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Thursday, November 20, 2025
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Book Excerpts

For India’s revolutionaries in freedom struggle, gyms & akharas were a cover for politics

The Jugantar movement started by Sri Aurobindo Ghosh used the guise of a fitness club to take in young teenagers and turn them into revolutionaries.

OYO was the big disruptor in India’s hotel industry, forcing even Tata to take note

OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal was just 18 when he came up with the idea. Within just a few years, OYO surpassed the valuation of India’s oldest hotel company.

Not just by modern-day yoga fans, Patanjali was misunderstood even in history

In his new book, Alistair Shearer traces the origins of Maharishi Patanjali's 'Yoga Sutra' and writes why modern postural yoga is missing the big point.

Odisha’s Jagannath temple was at the centre of British govt decision to go secular in India

It was not the 1857 Mutiny that set British India on a course towards secularism, but an 1833 letter of instructions from Court of Directors.

How Subedar of Bengal, Bihar & Odisha enlisted East India Company’s help to keep out Germans

As far as the Germans were concerned, they were simply not welcome in Bengal. The EIC did everything to discourage their attempts to trade.

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.

On Camera

Temba Bavuma’s racial humiliation at Eden Gardens stains India’s anti-apartheid legacy

Temba Bavuma highlighted the irony of facing racism in India, a brown-skinned nation that had stood firmly against apartheid. If there was ever a figurative slap in the face, this was it.

At Charcha 2025: Local entrepreneurship, not just big IT, will drive next wave of distributed AI work

While global corporations setting up GCCs in India continue to express confidence in availability of skilled AI engineers, the panel argued that India’s real challenge lies elsewhere.

Drone manufacturer ideaForge wins orders worth over Rs 100 crore from Army

ideaForge has formed a joint venture to manufacture and market UAVs in the US. Its Q6 UAV is now included in NATO and allied procurement systems.

INDIA has a Congress-sized hole. And the fix begins with a little humility

Without a Congress revival, there can be no challenge to the BJP pan-nationally. Modi’s party is growing, and almost entirely at the cost of the Congress.