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Friday, January 9, 2026
TopicChola empire

Topic: Chola empire

Inside the real world of Cholas, at Jindal Lit Fest. Power tussles, temple politics, rats on royal menu

Historian Anirudh Kanisetti delves into the history of the Chola dynasty. Medieval empires were dynamic and complex, unlike the fixed borders we imagine today, he says.

Did the Cholas really have a navy?

Much of what we know about the Cholas depends almost entirely on inscriptions—an approach that lags decades behind global academic standards.

What connects Raja Raja Chola, Ramana Maharshi, and Hindu temples of North America

For someone who once wanted nothing to do with his hoary lineage, architect V Ganapati Sthapati brought about a veritable renaissance in temple architecture before his death in 2011.

Do Chola kings represent a culturally united Hindu India? It’s a modern fantasy

Rather than encourage a deeper understanding of regional histories, we are instead forcing a remarkable medieval society into today’s culture wars.

Modi announces statues of Chola kings as BJP takes Shaivite route to cracking Tamil Nadu puzzle

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Tamil Nadu's Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and participated in the Aadi Thiruvathirai Festival.

A Chola queen shaped Hinduism like no one else. Yet you haven’t heard of her

Sembiyan Mahadevi, a 10th-century Chola queen, reshaped Hinduism through temple patronage and art. Her vision turned Nataraja into the most iconic symbol of Shiva.

How tax evasion destroyed the great Chola Empire, explains Anirudh Kanisetti

Historian Anirudh Kanisetti’s new book, Lords of Earth and Sea: A History of the Chola Empire, is filled with revelations about the southern kings— like the fact that queens were often a power centre behind the throne.

How Rajaraja Chola became the world’s richest king

Rajaraja alone gifted 38,604 gold coins. This was more than what most European courts at the time could muster.

Tamil Nadu to set up its 1st Buddhist museum in Nagapattinam, where the religion thrived under Cholas

The museum aims to reclaim 350 Buddha bronzes excavated from Nagapattinam, now dispersed across museums in India and abroad, with some untraceable.

This is how Gupta and Chola empires fell—climate catastrophe, pandemic, migration

Indians created fragile systems that collapsed under environmental pressure. The best example of this is the Indus Valley Civilisation.

On Camera

Why Pinarayi Vijayan is going soft on an Ezhava leader’s anti-Muslim hate speech

Pinarayi Vijayan once called Vellappally Natesan, the general secretary of SNDP Yogam, Kerala’s Pravin Togadia. Now he is giving his hate speech a free pass.

500% tariffs ahead for India? Trump’s lined up a big bad Bill for countries buying Russian oil

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham says bill will be 'well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent'.

2025: Pakistan’s deadliest year in over a decade

Islamabad-based think-tank PICSS's new report says Pakistan saw 'pronounced escalation' in violence last year, with 3,413 conflict-related deaths compared to 1,950 in previous year.

A year-end Mea Culpa in National Interest—The Army-Islam combo doesn’t kill democracy

Many of you might think I got something so wrong in National Interest pieces written this year. I might disagree! But some deserve a Mea Culpa. I’d deal with the most recent this week.