Alex Raj Shah (they/them)

Hello! It’s Alex, I am a student at Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, pursuing English, Sociology and Film Studies. I currently head the college’s poetry club as well as a volunteer at the NGO Yasham which provides educational and vocational services to underprivileged children and mothers. For me, it is interesting to explore the formation of gender identities in different cultures through out history and the queer culture that has survived. In general I like to discover differences and communalities in cultures as well as how they come to be. I enjoy a variety of films and film analysis as well as fictional books, especially queer ones with diverse representation, and run a bookstagram, @booksandmorewithraj, come and say hi!

10 Historians from the U.S. and their contributions

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a historian is “a student or writer of history, one who produces a scholarly synthesis”. Apart from this concise meaning, a historian is also a person who preserves and transmits old traditions and ideas forward to the next generation, they become responsible for the structuring of the world. The United … Read more

John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government – A Summary

In 1689, John Locke, an English philosopher, wrote and published two Treatises of Government. The First Treatise was a rebuttal and response to Robert Filmer’s “Patriarcha”, while the Second Treatise outlines his views and plans or ideas for a better society. Both these works had and continue to have a massive influence on the political … Read more

Does Internet medical information make people healthier?

How reliable is medical information found online? The internet has become a daily accessory in people’s lives and is one of the biggest sources of information. In the case of health care, it has become the first responder, the first source patients refer to in order to gain knowledge about their own conditions before they … Read more

What are Modalities and How are they related to the British influence present in Indian Sociology?

Bernard S. Cohn was an American anthropologist who pioneered in writing about British colonialism in India. He recognised the heavy British Oriental influence that continues to affect Indian sociology today and, in-depth, traced its trajectory. This article focuses on his understanding and explanations of the use of investigative modalities implemented by the British to do … Read more

The Churning of a Caste: A sociological review of Manthan

Manthan or “The Churning” is a 1976 Hindi film that provides a fictional narrative of the formation of Amul in India and the ushering of the White Revolution. The film was financed by over half a million farmers who donated Rs. 2 each and became India’s first crowdfunded film, this story of the might of … Read more