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Tuesday, August 12, 2025
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Book Excerpts

Harriet Brooks transformed nuclear physics. But Barnard College fired her for getting married

In 'Her Space, Her Time', award-winning quantum physicist Shohini Ghose delves into the stories of remarkable women who transformed science.

Romulus Whitaker’s colour blindness was an advantage. It helped him spot snakes easily

In ‘Snakes, Drugs And Rock ’N’ Roll’, Romulus Whitaker and his wife Janaki Lenin write about Whitaker’s childhood and his adventures before setting up the famed Chennai Snake Park.

One thing all education ministers under Nehru aimed to do—make Indians doubt ancient values

In 'Modian Consensus', Swadesh Singh talks about how the Nehruvian Consensus demolished the ideas of the Civilisational Consensus that had spiritualism at its core.

‘Bread, work, liberty’—when Chilean women sewed quilts with messages to oppose Gen Pinochet

In 'Audacious Hope', Indrajit Roy talks about how hope is expressed through ordinary people’s resistance in the face of brutal, unrelenting repression.

Sudha Murthy is a rebel disguised as a traditionalist

In 'An Uncommon Love', Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni tells the story of how Sudha and Narayana Murthy met and how their love changed each others lives.

Congress was once India’s Blackberry. And then both fell into an ‘overconfidence cycle’

In '2024', former Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha argues that India is in a state of free fall, raising urgent issues before the country goes to polls this year.

Aurangzeb razed Gyanvapi temple to save a Hindu rani—scholars made up tales to justify bigotry

In ‘Waiting for Shiva’, Vikram Sampath looks at the historical significance of Kashi for Hindus and the legal aspects of the ongoing case.

How the Malayali Gulf migrant became the ‘suffering rich’

In ‘The Gulf Migrant Archives in Kerala’, Mohamed Shafeeq Karinkurayil explores the rumours and stereotypes associated with Malayalis who work in the Gulf.

Aurangzeb tossed his sister’s suitor off Red Fort wall–no man could pursue Mughal princesses

Anisha Shekhar Mukherji's architectural biography 'The Red Fort of Shahjahanabad' offers a rich and engaging narrative of the iconic Fort.

The Chandayana – an epic Awadhi love story with many illustrated adaptations

Individual folios of Chandayana manuscripts are also part of public and private collections and institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum, New York, and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

On Camera

With nuke lunacy, Asim Munir joins Pakistan’s Hall of Generals who swapped brains for bluster

Munir indicates that he’s willing to go for broke, even if it risks taking his country “and half the world” down with him. It’s important to understand where he is coming from.

How mining, manufacturing & power sectors weighed on India’s industrial output since January 2024

India’s industrial output growth saw a 10-month low in June, with Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growing by mere 1.5% as against 1.9% in May 2025.

‘Next war may come sooner than expected, will require whole-of-nation approach’—Army chief

Gen Dwivedi framed Op Sindoor not just as retaliation to Pahalgam, but as demonstration of India’s capability to fight multi-domain conflicts with integration between services & agencies.

Modi’s ready to risk it all for farmers. Farm reform can answer Trump with new Green Revolution

Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.