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Friday, November 1, 2024
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Book Excerpts

Aurangzeb almost drank wine to prove his love for a courtesan

In ‘The World: A Family History’, British historian Simon Sebag Montefiore tells the story of humanity through the one thing we all have in common: families.

The idea of Dandakaranya as a breeding zone of Maoists took birth at a dinner table

The thirst for land among landless peasants and tribals was at its peak in Andhra Pradesh. It was Indira Gandhi, say veteran Maoist idealogues, who created the thirst.

A Mumbai trip changed Ram Gidoomal’s life, an Indian from a family of silk traders

In 'My Silk Road – The Adventures and Struggles of a British Asian Refugee’, Ram Gidoomal tells story of coming full circle to succeed in ways beyond his imagination.

Nehru read Ramayana every morning for pure joy. He also turned to religion in his old-age

In 'Nehru's India', Nayantara Sahgal presents a collection of essays written about the former Prime Minister of India, personality and his legacy.

Is your manager micromanaging? Then, agile corporate leadership will fail

An agile leader believes that solutions evolve on a real-time basis and that the solutions of the past may not be the solutions of today as they need to change along with the times.

How Chandra Shekhar govt and RBI hatched a plan to pledge India’s gold in 1991

In 'Forks in the Road: My Days at RBI', former governor C. Rangarajan gives a first-person account of India's economic crisis and history.

How Dalit leaders created rift between Ambedkar’s savarna wife and son after he died

In 'Babasaheb', Savita Ambedkar gives a detailed account of her marriage with B.R. Ambedkar and Dalits politics after he died.

This mantra from Rig Veda is what modern physics compares to Big Bang Theory

In 'The Essentials of Hinduism', Trilochan Sastry gives a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of some of the most important Hindu texts.

Gandhara, the ancient kingdom that gave world its first Buddha sculptures

The anthropomorphised Buddha made way for narrative reliefs depicting his life, replete with iconography borrowed from Graeco-Roman and subcontinental cultures.

China to Bangladesh, river-sharing pacts can be new CBMs, resolve other contentious issues

Scarce environmental resources are already a major source of domestic and international conflict, and all evidence indicates that this will only increase.

On Camera

Iran’s real fantasy is to take over Muslim world. Palestine is just a façade

Since 1979, Iran has used the Palestinian issue as a façade for its regional agenda to oppose American diplomacy, the Western world, and the existence of Israel.

Watch CutTheClutter: Flattening INR-USD rate, and debate on pros and cons of a ‘strong’ rupee

In Episode 1544 of CutTheClutter, Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta looks at some top economists pointing to the pitfalls of ‘currency nationalism’ with data from 1991 to 2004.

All about Major Bob Khathing, whose daring expedition & diplomatic parleys secured Tawang for India

The decorated Naga officer from Manipur also served as envoy to Myanmar & Nagaland chief secy. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a museum dedicated to the Tawang hero Thursday.

From 2004 to 2024, bad news has come wrapped as good news for Congress

Congress is silently acknowledging it over-read verdict of last general election. You can see it in easy concession to SP. It will likely be more reasonable in Maharashtra & Jharkhand.