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Wednesday, July 23, 2025
TopicAncient India

Topic: ancient India

Ancient India’s ideas travelled across cosmopolitan Asia. Manuscripts exhibition shows

The exhibition by SAMHiTA is part of the IIC’s ongoing annual festival. It reveals how Indian narratives have influenced cultures across Asia.

Brahmins didn’t always wear the sacred thread. They adopted it at the start of the Common Era

When we scratch below the surface, many so-called immemorial or even eternal ideas, customs, and institutions are found to have historical origins in defined times and spaces.

Lothal was a complex urban centre with maritime connections. It had a dockyard too

Archaeologist SR Rao used compelling evidence to identify a baked-brick rectangular structure as a dockyard in Lothal, but many scholars have expressed scepticism about this claim.

Oral traditions are fading—Nirmala Sitharaman gives an important reminder at book launch

The authors of ‘Life, Death and Ashtavakra Gita', Bibek Debroy and Hindol Sengupta, shared their struggles, loss, and the quest to understand death through the Ashtavakra Gita.

Ceramics are the alphabet of archaeology. India’s pottery traditions must be protected

The number of potters in India is declining. We must recognise their contribution to society and protect them, if only from an archaeologist’s point of view.

Sattva, rajas, tamas—How ancient Ayurvedic food classifications got tied to meat politics

The meanings of terms like sattvic and tamasic shifted over time, said JNU professor R Mahalakshmi during a talk at Delhi’s IIC. ‘We are not just looking at food but also at eaters.’

Harappans’ contribution to ancient Indian knowledge is either diluted or exaggerated

Professor Vasant Shinde said at least four phases of excavations at sites such as Rakhigarhi and Dholavira have revealed that Harappans “taught the whole world how to live in cities”.

How did ancient Indians, Africans, Greeks understand science? Panch tatva, God, myth

At the launch of his book 'Mythakon se Vigyan Tak', Gauhar Raza spoke about the development of science, scientific consciousness, and myths across ancient civilisations.

Torture, death, fines — how Arthashastra guided ancient kings on addressing crime & dissent

Ancient and medieval Indian theorists had a grim view of justice. Arthashastra insisted on harsh punishments—but also restrained state power in surprisingly moral ways.

Ancient Indian medical system had an image crisis. A new name fixed it

Ayurvedic texts have evidence that the leaders of the medical profession were trying to clean up their image and get rid of the charlatans among them.

On Camera

Bihar mimics 19th-century American South. Citizenship is now weaponised to exclude voters

Disenfranchisement by institutional fiat is profoundly undemocratic. The effect of the ECI's new documentary process in Bihar will tilt the scales in favour of the BJP.

India-US set to ink mini trade deal soon, reach understanding on agricultural & dairy products

Mini deal will likely see no cut in 10% baseline tariff on Indian exports announced by Trump on 2 April, it is learnt, but additional 26% tariffs are set to be reduced.

Not just AK-203, India & Russia to jointly manufacture AK-19 and PPK-20 for domestic use and export 

India-Russia JV is also racing to deliver 7,000 more AK-203 assault rifles by 15 Aug. These are currently being made with 50% indigenisation and this will surge to 100% by 31 December.

Strategic partner one day, tactical nightmare the next: India’s learning Trumplomacy the hard way

Public, loud, upfront, filled with impropriety and high praise sometimes laced with insults. This is what we call Trumplomacy. But the larger objective is the same: American supremacy.