Following general reflections on the relations between global media,local and oral history, this paper addresses the paradoxical constraintsimposed by language specialization, which focuses Western historianson particular regions and languages at the expense of demotic and oralcultures. Taking up the idea that translation is never an ideologically innocentact, Stein addresses the ambiguous status of English in the Indiancontext, both as the language of British imperial power, but also as a vehiclefor challenging and “writing back” against colonial discourse. Toillustrate the linguistic pitfalls that accompany research on South Asianart, the paper investigates the relations between temple art, iconoclasm,and the zinc smelting industry in Jawar, Rajasthan.