Aurangzeb as a ‘tolerant tyrant’: the case against ‘secular’ historiography
Aurangzeb was the last of the ‘great’ Mughals whose policies set into motion those forces, which would pave the way for the disintegration of the empire. Until the mid-20th century, there was scholarly consensus that Aurangzeb’s religious policy animated by his zeal for application of orthodox and fundamentalist Islamic law gravely undermined More...
Book Review: An Era of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor
An Era of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor can be purchased from Amazon Shashi Tharoor gave a fantastic speech at Oxford last year where he took apart the British rule in India. He playfully asked for a reparation of More...
Is Ramayana oppressive?
I In Rajiv Malhotra’s ‘The Battle for Sanskrit’, Sheldon Pollock’s views on Ramayana are critically analyzed. Here, in this article, I wish to give my own critical views regarding some of Sheldon Pollock’s More...
Demonetisation – A Dharmic Perspective
Demonetisation is the reneging by a government of its promissory undertaking in regard to currency. The recent scrapping of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes is not demonetisation because the government still promises More...
The poor in India will lead the Digital Revolution – here’s why
Popular articles about the poor in India, paint a dismal picture of ignorance, illiteracy and hopelessness. This language starts with the international media and percolates down to even local newspapers, which would More...
Reasserting Indian autonomy against foreign subversion
Weaker subaltern societies of the world are apparently condemned to remain perpetually in the thrall of ideological subterfuges that serve the interests and priorities of powerful foreign societies. Equally, Indian More...
The Intellectual Deceit of Faizan Mustafa
It is time for Faizan Mustafa – a leading columnist on Indian Muslim issues and vice chancellor of the Hyderabad-based NALSAR University of Law – to enroll in a madrassa and teach Islamic Sharia. In article More...
Tibet – Land of Lamas & Lament
Some lands live more in imagination and fabled lore than on the physical planes of Earth, have more reality in their legends and mystical mysteries than in the dry pages of history and geography, exude such great More...
Indian National Congress – More Loyal Than The King!
The article is adapted from author’s blog and republished with permission. Ask any Indian and he or she will most certainly confirm that the early history of the Indian National Congress is “The History More...
Of monuments and memories
A few months back, I visited the War Memorial in Ghorpadi, Pune with my friend, the columnist, Shefali Vaidya. It was a sobering occasion. We were there to pay tribute to the fallen martyrs of Uri and light a candle More...