Vinay Lal is associate professor of history at UCLA. He is the author of Empire of Knowledge: Culture and Plurality in the Global Economy (University of Michigan Press, 2002), Of Cricket, Guinness, and Gandhi: Essays on Indian History and Culture (Penguin, 2003), The History of History: Politics and Scholarship in Modern India (Oxford University Press, 2005). He is the co-editor of The Future of Knowledge & Culture: A Dictionary for the 21st Century (Penguin, 2005)

Recent articles

Francis Fukuyama's claims of universalism are belied by his unawareness of wider debates about modern knowledge systems, argues Vinay Lal.

A new website claims to expose "radical professors" and offers students money to spy on their teachers. Targeted scholar Vinay Lal warns against underestimating America's new McCarthyite movement.

The London bus bomb exploded beside “peace park” where the pioneer of non-violence, Gandhi, is honoured. Vinay Lal sees in the event another violation of the “war on terror”.