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Mekhola Gomes

@oldthingsarefun.bsky.social
387 followers 285 following 12 posts

medieval historian of south and southeast asia (epigraphy nerd)| assistant professor @ amherst college | loves sci fi

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Reposted by Mekhola Gomes
derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The Pope reminds me of a version of Catholicism I knew growing up as a young man attending anti-war and anti-death penalty protests, where I met elderly Catholics who shared their version of faith with me. I learned that Catholicism was about love and mercy for the weak, the condemned, and the poor.
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Curtis Dozier @curtisdozier.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The old way is to say antiquity created the West. This subtitle gets it right
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Pratima @ismipratima.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A piece by yours truly about the first reference to a Deccan merchant association in a Geniza document. I had fun writing this one! Come for the merchant associations, and stay for the Ina Garten quote www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/...
lib.cam.ac.uk
Fragment of the Month: August 2026
In August's Fragment of the Month, Pratima Gopalakrishnan finds evidence for a Deccan merchant association in a Genizah document.
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Tim Lubin @timlubin.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Jarrah Sastrawan's new book (also in OA pdf) is a fascinating and groundbreaking study of how cultural knowledge was produced and transmitted, textually and otherwise, in 5th–15th-c. Java, with valuable insights on historiography.
ucpress.edu
The Precarious Past in Premodern Java by Wayan Sastrawan - Paper
Scholarship is a powerful tool for changing how people think, plan, and govern. By giving voice to bright minds and bold ideas, we seek to foster understanding and drive progressive change.
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sepoy @sepoy.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
"Historically, and down to the present day, visitors to his dargah have included all kinds of people — criminals, thugs, politicians, ministers, ordinary men and women, and members of transgender communities — seeking blessings and benediction."
thedailystar.net
Re-reading Nizamuddin Auliya in history and memory
As legends associated with the charisma and spiritual power of Nizamuddin Auliya spread, many anecdotes from folkloric traditions began to be linked with his life, which cannot be entirely discarded e...
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Meeting in the Middle Ages Podcast @meetinginthema.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Dr. Mekhola Gomes joins us to discuss copper, kinship, and property in early medieval India, the work of reading ancient inscriptions, teaching the Ramayana, and why we must understand the past on its own terms. 🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts! open.spotify.com/episode/3o0d...
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William Carruthers @williamcarruthers.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
I had an article out recently on the complex ways in which ‘post-colonial’ (archaeological) knowledge moved, the conditions that allowed it, and why it’s important to finally move beyond that old Bruce Trigger article characterising types of archaeological work: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Developing Indian pasts? The Archaeological Survey of India, ‘postcolonial’ archaeology, and technical assistance in Nepal - William Carruthers, 2026
This article examines archaeological assistance provided to Nepal by the Archaeological Survey of India as part of India’s aid efforts there in the 1960s. It de...
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Χοδαδαδίος Ρεζαχανίδης, PhD, KRT, Duc de Téhéran @sasanianshah.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Banksy in London
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Mekhola Gomes @oldthingsarefun.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
ranajit guha always 🔥
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Mekhola Gomes @oldthingsarefun.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
where I talk about kinship, global medieval history, inscriptions, JNU, and my upcoming book. thanks to @meetinginthema.bsky.social for this opportunity! #medievalsky open.spotify.com/show/1xJf1PI...
open.spotify.com
Spotify – Web Player
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 13/02/2026
Gender studies courses are shutting down across the US. The Epstein files reveal why | Joan Wallach Scott
theguardian.com
Gender studies courses are shutting down across the US. The Epstein files reveal why | Joan Wallach Scott
Texas A&M University is the latest school to end women’s and gender studies programs and teaching race. We know why
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sepoy @sepoy.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Historian and retired professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Janaki Nair on her incarcerated students, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam
maktoobmedia.com
A teacher's testimony: Prof. Janaki Nair on denial of bail to two of her students, Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid
A renowned retired JNU historian expressed anger after her former students, anti-CAA activists Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, were denied bail by the Supreme Court in a UAPA case linked to the Delhi v...
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Gaurav Kalyani @archaeogk.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Important piece regarding Indian gaming industry. Hope this adds more nuance in south asian games studies discourse. theambedkarianchronicle.in/debugging-in...
theambedkarianchronicle.in
Debugging Inequality: Caste and Labour Hierarchies in Indian Gaming Industry | The Ambedkarian Chronicle
The author reflects on their own experiences in the industry, the narratives they came across and how caste does in fact shape the process of game development.
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Mekhola Gomes @oldthingsarefun.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
eminent historian tanika sarkar on the history of India’s national song, vande mataram, and the exclusionary imagination of the Indian nation as a hindu goddess in distress m.thewire.in/article/book...
m.thewire.in
Bande Mataram Fits the BJPs Agenda, But its History is Complicated - The Wire
The poem, novel and song has had several political habitations. But circumstances had revised Gandhi and Nehru’s perspectives of it too.
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Mekhola Gomes @oldthingsarefun.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
My article on kinship ties, Buddhism, and early medieval states has just been published. Available open access: doi.org/10.1163/9789...
doi.org
Chapter 7 Ties of Blood on Monuments of Piety: Buddhism, Kinship, and Rule in Āndhradeśa
"Chapter 7 Ties of Blood on Monuments of Piety: Buddhism, Kinship, and Rule in Āndhradeśa" published on 27 Nov 2025 by Brill.
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Tim Lubin @timlubin.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Important group of new studies on the "Kawi culture" that grew out of the use of the Old Javanese in the 8th-15th c. as a cosmopolitan vernacular by speakers of various languages, esp. in Java & Bali. Lots of exciting new work in this field. Wacana 26(3), free download: scholarhub.ui.ac.id/wacana/
Cover of Wacana journal, vol. 26.3 (2025), with illustrated manuscript page showing a battle scene.
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Mekhola Gomes @oldthingsarefun.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
archaeology in the age of colonialism
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Himal Southasian @himalsouthasian.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Galkande Dhammananda is a rarity in Sri Lanka: a monk speaking out against Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism and looking to build bridges after civil war. Jeevan Ravindran writes buff.ly/eMtdqa7
himalmag.com
One monk’s lonely battle against Sinhala-Buddhist extremism in Sri Lanka
One monk’s battle against extremist Buddhism in Sri Lanka
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CARC @carcoxford.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Our latest open access book is out! Classical Art and Ancient India is available in print and free online www.carc.ox.ac.uk/carc/publica...
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The Tennis Letter @thetennisletter.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Ons Jabeur says she’s been called ‘a terrorist’ for trying to help starving people in Gaza: "I've been called a terrorist so many times. I don't know how that's even related. I'm trying to help people, and especially kids, who are starving." Source: www.wtatennis.com/news/4260883....
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Mekhola Gomes @oldthingsarefun.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Ranajit Guha on a truly Indian history writing as expropriation of the expropriators
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Pitchfork @pitchfork.com · 15/04/2025
A pop star floating in zero gravity on a mission funded by Jeff Bezos, one of the richest men in history, while the rest of us guess at what economic downturn or fascist political maneuver will strike next…is exactly how I saw this year unfurling
pitchfork.com
In Space, No One Can Hear You Girlboss
Strapped in next to Gayle King and an all-women crew aboard Jeff Bezos’ rocket, the pop star set a record for the most feminist publicity stunt in history as she smashed through the glass ceiling of E...
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Mekhola Gomes @oldthingsarefun.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Fascinating Mughal order reveals a history of 18th century India the right-wing doesn’t want you to know!
thehindu.com
Over 250-years-old Mughal document throws light on tax waiver for pilgrims at Allahabad
Discover a 250-year-old firman from Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II granting religious autonomy to Ganga pilgrims.
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Mekhola Gomes @oldthingsarefun.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
Looking forward to my talk this Tuesday at Notre Dame
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Mekhola Gomes @oldthingsarefun.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
at this point this is a Kosambi fan account
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Mekhola Gomes @oldthingsarefun.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
kosambi did not mince words
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Blaft Publications @blaft.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Aaand the Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF is off to print. Really cut it close here -- our 1st launch event is Dec 21 at Champaca Bookstore in Bangalore! 😅 We're hoping to do events in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, London, & maybe Hyderabad & NYC too... watch this channel! www.blaft.com/products/the...
The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF with Babasaheb Mech Head
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