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Thursday, April 25, 2024
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Book Excerpts

Intelligence Bureau could’ve saved Babri Masjid by alerting PM Rao to demolition conspiracy

Madhav Godbole, who was Union home secretary at the time, writes how Intelligence Bureau paid little attention to Hindu organisations’ activities till then.

How an Apple Mac from Dhaka changed militant group ULFA’s ‘publicity wing’

As a journalist reporting from a conflict zone, I am always intrigued by the publicity wing of the militant outfits.

How I led the team that carried out India’s first hand transplant

When we began the procedure, the atmosphere in the OT was electrifying. The surgery would take at least 14 to 16 hours and for many of us, without a rest.

At 17, I was drawn to two older girls. Didn’t know the term lesbian existed

A year after Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality, here’s an excerpt from the book where lesbians found their voice for the first time.

When Jawaharlal Nehru was charged with sedition, not once but twice

Jawaharlal Nehru admitted having attempted to put an end to British rule in India and therefore being guilty of sedition.

Shashi Tharoor: I am a proud Hindu because my religion doesn’t claim to be the only true path

Unlike Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, Hinduism asserts that all ways of belief are equally valid.

Nehru was pursuing a Kashmir solution with Pakistani support, but Cold War came in the way

Nehru's plan would have solidified status quo, allowing Pakistan to incorporate portion of Kashmir under its control, and India to do the same.

Anupam Kher says he was in demand from day one. A British nurse wanted to adopt him at birth

'My cherubic features, Kashmiri skin, angelic smile evidently not only charmed my mother, but also enchanted the attending nurse.'

In IAS training academy, women civil servants are seen by male colleagues as husband-hunters

Women IAS officers were seen as seeking spouses among their own kind, because no one would marry them now that they were in the IAS.

Bimal Jalan recommends these steps for RBI’s future and Indian economy

Not just financial reform and market development, India must also pay attention to fiscal empowerment of state and improvement in public administration.

On Camera

Imtiaz Ali obsesses over vulgarity, misses Chamkila’s cultural resistance against purity

Peter Manuel's ‘Cassette Culture’ showed the booming Bhakti music during the '80s and '90s when Anoop Jalota, Gulshan Kumar achieved success by singing the sanitised Bhajans.

Economists vs statisticians — the battle being fought over the soul of India’s GDP data

Economists say there are weaknesses in India’s GDP data. But statisticians claim the accusations are based on flawed understanding, saying while GDP has problems, the economists are looking in the wrong places.

India and Japan hold 10th round of consultations on disarmament, non-proliferation, and export control

The two sides also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in outer space security, conventional weapons, and export control

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.