RIFLE RANGE BOY

Sardar Udham (Hindi; 2021) Director: Shoojit Sircar One always wonders how a cult started by a group of semi-literate fishermen at the fringe of the Roman Empire by the Sea of Galilee could eventually grow up to impress the whole of the Empire, including its rulers. This rebel's rhetorics soon triggered justified wars and legitimised usurping of lands to claim their hegemony. The belief system garnered potential believers because it targeted the oppressed or the persecuted. The marginalised and the dying were given the dignity to exist with others on Earth. In return, the converts were willing to trade in their lives (or, in their words, sell their soul) for the religion. Yes, martyrdom played an essential role in recruiting more new members.  As India goes on a spree to rewrite its national history, more and more heroes of yesteryears come to the fore. Sardar Udham Singh (@ Sher Singh @ Ram Mohammad Singh Azad) is one such example. He had been conferred the title Shaheed-i-Azam Sa...

The Crown (Miniseries, S1-S4; 2016-present) Netflix I had been resisting the urge to immerse myself into another miniseries for so long. But, no thanks to DKLA's persistent persuasion and continually dangling the proverbial carrot that British history was intertwined in its storyline, I caved in. It did not disappoint but instead turned out to be quite an informative and educational one, actually. It is a sort of a history revision for me, of course, from a colonial perspective and the one which puts the British Crown above all. Throughout the who le series, the Damocles' sword that seems to be hanging over the royalties is the fear that they might be ousted at any time. The idea of a single-family, through lineage, ordained by God to rule over his subjects cannot be swallowed by the common man anymore. The nearest they can get to this by being the leader of the Church. Even then, the Crown members' behaviours were neither Christian-affirming nor exemplary for the subject t...

The Spider's Web: Britain's Second Empire (Documentary; 2017) Director, Producer: Michael Oswald I always wondered how Britain, after 200 years of ruling over almost half of the globe, survived after losing everything after the Second World War. It is a mystery how they continued their role in being one of the economic powerhouses of the world. It is no secret that WW2 marked the beginning of setting of the sun over the British Empire. Slowly, one by one, its colonies demanded to be cut off their attachments to the Crown. The coup de grâce must have come after their disastrous 1956 campaign over the nationalisation of the Suez Canal by President Nasser. The value of the pound-sterling plummeted. Foreign investors withdrew their investments. A special market was created to circumvent the control of the monetary bodies of the UK. Hence was born the London Euro-Dollar market to keep investors' interest in Britain. This was the precursor to the setting up...

My Generation (Documentary; 2017) This documentary is mainly about the rise and demise of the British Invasion generation. It was the time after World War 2. Euphoria was everywhere. Clement Attlee and his Labour Party gave a shot in the arm for the working class people. NHS made medical services accessible to the average Joe. Education became free. The divide between the aristocrat and the common man soon became blurred. The class demarcation became a thing of the past. Everyone has the opportunity to prosper. Clothing became democratised. The normal sombre tone of the garments became strikingly loud and short. Dressing-up was no longer to cover the bare essentials and to keep warm but became a statement of anti-establishment. As it became to generations to come, the generation before thought that the society was heading to a path of decadence and Armageddon was nay. Music became an annoyance to the elders. Rock and roll music could not be contained by the powers that be. The young...

https://scroll.in/article/879633/hidden-under-meghan-markles-givenchy-veil-was-britains-bid-to-hide-its-bloody-colonial-history COLONIAL HISTORY Embroidered into Meghan Markle’s veil was Britain’s bid to celebrate its bloody colonial history The bride’s dress is being praised for its floral motifs of the 53 Commonwealth countries. But colonialism destroyed the lives of India’s weavers. Danny Lawson / AFP May 20, 2018 · 12:01 pm Aparna Kapadia Meghan Markle wore a beautifully simple, ivory silk dress at her wedding to Britain’s Prince Harry on Saturday morning. The royal wedding has been a global media event though of not much relevance even to the British crown. After all, Harry is the sixth in the line of succession to the throne. And given the pressing world news from just the past week – the killing of dozens of Palestinians in Gaza, North Korea’s threat of withdrawing from nuclear talks – a celebration of the monarchy, of a country barely able to keep itself t...