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Friday, November 1, 2024
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Book Excerpts

Was Hindi writer Nirmal Verma the Hindutva proponent he was accused of being? New book answers

In ‘Here and Hereafter,’ Vineet Gill writes that Verma spoke against applying European secularism in India. It only helped religion make ‘back-door entry’ into politics.

Decoding the Gurgaon real estate model—Patwaris, liaisoners and double-headed civil servants

This excerpt from ‘Subaltern Frontiers’ by Thomas Cowan has been published with permission from HarperCollins.

Rajputs, Gurkhas, Sikhs, even Muslims—how Hindu concept of ‘dharma’ ruled Indian military

In 'True to Their Salt', Ravindra Rathee says the Indian affinity to arms was inspired by the power of the yogi, the king, and the Kshatriya to follow dharma.

Why did JRD Tata’s Air India have 8,000 artistic treasures? Raza, Husain, ashtrays by Dali

The publicity hoardings Tata mounted for Air India said: “We do business in 3 languages – English, English, English.”

Lakshmanrao Inamdar, RSS ‘Advocate Sir’ who mentored Modi as his ideological son

In 'Strongmen Saviours', Deepanshu Mohan and Abhinav Padmanabhan talk about the tailwinds behind the rise of Narendra Modi.

Beema Bivi’s dargah—The most famous in Kerala, where Muslims, Christians, Hindus come to pray

In her book ‘In Search of the Divine,’ Rana Safvi writes about how Sufism developed a distinct character in India, and harmoniously embraced Bhakti traditions.

CEO or showman? From Modi to Jayalalithaa, the roles political outsiders take up in India

In ‘The People of India,’ Srirupa Roy writes how since the 1980s, the CEO figure has been valorised as an effective political agent opposed to corruption and inefficiency in Indian politics.

When economics defeated ideology in India and the three men behind it

In 'Reform Nation', ORF vice president Gautam Chikermane calls the 1991 reforms 'economic in expression but political in stance'.

When Pakistan govt said it’ll protest US drone strikes on Pashtuns and then ignore it

In The Pashtuns, Tilak Devasher talks about Pakistan's adoption of a duplicitous policy on the drones campaign by the US.

Why do more and more girls in South India study longer in schools? Hint-menstrual hygiene

In 'South vs North: India's Great Divide', Nilakantan RS writes about where the north and south states of India in comparison to each other across parameters.

On Camera

Pakistan is playing a dangerous sectarian game. Anti-Shia extremism is gaining ground

Iran aims to transcend sectarian divides. This approach could put pressure on Pakistan’s long-held goal of being seen as a leader for Muslim interests.

Watch CutTheClutter: Flattening INR-USD rate, and debate on pros and cons of a ‘strong’ rupee

In Episode 1544 of CutTheClutter, Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta looks at some top economists pointing to the pitfalls of ‘currency nationalism’ with data from 1991 to 2004.

All about Major Bob Khathing, whose daring expedition & diplomatic parleys secured Tawang for India

The decorated Naga officer from Manipur also served as envoy to Myanmar & Nagaland chief secy. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a museum dedicated to the Tawang hero Thursday.

From 2004 to 2024, bad news has come wrapped as good news for Congress

Congress is silently acknowledging it over-read verdict of last general election. You can see it in easy concession to SP. It will likely be more reasonable in Maharashtra & Jharkhand.