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Tuesday, April 28, 2026
TopicMedieval India

Topic: Medieval India

The story of India’s forgotten Afghans — horse-traders, mercenaries, kings

The relationship between Afghanistan and the Indian subcontinent was built over five centuries by people who were entrepreneurial, mobile, literate, and commercially connected.

Corruption was widely documented in medieval India. Spies kept an eye on kings, bureaucracy

From the inception of Indian statecraft, political theorists were aware of the dangers of corruption. Arthashastra recommends that all senior officials be tested by secret agents.

Aurangzeb’s redemption is built on a scholarly empire of shaky citations

The considerable weight of claims about Aurangzeb’s religious tolerance rest heavily on one obscure scholar's writings. We know him merely as 'Jnan Chandra, Bombay.'

What a Tamil town tells us about votes, caste, and fraud in medieval India

Nepotism seems to have been a concern in Uttaramerur elections. That's why the drawing of ballots was done by a child and executives' relatives were banned from being elected.

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.

On Camera

Buddha comes home to Ladakh exposition: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

The Government of India recognises Ladakh as one of the most important living centres of Buddhist culture in the world. We are committed to safeguarding its unique cultural traditions.

Lesson for India from the West: AI is hollowing out white-collar jobs & birthing a new middle-class elite

Post-2022 as AI has spread in developed economies, it is leading to another round of polarisation—the middle class jobs are being lost in offices rather than in factories.

Fourth S-400 sets sail for India, to arrive by mid-May; likely to be deployed along Pakistan border

The fifth S-400 air defence system is undergoing various stages of production trials, and will be delivered by November-December this year, it is learnt.

Trump, Netanyahu’s Iran gamble: The regime change rebound

American objectives are unmet. They neither have muscle nor motivation to resume the war. As for Iran, the regime didn’t just survive, it’s now led by more radical individuals.