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Tuesday, August 12, 2025
TopicThinking Medieval

Topic: Thinking Medieval

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.

Shaivites wiped out Jain influence in medieval Karnataka—200 years before Delhi Sultans

The Republic of India’s understanding of religious policy should not be based only on this or that North Indian Sultan, but on a sober understanding of the dynamics of majority and minority communities throughout time.

Indians ruled Gulf through Hormuz. They paid to ban public cow slaughter, built temples

About a third of all homes in Bandar Abbas belonged to Indians. There was a large temple, and Hindu processions were allowed; the Banias also paid the Persian authorities to ban public cow slaughter.

The history of Indian caste censuses is the history of Indian statecraft

By the 18th century, Maratha dominions and other Indian states had developed fairly detailed caste enumerations, used to regulate hierarchies and impose differential taxation and privileges.

Dogs were adored in medieval India. They saved cows from asuras, fought boars & tigers

When Alexander arrived in the Indus Valley in 326 BCE, a local Indian tribe entertained him by setting their mastiffs loose on lions.

Which is the oldest Dravidian language—Kannada or Tamil? Listen to scientists, not celebrities

Multiple lines of evidence show Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic and Indo-Aryan speakers migrated at various points all across the subcontinent. Prehistoric Indian languages were as diverse as today’s.

Sanskrit didn’t always drive innovation in ancient India. There are two reasons

Sanskrit was seen as the language of divinity, thus the main current of Sanskrit knowledge tended to be conservative, resistant to new developments.

Who is the real Vikramaditya? Behind myth & legend is the story of a successful Gupta king

Buddhist legends, Jain stories, Shaivite rituals—everyone wanted a piece of the mythical king Vikramaditya.

Medieval Kashmir was confidently multicultural. And dazzled the world with art and ideas

Kashmiri art once outshone China, and its poets were sought after as far south as the Deccan — to say nothing of the vast reach of its textiles.

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.

On Camera

The speech PM Modi should deliver this Independence Day

For the last 11 years, Nehru has been constantly blocking my efforts and causing the fiascos that are my many yojanas and abhiyans. He is the reason most of my initiatives turn into disasters.

How mining, manufacturing & power sectors weighed on India’s industrial output since January 2024

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.

Can’t restrict ‘extent of induction’—why SC struck down gender quotas in Army’s JAG recruitment

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that the Indian Army cannot cap the number of women in its Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch...

Modi’s ready to risk it all for farmers. Farm reform can answer Trump with new Green Revolution

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.