Historian; Deputy Head & Senior Lecturer, South Asian Studies, NUS; MPhil, PhD Cantab; Gates Cambridge Alumnus
Singapore
Joined May 2018
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{New Publication Alert}Thrilled to share the news that my first book, "Sober State: Origins of Alcohol Prohibition in India," is currently in press with Cambridge University Press. #prohibition #alcohol #hooch #tasmac #indianstate #Gandhi #modernIndia #SouthAsianStudies
{New publication alert} The Cambridge Companion to Periyar is here — just in time for the conference next week at Oxford! Deeply grateful to A.r. Venkatachalapathy and Karthick RM for the opportunity to contribute to this timely and important volume.
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
And here it is - The Cambridge Companion to Periyar! Delighted to have coedited the volume with @ARV_Chalapathy. We have an amazing set of contributors here. Book will be released at a big event - more details soon! Many thanks to @qudsiya_Ah @RanaAnwesha & others @CambridgeUP.
Announcing 'The Cambridge Companion to #Periyar', a landmark work & our foremost publication in 2025. Developed over several years with an exceptional team of editors @ARV_Chalapathy & @KRManoharan & contributors, it brings critical insights on the modern thinker's ideas & legacy
ALT https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-companion-to-periyar/5349F4B097E2F671F41E653F8F966610
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
📉 Myth Busted: Tamil Nadu doesn't "run on TASMAC" revenue! 🍾💰
As per the FY 2024–25 Budget, #TamilNadu tabled ₹48,344 crore as #TASMAC revenue.
🧾 While it may sound like a huge number, here’s the reality check:
🔹 It accounts for only 1.53% of Tamil Nadu's GSDP this year.
🔹 Even lower than last year’s 1.62% share!
Let that sink in less than 2% of the state's total economic output comes from liquor sales. 🤯
📊 In a growing economy like TN, with a GSDP exceeding ₹31 lakh crore, the government is increasingly less dependent on TASMAC as a revenue source.
🛑 The claim that "TN runs on TASMAC" is a lazy stereotype, not grounded in fiscal facts.
✅ A falling % share means Tamil Nadu’s economy is expanding, and its revenue ecosystem is maturing beyond this single source.
🧠 Next time someone repeats that myth, hit them with the data. 📉📚
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
Who is Afraid of Caste Census?
Does India have a history of producing poor-quality data? What explains why state institutions evade documentation of caste power? #castecensus #hierarchy #power Trina Vithayathil publishing soon with @CUPAcademic @CUP_PoliSci @qudsiya_Ah
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
One of my biggest suspicions about 'decolonization' debates in/about India is the near-total absence in these conversations of scholars from the communities that were most affected by colonial punitive law (or counterinsurgency practices), namely the 'Criminal Tribes'.
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
India is now witnessing a direct battle between two types of nationalisms - Constitutional vs. Hindutva.
A great read.
#nationalism
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
While the PhD crawls along at a snail’s pace, a piece I wrote way back during my MPhil days has just found its way into an edited volume. Grateful to Dr. Vijaya Ramadas for the opportunity to collaborate and contribute.
link.springer.com/chapter/10…
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
Hung between horrors of hooch tragedies and the hollowness of an alcohol ban, TN govt-run liquor retailer Tasmac claims to shoulder an unenviable job of keeping the illegal brew at bay & tipplers in high spirits. It's now a knight in shining armour in the post-GST era, bringing in Rs50k cr revenues in govt kitty
My column:
newindianexpress.com/states/…
@NewIndianXpress
@xpresstn
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
Here’s @RenuWBhatia1 , head of Haryana State Commission for Women
She filed a complaint against Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, on the basis of which he has been arrested
She struggled to tell which part of the post is ‘sexist’ or ‘derogatory’ and why is she calling the Professor ‘anti-national’
Kudos to @PreetiChoudhry for the calm assertion - and exposing this bigot
But it’s deeply worrying the kind of hate spewing, senseless folks who now head our important institutions
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
Story that caught the eye: Ashoka Univ prof Ali Khan arrested over a social media post on Op Sindoor after complaint by BJP youth wing BUT NO ACTION yet on MP BJP minister who made most communal/misogynistic remarks on Col Sofiya Quereshi. Whither law? indiatoday.in/amp/india/stor…
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
"Mother of Democracy" hindustantimes.com/india-new…
Happy to share that my paper, "The Problem with Neera: The (Un)Making of a National Drink in Late Colonial India," is now among IESHR's top downloaded articles. It's available on free access until 1 Aug, for those who might be interested.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/ful…
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
Such brilliant article in the latest @jas_tw richly packed with historical, visual and anthropological material & insights into our globally connected worlds. it’s going into my course syllabus immediately! @PigPenning #interdisciplinary asianstudies.org/a-history-o…
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
I'm talking about forced child removal and colonial governance of the family in India for the #LegalHistoriesofEmpire symposium series in early March. Join us!
Honoured to be billed next to Lisa Ford @UNSW, speaking about her new book on "Empire & Order in the British Empire"!
Join us March 5 @ 9:30 AM Singapore/ March 4 @ 5:30 PM PST for the 2nd Legal Histories of Empire symposium with Lisa Ford & @HinchyJessica
Register here: lhbe.org/legal-histories-of-…
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
Our #SouthAsiaUnbound: Spaces and Scales of Internationalism event series starts at the end of February. @elisabeth_leake @NIHSAnetwork and I are really excited about it. If you want to know more, all the info is here 👇👇👇
HNY to all from @NIHSAnetwork! Delighted to announce our new website & event series: 'South Asia unbound: Spaces and Scales of internationalism'. See tinyurl.com/y3vdyju3 for info on panelists & guidance on free registration. 'See' you soon!
#SouthAsiaUnbound #twitterstorians
Darinee Alagirisamy retweeted
To all BJP supporters: Just wait till the police reaches down your very own throats.
ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE - Right behind me is the body of #HathrasCase victim burning. Police barricaded the family inside their home and burnt the body without letting anybody know. When we questioned the police, this is what they did.