Doctoral candidate Maria Bach is currently exploring how Indian Political Economists conceptualised development between 1870 and 1905. The research examines how ideas coming from outside of India were made and remade in an effort to reconcile foreign theory with India’s reality in the late 19th century. In this article she discusses four documents relevant to her PhD found in the LSE Library Archives.

Conditions in Myanmar have changed sufficiently over the last few years to enable people to challenge everyday impunity in a way that would not previously have been possible. Nevertheless, academic Nick Cheesman draws on the case of Bangladesh to point to obstacles to aggrieved persons seeking redress for state violence. The continued political and economic power of Myanmar’s armed forces coupled with a corresponding absence of institutionalised legal avenues mean long-term structural changes will be key to successfully redressing grievances against state officers.

Partitioned Histories: Promoting critical engagement and tolerance by comparing narratives

On the 125^th anniversary of Ambedkar’s birth, South Asia @ LSE Editor Sonali Campion looks back on the life of the leading jurist and social reformer. She considers how his education in India and abroad, as well as his lifelong campaign to advance the rights of minorities, meant he was uniquely qualified to lead the process of crafting of the Indian Constitution after independence.

Tamil Jains, a minority indigenous to Tamil Nadu, face an uphill battle of protecting their unique heritage. The task has been undertaken disparately by the State, the community and NGOs. Researcher and Journalist Mahima A Jain writes on the challenges of protecting Jain heritage and attempts to reshape the historical narrative.