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Saturday, July 12, 2025
TopicMedieval India

Topic: Medieval India

Cholas and Chaulukyas understood tariffs and taxes better than Trump does

In the 11th century, Chola emperor Kulottunga I abolished all commercial tolls. His policies improved the circulation of commodities, leading to a minor boom in manufacturing centres.

Olympics of medieval India were grisly, wacky, & thrilling. Elephant racing, polo, wrestling

Sports in medieval India were primarily conducted for royal entertainment. The prizes were dazzling, but some sports could end in death.

Gyan Chaupar—the spiritual ancestor of Snakes and Ladders

The medieval game was meant to educate players on which traits and practices were morally desirable and what consequences lay in store for negative habits.

Yoga, Sanskrit inspired Sufi epics—Chakras became ‘mystical stations’, gods turned ‘angels’

Maulana Daud’s ‘Chandayan’ originated in a cultural context we can think of as Hindu, above which Sufism had become a major strand of elite devotion.

Chola kings divided people into 2 caste groups—to pit them against each other and exploit

In 'Caste Away', NA Vanamamalai talks about inscriptions from the time of Chola dynasty that reveal caste politics in medieval Tamil Nadu.

Vijayanagara was the Indian Renaissance State. It contains memories of older empires

Just like Europe’s neoclassical monuments, Vijayanagara’s temples reformulated memories of the older Chola and Chalukya empires.

Sanskrit texts show Medieval Indians loved foreign goods, luxury. Not just temples

This flies in the face of all ideas that medieval South Asians were somehow insular or uninterested in the rest of the globe.

There’s more to Assam than Ahoms. Ancient Kamarupa, Bengal challenge assumptions

The Mughal-Ahom wars were really the culmination of 1,000 years of geopolitical rivalry.

Raising taxes was Palas’ biggest mistake—it killed 2 kings, ended their 300-yr-rule in Bengal

The Kaivartas survive today as a faint reminder: the medieval world was not a utopia, nor was it one of complete and benevolent royal domination.

Medieval Indian engineers in the 7th century built robots. Powered by water and clockwork

Using hydraulics and clockwork, engineers could make wondrous devices that are now lost. These were more credible than claims about pre-modern Indian technology such as UFOs and genetic engineering.

On Camera

Private enterprise didn’t fail in India. JN Tata’s steel dream soared despite British ridicule

‘Nationalisation of the Imperial Bank and recently nationalisation of life insurance have dealt further blows to Private Enterprise and made capital more and more shy', wrote AD Shroff in his 1956 essay.

India-US trade talks in final stages, withdrawn NITI Aayog paper shifts focus to GM soybean, corn

Working paper invited backlash from several farmers’ groups including BKU & BKS who opposed recommendation for import of genetically modified soybean & corn for oil extraction.

‘Show me one photo of any damage in India’—NSA Ajit Doval dares foreign media on Op Sindoor

Doval pushes back against foreign media narratives that suggested Pakistan inflicted damage on India, hails armed forces for precision of strikes, effectiveness of indigenous weapons.

RSS chief Bhagwat draws the line at 75. India’s politics stares at the Modi Exception

BJP has no dynastic succession, at least not at the top. You can trace this back to Vajpayee-Advani era. This act of spotting, empowering younger talent is even more striking with the choice of BJP presidents.