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Friday, April 26, 2024
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Book Excerpts

Sardar Patel’s one comment proved all was not well between Nehru and Constitution in 1950

Astute politician that he was, Sardar Patel clearly had insights into Nehru’s thinking, which informed the advice he gave the PM on sticking to the Constitution.

Delhi Ridge: How it went from a colonial forest to murder scene to morning-walk garden

After Partition, refugees were resettled in Delhi by clearing the Central and Southern part of the Ridge. The Southern Ridge was further eaten into to establish JNU.

Mushrooms & moss: All students should be taught science like in this Uttarakhand village

There is not a person in Uttarkashi’s education network who has not heard of SS Kharola and his science and maths classes.

How Maximum City Mumbai became epicentre of illegal kidney trade with 100 transplants a month

In the early ’90s, kidney trade had a turnover of Rs 40 crore in Mumbai alone. There were several reports of people who were kidnapped and had their kidneys removed.

Tamil Brahmins were the earliest to frame merit as a caste claim, and it showed in IITs

Studies on the Indian diaspora in the US can lead one to conclude that caste largely vanishes beyond boundaries of India. The story of IIT students suggests otherwise.

How a young KPS Gill’s life was changed when his mother gave him two swords in Lahore

In his book, The Fragility of Order, Ajai Sahni writes about former Punjab police chief Kanwar Pal Singh Gill and the security challenges the world faces right now.

Indira Gandhi vs Morarji Desai: How JNU was at the centre of battle to capture academia

Under Indira Gandhi, JNU turned a deep shade of red because of curricula and faculty chosen by Education Minister Syed Nurul Hasan from a pool of pro-CPI teachers.

Was Krishna Menon thinking of a coup against Nehru? COAS Gen Thimayya had privately said this

In his new book A Chequered Brilliance, Jairam Ramesh writes about the rivalry between Gen Thimayya and Nehru’s defence minister V.K. Krishna Menon.

How a case on Minerva Mills challenged and undid Indira Gandhi’s damage to the Constitution

The Minerva Mills case was as important as the Kesavananda Bharati case. And fighting it was Nani Palkhivala, India’s foremost constitutional litigator.

Emergency-era censorship affected films so badly that even a spot of blood was cut out

Kishore Kumar's songs were taken off AIR. Stars such as Dev Anand were harassed. Even Raj Kapoor and Satyajit Ray were given advice on film-making.

On Camera

Every time the Congress thinks it has a ‘revolutionary’ idea, it shoots its own foot

From Sam Pitroda talking about inheritance tax to Goan candidate saying the Indian Constitution was 'forced' on Goa, Congress has been having its own foot-in-the-mouth moments.

Foreign policy resonating among more Indians in 2nd & 3rd tier towns of India, says EAM Jaishankar

Speaking at launch of economist Surjit Bhalla’s book, S Jaishankar also highlights Gen Z’s engagement with ‘reel culture’, which has 'promoted awareness, created interest in many subjects'.

Terror commander Masood Azhar resurfaces to launch celeb-style ‘ask me anything’ online service

The announcement, made by JeM’s Maktab-ul-Rabita, or office for communication, comes 2 yrs after Pakistani officials claimed the militant was living under Taliban protection.

These 6 states are key for Modi’s ‘400 paar’ target. They’re also where Opposition can stop him

While this contest looks so predictable in large swathes of our political landscape, it is also more keenly contested than 2019 in some states.