Tablighi Jamaat tells its followers not to pursue political dominance in this world
Tablighi Jamaat is an Islamic religious reform movement. It has emerged as one of the most dominant forms of religiosity in postcolonial India, writes Hilal Ahmed in his book Siyasi Muslims.
How an interview with Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters in London made us celebrities back home
In Calling Elvis, Shatanu Datta writes about meeting Roger Waters in London and how a 15-minute chat turned into an hour-long conversation.
Raghuram Rajan tried to find bad loans. The dirt that came out was thrice his expectation
In Bad Money, Vivek Kaul writes how public sector banks refrained from recognising bad loans because that meant setting aside money to meet these losses.
Political parties battle each other in Indian slums by using rumours and violence
In Demanding Development, Adam Michael Auerbach writes on the competition between different party workers in slums and how it fragments leadership.
India’s Act East policy is slowly becoming Act Indo-Pacific policy under Modi government
India has placed the Indo-Pacific at the heart of its engagement with the countries of south, southeast and east Asia to counter China, writes Prabir De in his new book.
Disaster of communism overshadowed damage done by slavery and colonialism
In Capital and Ideology, Thomas Piketty writes on the ‘naturalisation’ of disparity by the elites and how history proves them wrong.
I went undercover with women social media extremists. They want traditional roles to return
In Going Dark, The Secret Social Lives of Extremists, Julia Ebner talks about her experience with ‘Trad Wives,’ a women’s group where feminism is banned.
T20 to coronavirus to RSS — 6 books you need to read in self-quarantine
ThePrint with Penguin Random House India brings you the must-reads in March and April while self-isolating during the pandemic.
From religious meetings to music concerts, how ‘sabha’ culture changed in Madras
The book Music, Modernity, and Publicness in India edited by Tejaswini Niranjana explains how musicians moved to colonial cities and formed exciting spaces of listening and desire.
When Dalai Lama was talking about asylum in India, Nehru almost fell asleep
In The Dalai Lama: An Extraordinary Life, Alexander Norman writes about the time the Dalai Lama came to India to discuss asylum, but Nehru had already made up his mind.
Enough of mann ki baat Modiji. Covid-19 war is the time to take some questions
Leaders like Donald Trump and Boris Johnson have held press briefings related to the coronavirus pandemic while PM Modi has only delivered speeches.
How is Modi’s BJP different from the one founded by Advani-Vajpayee 40 years ago?
Forty years ago, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani founded BJP. Today it's led by Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo, who have won two general elections with full majority.
Defence
5 Special Forces men, 5 terrorists: How a deadly hand-to-hand fight at the LoC unfolded
Five commandos of the elite 4 Para were killed in action after they eliminated 5 terrorists from Pakistan in close combat in J&K’s Keran sector.
Poke fun at taali, thaali, diya and mombatti all you want. Modi couldn’t care less
Modi knows who he needs to speak to, who he should toss, who he can address in kind. People accuse him of infantilising his voters, but it’s a winning strategy.