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Book Excerpts

US didn’t give India its first computer due to Mahalanobis’ Soviet sympathy. Then ice thawed

In 'Planning Democracy', professor at the University of Notre Dame Nikhil Menon shows how P.C. Mahalanobis' Communist ties cost India's digital goals in the '50s.

How Bose and Gandhi helped Abhay De become Srisila Prabhupada, ISKCON founder

In the book ‘Sing, Dance and Pray’, author Hindol Sengupta talks about the life of Srisila Prabhupada, the founder of ISCKON.

India’s goal can’t be to become another China – it needs to work out its economy first

In ‘How China Sees India And The World’, Shyam Saran writes that the West and Japan recognise that India is the only country that has the civilizational heft, area, and skills to match China.

The ‘Maulvi’ Gandhi: Kasturba’s letter to India about her alcoholic son

In 'The Lost Diary of Kastur, My Ba', Tushar Gandhi brings to the reader Kasturba, in her own words, for the first time.

Less than 20% of students in India could access education in pandemic, learning suffered

In their book 'Covid 19 pandemic, Public Policy, and Institutions in India', Saswati Paik and Roshan M Samueltalk about the psycho-social effect of the pandemic on children.

‘Grow indigo in 3 kathas of each bigha’ – How the British forced Indians into debt, starvation

Indigo has made its mark in history as a colonial crop, but what makes this dye such an important agricultural and social symbol?

ECI founder Sukumar Sen was unsung hero of Indian democracy who could make Nehru wait

In 'Power of the Ballot', authors Anil and Vipul Maheshwari talk about the contribution of ECI founder Sukumar Sen to the idea of democracy in India.

‘Just kill 20,000 Bengalis’: Zulfikar Bhutto’s advice to Yahya Khan before 1971 war

In their book 'The Vortex', Scott Carney and Jason Miklian depict a real-life picture of circumstances that preceded the 1971 Bangladesh war.

Crushed into submission, Dalit identity seldom came to fore—but Valmiki changed the script

In Exploring the Margins: Caste, Class and Gender Identity, Suresh Kumar explores how Dalit writers enunciate their ‘self’— like Om Prakash Valmiki in Joothan.

Closeness to Indira Gandhi made bigwigs call RKD ‘Dhawan Saab’. He even made her offer namaz

In 'Leaders, Politicians, Citizens', journalist Rasheed Kidwai talks of the influence that R.K. Dhawan, a die-hard Nehru loyalist, had on Indira Gandhi.

On Camera

New labour codes are a simplification that’s been long overdue. Its a strategic shift

Imposition of formal rights and digital compliance mechanisms introduces new expectations for both employers and workers. This transition will require sustained awareness efforts.

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.

Tejas crash: Amid taunts from across border, a Pakistani pilot’s brother voices shared grief & solidarity

Speaking to ThePrint, Salman Akram urges dignity in tragedy, recalling the loss of his brother, Wing Commander Nauman Akram, in similar crash & the mockery his family faced after.

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.