AI
Rumman Chowdhury, Timnit Gebru, Safiya Noble, Seeta Peña Gangadharan, and Joy Buolamwini open up about their artificial intelligence fears
www.rollingstone.com
December 6, 2024 at 5:48 AM
“…these systems interact differently with people of color …they’re a fun-house-style distorted mirror magnifying biases and stripping out the context from which their information comes; … and will wipe out the jobs of some marginalized communities.” www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
Call for papers for a workshop on "Travels of Expertise in Modern South Asia and Beyond" at South Asian Studies at Yale
on May 8-9, 2025. Proposals due Jan 6. Link Below
macmillan.yale.edu/southasia/wo...
on May 8-9, 2025. Proposals due Jan 6. Link Below
macmillan.yale.edu/southasia/wo...
December 4, 2024 at 9:50 PM
Call for papers for a workshop on "Travels of Expertise in Modern South Asia and Beyond" at South Asian Studies at Yale
on May 8-9, 2025. Proposals due Jan 6. Link Below
macmillan.yale.edu/southasia/wo...
on May 8-9, 2025. Proposals due Jan 6. Link Below
macmillan.yale.edu/southasia/wo...
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
Join me Tuesday for the 2024 Dart Awards winners' roundtable with Adrian Walker of the Boston Globe, Jennifer Gonnerman of the New Yorker, Hannah Dreier of the NYT and Maurice Chammah of the Marshall Project. All highest-order truth tellers! In person at Columbia or online.
Telling Hard Stories: 2024 Dart Awards Event & Winners' Roundtable
The Dart Center will host a reception, awards presentation and winners’ roundtable on December 3rd at Columbia Journalism School featuring the 2024 Dart Award honorees. The roundtable discussion will ...
dartcenter.org
December 2, 2024 at 1:11 AM
Join me Tuesday for the 2024 Dart Awards winners' roundtable with Adrian Walker of the Boston Globe, Jennifer Gonnerman of the New Yorker, Hannah Dreier of the NYT and Maurice Chammah of the Marshall Project. All highest-order truth tellers! In person at Columbia or online.
“The traffic swelled and cars lined up on the curving off-ramp of the freeway until the cars yanked loose like a broken necklace and the beads scattered across the asphalt rolling, rolling…” - Viramontes, Under the Feet of Jesus #ecolit #environmentaljustice (Posting here, language that sparks.)
November 30, 2024 at 6:35 PM
“The traffic swelled and cars lined up on the curving off-ramp of the freeway until the cars yanked loose like a broken necklace and the beads scattered across the asphalt rolling, rolling…” - Viramontes, Under the Feet of Jesus #ecolit #environmentaljustice (Posting here, language that sparks.)
Reposted by Gaiutra Bahadur
Big blow for EDO:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Environmental Defenders Office to pay $9m in costs to Santos over failed challenge to Barossa gas project
The case, brought by the EDO on behalf of three Tiwi Island traditional owners, was dismissed in January in a scathing judgment
www.theguardian.com
November 28, 2024 at 6:30 AM
Big blow for EDO:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...