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Book Excerpts

What Manmohan Singh said about quitting after Rahul Gandhi’s Ordinance act: Montek Ahluwalia

Montek Singh Ahluwalia in his book 'Backstage' explains why Rahul Gandhi rubbishing the 2013 Ordinance revealed differences within Congress on tolerating graft.

Eyes moist, heavy voice: Atal Bihari Vajpayee was helpless after meeting 10 Kashmiri Pandits

Former IAS officer Jarnail Singh writes in his book 'With Four Prime Ministers' about the meeting former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had with Kashmiri Pandits.

Rajiv Gandhi had wanted to end impasse in Kashmir and saw Farooq Abdullah as its best bet

Rajiv and Farooq had virtually grown up together. Whenever the Nehru–Gandhi family was in Kashmir, the Abdullah family was always available to them.

That moment when I started questioning my support of PM Modi: Tavleen Singh

In her new book, Tavleen Singh writes about PM Modi's "disheartening response" to her questions during a private conversation when he was in his first term.

Dara Shikoh had a dream. And it was about Ram

This dream was prompted by something the prince had recently read. Its author was Dara Shukoh’s contemporary Shaikh Sufi, a mystic Mughal official.

How VSNL launched internet services in India in 1995 when even China hadn’t

India's 'Telecom Man' Brijendra K. Syngal, under whose guidance internet was introduced, recounts in a new book the pains VSNL went through to set up the system.

Rashpal Singh Chandra: Why Hindus of Punjab’s Katani Kalan village hailed this Sikh militant

The anti-Hindu and anti-Congress narrative do not completely define Punjab's militancy movement. This anecdote shows why the sage of militancy is layered.

China never had to learn English like India because its economy relied on manufacturing

Contrary to China, whose post-1993 growth acceleration was concentrated on the manufacturing sector, India’s growth was service driven.

I may be the only lady doing the skin-beating job: What mrdangam-maker Geetha told me

Mrdangam-making has always been a male-controlled territory. But Geetha has nailed, cleaned and dried skins for years, TM Krishna writes in his new book.

Hate is hot in India. Colder ideas like constitutional patriotism must work harder to win

Constitutional patriotism is a modern concept anchored in the idea of the nation-state. The problem is that it depends upon imaginings as fuzzy as nationalism itself.

On Camera

Who is an Indian woman? Laapataa Ladies Oscar entry shows she must be submissive too

The sweeping statements by Film Federation of India Oscar jury dismiss the urban Indian woman’s life, and struggles, as foreign.

10 yrs ago, battery leasing failed to boost demand for EV cars in India. Now, it’s making a comeback

Under this model, battery is provided to EV owners on a subscription basis or lease. With more people open to buying EV cars, the lower upfront cost could likely drive wider acceptance.

Morocco signs pact with Tata for joint manufacture of WhAP Infantry Fighting Vehicle

The armoured platform is India's first amphibious infantry combat wheeled vehicle. Last year, the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces had procured 90 military trucks from the Tata Group.

Islam doesn’t kill democracy. The army-Islam combo does

How come Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey and Sri Lanka remain constitutional, democratic and stable despite Islam and Buddhism respectively, but Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar don’t?