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Wednesday, November 19, 2025
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Book Excerpts

For RSS, Hindu ideal is Shiv-Parvati marriage with man-woman on equal footing

Families are not meant to stay in isolation. They should maintain harmonious relations with relatives, neighbours and the community.

When Mahatma Gandhi washed Kasturba’s soiled petticoat

Between 1943 and 1948, Gandhi’s grand-niece Manu kept a diary, writing about every small thing that happened during her stay with him and Kasturba.

Asked Gujral, Kalyan Singh. Finally Sonia got women equal rights to agri land: Ex-IAS officer 

Former PM IK Gujral was shocked when I told him about plan to make women landowners. Being a Punjab MP, he didn't want to annoy the patriarchal Jats.

The British were so impressed by Indian WWI aviators that they gave India its own Air Force  

More than a million Indians served in WWI. Among them, dapper in RFC uniforms, was a tiny number of Indians who served in the flying corps.

How elite medieval Rajputs ignored Hindu laws to practice polygamy

Rawal Bapa married 140 women and Raja Udai Singh of Marwar married 27. Marriage for the Rajputs was about producing male heirs and consolidating state power.

How a chemist burnt his hand and gave birth to aromatherapy

The lavender oil that healed Rene Gattefosse’s burnt hand encouraged him to experiment more with essential oils. In 1928, the chemist coined the term ‘aromatherapie’.

When Indian Navy helped catch Japan’s stolen ship – and what Vajpayee did

Operation Alondra Rainbow began as a routine interception at sea but within a few hours the situation had acquired serious international implications.

How a Newton-apple moment in South Africa led Ashish Hemrajani to start BookMyShow

In the pre-smartphone era, BookMyShow's work involved physical delivery of tickets and COD. It was a logistical nightmare.

When Shiv Sena ministers were told to remove Raj Thackeray’s photos from their cabins

During the 1995 campaign, the Shiv Sena cadre would ask for Raj wherever ‘Balasaheb’ could not go.

Want to make office meetings worthwhile? Have an agenda beforehand

Office meetings must have agendas & not be a forum for organisers to hear themselves think.

On Camera

India has to move on now. Engage with ‘Nooton Bangladesh’

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has, in a sense, tasted her own medicine. The International Crimes Tribunal, the special court she instituted for...

The day Dharmendra ‘died’

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.