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Sunday, February 22, 2026

Afterword

India played US-versus-Soviets to get development aid, but gave up state power

The Price of Aid by David C. Engerman is a fascinating account of how the economic cold war shaped the first 25 years of independent India.

Arshia Sattar takes Hindu mythology beyond an Amar Chitra Katha-type narrative

Her wonderful writing and Ishan Trivedi’s colourful illustrations make ‘Garuda & the Serpents’ come alive for children as well as adults.

Madeleine Albright’s warning about fascism draws on simplistic analogies 

Former US Secy of State sidesteps historically rooted definition and examination of fascism in her book, which doesn’t offer compelling arguments. In 1939, Madeleine Albright the...

How the nexus of business and state gave birth to the East India Company

Rupali Mishra’s new book describes how licencing, permits, rights etc. fetched gains for people close to power.

From Mao to Xi, a peep into the minds of China’s great strategists

Sulmaan Wasif Khan’s ‘Haunted by Chaos’ tells the story of how China’s leaders shaped its destiny through their distinct ideologies, traumatic pasts and disparate visions.

For espionage buffs, ex-Raw chief Vikram Sood’s ‘The Unending Game’ is a fascinating read

The book is neither a memoir nor an insider’s account of the organisation. It's more of a primer, written by that rare intellectual among...

Young Muslim women fight to control their own stories in Ghazala Jamil’s new book

In 'Muslim Women Speak: Of Dreams and Shackles', activist-scholar Jamil tries to find these women's real voices, instead of just presenting them as victims.

Devil’s advocate Karan Thapar fails to acquit himself

In his rather salacious memoir, the journalist doesn't offer a nuanced perspective about the personalities and events that shaped India. 

Chidanand Rajghatta’s book combines memories of Gauri Lankesh with cultural controversies

‘Illiberal India’ is an eminently readable narrative, and is as close to a biography of Gauri as there is likely to be in English.

Evil in the Mahabharata deserves a book. This one is not it

US-based professor Meena Arora Nayak’s take on the epic seems to push an agenda. Readers ought to rather read the original text.

On Camera

Nick Jonas wearing a mangalsutra is validation for many Indians. He’s our favourite jiju

Nick Jonas is not trying to modernise the mangalsutra, but his gesture shows that choices can be equal. If commitment must be flaunted, it need not be gendered.

In the West, there’s anxiety. In India, optimism—Rishi Sunak says India poised to be leader in AI

On Wednesday, the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking in New Delhi at a Carnegie & Observer Research Foundation event on AI.

In a first, Indian small arms maker to bid for UK Project Grayburn to replace British Army’s SA80 rifles

Bengaluru-based SSS Defence has made public its bid for a major foreign military contract, targeting UK’s ambitious SA80 successor programme with its home-tested weapons.

No country is ever fully sovereign. Cold War era taught India its real meaning

India’s fraught neighbourhood places multiple constraints on its strategic choices. It leaves no time to take a deep breath, lean back and reset.