A leading scholar in Indian art history, Vidya Dehejia used evocative storytelling to delve into the rich legacy of Chola bronze sculptures at an event in Delhi.
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.
In Tamil Nadu, we have an extraordinary archive of over 13,000 stone inscriptions on temple walls, recording the taxation, sale, and cultivation of land.
Historian Chithra Madhavan is turning the spotlight on Tamil Nadu’s neglected ancient temples and their stories in a lecture series organised by Chennai-based Tattvaloka.
My one quarrel with Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan is that it emphasises on the war-mongering elements of Chola history not on their aesthetic, administrative achievements.
The Cholas are now Hindu nationalist heroes. And the BJP is keen to link itself with this image. But The resurgence of the Cholas in political memory is strange.
The NCERT was set up in the heyday of our Gosplan-inspired socialist Permit Raj. It chose to suppress the rich histories of the Cholas, Ellora, Elephanta, Kalachuris.
The ECI needs to respond to Rahul Gandhi’s accusations professionally and transparently. Else, it will end up giving him the ammunition he is desperately seeking.
India’s industrial output growth saw a 10-month low in June, with Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growing by mere 1.5% as against 1.9% in May 2025.
Gen Dwivedi framed Op Sindoor not just as retaliation to Pahalgam, but as demonstration of India’s capability to fight multi-domain conflicts with integration between services & agencies.
Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.
Thank you for this very informative piece. I am a Sri Lankan researcher, and much of the lack of modern scholarship you mention here, is same in Sri Lanka as well. There is lots more to be studied about our shared ‘medieval past’ (that is if ‘medieval’ is the right terminology). Sri Lankan scholars also unfortunately look only at the island, instead of a pan-southern Asian history. Here too there are references to ‘navies’ in the chronicles and historians take them at face value with the modern concept of Navy, thereby obscuring the real situation.
Thank you for this very informative piece. I am a Sri Lankan researcher, and much of the lack of modern scholarship you mention here, is same in Sri Lanka as well. There is lots more to be studied about our shared ‘medieval past’ (that is if ‘medieval’ is the right terminology). Sri Lankan scholars also unfortunately look only at the island, instead of a pan-southern Asian history. Here too there are references to ‘navies’ in the chronicles and historians take them at face value with the modern concept of Navy, thereby obscuring the real situation.