Rahul Rao
@rahulraothariel.bsky.social
disaffected glass-half-empty type; starting to think belatedly about more than humans
📚 'The Psychic Lives of Statues: Reckoning with the Rubble of Empire' (Pluto Press, 2025) | https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745350769/the-psychic-lives-of-statues/
📚 'The Psychic Lives of Statues: Reckoning with the Rubble of Empire' (Pluto Press, 2025) | https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745350769/the-psychic-lives-of-statues/
Pinned
Rahul Rao
@rahulraothariel.bsky.social
· Aug 15
10. On the Rise and Fall of Statues: Featuring Rahul Rao
Whether its legacy figures like Cecil Rhodes, Mahatma Gandhi and B.R Ambedkar, or various military men or aggressive phallic sculptures, statues are the public’s direct and unavoidable encounter with ...
www.radicalbookscollective.com
thrilling to talk to @radicalbooks.bsky.social about 'The Psychic Lives of Statues': Rhodes, Mandela, Gandhi, Patel, Ambedkar, Fanon and more against the backdrop of the dystopian present + reflections on imperial settler colonial 🇮🇳, apposite on Aug 15 www.radicalbookscollective.com/p/10-on-the-...
woke up and it was 2003 again
January 3, 2026 at 5:26 PM
woke up and it was 2003 again
“Mamdani walks in an older Jewish tradition. Not that of ritzy Upper East Side synagogues, but of so many of our great-grandparents: the socialist sweatshop workers who fought for a better and more beautiful world.”
They tried to smear him as an antisemite – but Mayor Zohran Mamdani walks in a rich Jewish tradition | Molly Crabapple
When I look at Mamdani, I don’t see some radical departure. I see him as an heir to the Yiddish socialism that helped build New York
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:45 PM
“Mamdani walks in an older Jewish tradition. Not that of ritzy Upper East Side synagogues, but of so many of our great-grandparents: the socialist sweatshop workers who fought for a better and more beautiful world.”
Reposted by Rahul Rao
Calls to strip pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah of his British citizenship pile torment on top of torture.
New piece by me on a dangerous and manufactured storm:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
New piece by me on a dangerous and manufactured storm:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s tweets were wrong, but he is no ‘anti-white Islamist’. Why does the British right want you to believe he is? | Naomi Klein
I have no interest in defending his social media posts, but calls to strip the newly freed activist of British citizenship pile torment on top of torture, says Naomi Klein, Guardian US columnist and c...
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Calls to strip pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah of his British citizenship pile torment on top of torture.
New piece by me on a dangerous and manufactured storm:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
New piece by me on a dangerous and manufactured storm:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Rahul Rao
📣 DEADLINE TOMORROW 📣
We still accepting submissions for the Colonial, Postcolonial and Decolonial Paper Prize for Early Career Scholars annual prize, which is a collaboration between RIS and the BISA CPD working group! Find out more ⤵️
buff.ly/3TsqMig
We still accepting submissions for the Colonial, Postcolonial and Decolonial Paper Prize for Early Career Scholars annual prize, which is a collaboration between RIS and the BISA CPD working group! Find out more ⤵️
buff.ly/3TsqMig
December 30, 2025 at 12:16 PM
📣 DEADLINE TOMORROW 📣
We still accepting submissions for the Colonial, Postcolonial and Decolonial Paper Prize for Early Career Scholars annual prize, which is a collaboration between RIS and the BISA CPD working group! Find out more ⤵️
buff.ly/3TsqMig
We still accepting submissions for the Colonial, Postcolonial and Decolonial Paper Prize for Early Career Scholars annual prize, which is a collaboration between RIS and the BISA CPD working group! Find out more ⤵️
buff.ly/3TsqMig
Reposted by Rahul Rao
Abd el-Fattah's historic tweets are leading to calls for his UK citizenship to be revoked, and a UK Government review of his case, while Nigel Farage's history of racism and Nazi goose-stepping has led to a few Guardian front pages.
December 30, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Abd el-Fattah's historic tweets are leading to calls for his UK citizenship to be revoked, and a UK Government review of his case, while Nigel Farage's history of racism and Nazi goose-stepping has led to a few Guardian front pages.
more in awe of Nikhil Krishnan than Wittgenstein by the end of this
Films of Ideas: Wittgenstein w/Nikhil Krishnan
Podcast Episode · Past Present Future · 28/12/2025 · 59m
podcasts.apple.com
December 29, 2025 at 8:56 PM
more in awe of Nikhil Krishnan than Wittgenstein by the end of this
read an early version via one of the prospective publishers and was blown away by this extraordinary memoir, which seamlessly intertwines personal and collective struggle
‘What other silences filled my childhood?’: Tareq Baconi on excavating his queer and Palestinian identities
In his memoir, the author recalls the boy he loved while growing up in Jordan – and weaves the tale with his family’s history of dispossession
www.theguardian.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
read an early version via one of the prospective publishers and was blown away by this extraordinary memoir, which seamlessly intertwines personal and collective struggle
enjoyed this podcast with @lalehkhalili.bsky.social not least for the snatches of autobiography, swearing and always trenchant analysis ✨
Laleh Khalili & David Wearing: Extractive Capitalism
Podcast Episode · London Review Bookshop Podcast · 24/12/2025 · 1h 8m
podcasts.apple.com
December 26, 2025 at 10:59 PM
enjoyed this podcast with @lalehkhalili.bsky.social not least for the snatches of autobiography, swearing and always trenchant analysis ✨
some of the hunger strikers are on day 51; Bobby Sands died on day 66. How heartless is this government determined to be?
Families of Palestine Action hunger strikers seek urgent meeting with Lammy
Justice secretary urged to ‘show a bit of humanity’ with protesters severely ill after refusing food for weeks
www.theguardian.com
December 23, 2025 at 9:45 AM
some of the hunger strikers are on day 51; Bobby Sands died on day 66. How heartless is this government determined to be?
Reposted by Rahul Rao
Sheffield's 1904 Queen Victoria statue in Endcliffe Park was dowsed in red paint, and the words FREE THE HUNGER STRIKERS written on the pedestal, overnight — in solidarity with and to raise awareness of the six people who remain on hunger strike in British prisons today
December 21, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Sheffield's 1904 Queen Victoria statue in Endcliffe Park was dowsed in red paint, and the words FREE THE HUNGER STRIKERS written on the pedestal, overnight — in solidarity with and to raise awareness of the six people who remain on hunger strike in British prisons today
honoured to be part of what Kashmir read in 2025: 'This compilation isn’t just about the “best” books; it’s about the books that travelled from hand to hand, WhatsApp group to WhatsApp group, and encounter to encounter in a place where literature remains when everything else being on survival mode.'
What Kashmir read in 2025: Books that moved hand to hand, heart to heart | Free Press Kashmir
The year 2025 in Kashmir was like any other year in Kashmir: full of rumours, expectations and disappointments. What kept Kashmiris going was their knack for good humour, their love for wazwan and the...
freepresskashmir.news
December 22, 2025 at 7:24 PM
honoured to be part of what Kashmir read in 2025: 'This compilation isn’t just about the “best” books; it’s about the books that travelled from hand to hand, WhatsApp group to WhatsApp group, and encounter to encounter in a place where literature remains when everything else being on survival mode.'
most despairing sentence:
“Many women tell me that if they stop preparing the calorie-dense, oil-laden dishes their husbands prefer, it leads to anger and conflict,” he said. “This shows how difficult it is to change dietary patterns in Indian households – even when families know the health risks.”
“Many women tell me that if they stop preparing the calorie-dense, oil-laden dishes their husbands prefer, it leads to anger and conflict,” he said. “This shows how difficult it is to change dietary patterns in Indian households – even when families know the health risks.”
India’s doctors sound alarm over boom in availability of weight loss jabs
Country is facing epidemic of diabetes and obesity, but experts say widespread and unregulated use of weight loss drugs could put patients at risk
www.theguardian.com
December 20, 2025 at 12:19 PM
most despairing sentence:
“Many women tell me that if they stop preparing the calorie-dense, oil-laden dishes their husbands prefer, it leads to anger and conflict,” he said. “This shows how difficult it is to change dietary patterns in Indian households – even when families know the health risks.”
“Many women tell me that if they stop preparing the calorie-dense, oil-laden dishes their husbands prefer, it leads to anger and conflict,” he said. “This shows how difficult it is to change dietary patterns in Indian households – even when families know the health risks.”
and the Chilean election, a reminder of why it’s so important never to forget
December 19, 2025 at 12:49 PM
and the Chilean election, a reminder of why it’s so important never to forget
Reposted by Rahul Rao
Please join Angela Davis, Robin D.G. Kelley, Ruth Wilson Gilmore and many others in signing this call for an academic and cultural boycott of the UAE, in relation to its complicity in genocide in Sudan.
spectrejournal.com/for-a-cultur...
spectrejournal.com/for-a-cultur...
December 19, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Please join Angela Davis, Robin D.G. Kelley, Ruth Wilson Gilmore and many others in signing this call for an academic and cultural boycott of the UAE, in relation to its complicity in genocide in Sudan.
spectrejournal.com/for-a-cultur...
spectrejournal.com/for-a-cultur...
absolutely riveting, not least for the present continuous tense in which it is written making the reader feel like they are part of the action. when the regime falls you wonder how it could have lasted so long given that it was so brittle.
December 19, 2025 at 8:48 AM
absolutely riveting, not least for the present continuous tense in which it is written making the reader feel like they are part of the action. when the regime falls you wonder how it could have lasted so long given that it was so brittle.
Reposted by Rahul Rao
Reminding us that art includes non-fiction composition is ‘The Psychic Lives of Statues’, an Odyssean read which skilfully stories the colonial politics of moulded memorials. This text by @rahulraothariel.bsky.social will segue into next week’s #PoliticalArtSpotlight, so stay tuned!
The Psychic Lives of Statues - Pluto Press
An exploration of global statue controversies and cultural memory
www.plutobooks.com
December 6, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Reminding us that art includes non-fiction composition is ‘The Psychic Lives of Statues’, an Odyssean read which skilfully stories the colonial politics of moulded memorials. This text by @rahulraothariel.bsky.social will segue into next week’s #PoliticalArtSpotlight, so stay tuned!
Reposted by Rahul Rao
"Far from being reducible to skin colour, racial identification for many activists in the foundational moment of queer Southasian organising in Britain followed from a common experience of empire and migration in postwar Britain."
Rahul Rao writes:
Rahul Rao writes:
Navigating new scales of queer Southasia
IT WASN’T THAT long ago that queer Southasian studies – perhaps especially work centred on India – seemed to be intensely preoccupied with the frame of the nati
buff.ly
November 22, 2025 at 5:15 PM
"Far from being reducible to skin colour, racial identification for many activists in the foundational moment of queer Southasian organising in Britain followed from a common experience of empire and migration in postwar Britain."
Rahul Rao writes:
Rahul Rao writes:
Reposted by Rahul Rao
"‘Abundance’ by Anjali Arondekar is a book that will transform how and why histories of sexuality are written in engagement with archives that are 'incommensurable and quotidian, imaginative and ordinary'."
A review essay by Rahul Rao :
A review essay by Rahul Rao :
Navigating new scales of queer Southasia
IT WASN’T THAT long ago that queer Southasian studies – perhaps especially work centred on India – seemed to be intensely preoccupied with the frame of the nati
buff.ly
November 24, 2025 at 12:15 AM
"‘Abundance’ by Anjali Arondekar is a book that will transform how and why histories of sexuality are written in engagement with archives that are 'incommensurable and quotidian, imaginative and ordinary'."
A review essay by Rahul Rao :
A review essay by Rahul Rao :
love how Paul Preciado converts this book talk into a kind of workshop! can’t wait to read dysphoria mundi
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/l...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/l...
Paul B. Preciado & Nathalie Olah: Dysphoria Mundi
Podcast Episode · London Review Bookshop Podcast · 05/11/2025 · 1h 13m
podcasts.apple.com
November 30, 2025 at 10:53 PM
love how Paul Preciado converts this book talk into a kind of workshop! can’t wait to read dysphoria mundi
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/l...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/l...
Reposted by Rahul Rao
the gulf between the swift brutality with which places like harvard treated students protesting genocide and the endless, endless latitude those same institutions have given people like larry summers tells you everything you need to know
November 20, 2025 at 1:36 AM
the gulf between the swift brutality with which places like harvard treated students protesting genocide and the endless, endless latitude those same institutions have given people like larry summers tells you everything you need to know
Reposted by Rahul Rao
Four new books open up debate on why same-sex marriage has come to anchor queer politics in India, and how the notions and politics of Southasian queer life shift across local, diasporic and transnational scales of identity and belonging.
A review essay by Rahul Rao :
A review essay by Rahul Rao :
Navigating new scales of queer Southasia
IT WASN’T THAT long ago that queer Southasian studies – perhaps especially work centred on India – seemed to be intensely preoccupied with the frame of the nati
buff.ly
November 19, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Four new books open up debate on why same-sex marriage has come to anchor queer politics in India, and how the notions and politics of Southasian queer life shift across local, diasporic and transnational scales of identity and belonging.
A review essay by Rahul Rao :
A review essay by Rahul Rao :
I reviewed some new books on queer Southasia for @himalmag.bsky.social
www.himalmag.com/politics/que...
www.himalmag.com/politics/que...
Navigating new scales of queer Southasia
IT WASN’T THAT long ago that queer Southasian studies – perhaps especially work centred on India – seemed to be intensely preoccupied with the frame of the nati
www.himalmag.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:23 PM
I reviewed some new books on queer Southasia for @himalmag.bsky.social
www.himalmag.com/politics/que...
www.himalmag.com/politics/que...
Reposted by Rahul Rao
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
@rahulraothariel.bsky.social @katesde.bsky.social @kalramnath.bsky.social
Order here - shorturl.at/55NjW
November 4, 2025 at 8:14 AM
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
@rahulraothariel.bsky.social @katesde.bsky.social @kalramnath.bsky.social
Order here - shorturl.at/55NjW
Reposted by Rahul Rao
📚 🇮🇳 OUT NOW: Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy: Caste, Class and Indenture Abroad, 1914–67 by @kalathmika.bsky.social
‘Transforms our understanding of diplomatic history.’ @rahulraothariel.bsky.social
25% off w/code COOLIE25 tinyurl.com/59246yu5
‘Transforms our understanding of diplomatic history.’ @rahulraothariel.bsky.social
25% off w/code COOLIE25 tinyurl.com/59246yu5
November 3, 2025 at 4:51 PM
📚 🇮🇳 OUT NOW: Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy: Caste, Class and Indenture Abroad, 1914–67 by @kalathmika.bsky.social
‘Transforms our understanding of diplomatic history.’ @rahulraothariel.bsky.social
25% off w/code COOLIE25 tinyurl.com/59246yu5
‘Transforms our understanding of diplomatic history.’ @rahulraothariel.bsky.social
25% off w/code COOLIE25 tinyurl.com/59246yu5
my household occupies the Venn diagram intersection between IR and marine biology, so this was especially distressing news
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Russia arrests Ukrainian biologist for backing curbs on Antarctic krill fishing
‘Trumped-up’ charges spark diplomatic row as scientists express fears for health of 70-year-old Leonid Pshenichnov
www.theguardian.com
October 26, 2025 at 6:33 PM
my household occupies the Venn diagram intersection between IR and marine biology, so this was especially distressing news
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...