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Monday, November 24, 2025
HomePageTurnerBook Excerpts

Book Excerpts

Andaman & Nicobar enhanced India’s role in Bay of Bengal. Open them up for US, Japan, France

In World Upside Down, Sujan Chinoy bears down on a key question – how is India recalibrating its strategic thinking to deal with a tumultuous world that often, and increasingly, appears untethered and upside down?

I told Rajiv Gandhi to visit Pakistan. It was like Prince Edward visiting France: Mani Shankar Aiyar

In 'Memoirs of a Maverick', Mani Shankar Aiyar writes about Rajiv Gandhi's 1988 visit to Pakistan, the first by an Indian PM in 28 years since Nehru went in 1960 for the Indus Water Treaty.

India doesn’t need to one-up enemies’ nuclear weapons. Its doctrine implies size doesn’t matter

In ‘Critical Mass’, R Rajaraman says India’s doctrine of Credible Minimum Deterrence shows matching the adversary’s arsenal shouldn't be the goal.

Buddhist viharas were sites of business. They weren’t just ‘monasteries’

In 'Tree & Serpent', John Guy traces the fascinating history of Buddhist art in India.

Creating a unified Sikh identity— why women have unisex names and the ‘Kaur’ surname

In ‘The Sikh Next Door’, Manpreet J Singh reframes the Sikhs, bending a few existing narratives and offering an impetus for a more nuanced understanding of the community.

A Moradabad-born hakim’s love for Sherlock Holmes and English gave birth to Urdu crime fiction

In 'Urdu Crime Fiction 1890–1950’, author CM Naim writes how Urdu readers in India were introduced to the adventurous tales of Sherlock Holmes by Muhammad Muhsin Faruqi.

Shaadi.com’s Angry Brides game has a modern, Durga-like woman battling India’s dowry problem

FirstCry, Paper Boat to Shaadi.Com, in ‘Booming Brands’, Harsh Pamnani traces the story of India’s 11 most successful startups.

Music & songs united Indians against ‘jalim’ British. Gandhi knew of this electric effect

In ‘Noncooperation in India’, David Hardiman recalls the history of India's non-violent resistance against the British Raj.

Mughal rulers didn’t make maps. British found this cartographic silence striking

In 'Empire Building', Rosie Llewellyn-Jones talks about traces the history of Indian cartography during the British years.

Tripura was almost part of Pakistan. Congress, Communists came together to stop this

In ‘Northeast India’, Samrat Choudhury chronicles the history of the region and how it became a part of the ‘imagined nation’ of India.

On Camera

DPDP Act will change how we interact with the internet. Get ready for the consent mails

India does not have a data protection regulator to make good on the DPDP Act’s promise and articulate clear future standards.

172 countries & counting, India looks to hit new record in rice exports. But there’s a flip side

The industry forecasts exports are set to grow 16% in 2025-26, boosted by surplus domestic production and a drive to push into 26 underserved global markets with strong potential.

US pilot says his team pulled out of Dubai Air Show after Tejas crash out of respect for IAF pilot

Taylor ‘Fema’ Hiester, commander of USAF F-16 Viper Demo Team, hit out at air show organisers for continuing with the show after Wing Commander Namansh Syal lost his life in the incident.

A tribute to Tejas. India’s delay culture is the real enemy in the skies

It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.