Photo Talk Alert | Invitation: India Through Kulwant Roy’s Lens w/ Indivar Kamtekar and Aditya Arya

Lost and then rediscovered, the photographs of Kulwant Roy capture some of the most important moments in modern Indian history, particularly the nationalist upsurges that shaped the political, constitutional, and economic future of this country. Having followed the freedom movement closely, Roy has worked on both the pre- and post-independence eras of modern India giving glimpses into political meetings, portraits of the icons and the lives of freedom fighters and leaders of India. As a freelance photo-journalist, Roy’s work captures the spirit and energy of a restless and nascent India along with the hopes and aspirations of people at the time. Join scholars Indivar Kamtekarand Aditya Arya as they explore the historical significance of Roy’s work. As we approach Independence Day, travel back in time to view India through the lens of Kulwant Roy.

Indivar Kamtekar is professor of modern history at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He has been a faculty member of IIM Calcutta; a fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study at Shimla; Visiting Senior Fellow at the National University of Singapore; and Visiting Professor at the University of Goettingen. His research on the independence and partition of India, and on the impact of the Second World War, has attempted to introduce a comparative dimension in the study of Indian political, social and economic history.