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Thursday, October 16, 2025
TopicThinking Medieval

Topic: Thinking Medieval

Fatehpur Sikri was extraordinarily well-provided with water. Lessons for modern India

How three of the most important medieval metropolises—Vijayanagara, Bijapur, and Fatehpur Sikri—managed the challenges of inclement weather.

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.

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.

On Camera

TV news isn’t telling which way Bihar Assembly election will go — only who is unhappy

If it’s 'Mahagathbandhan mein Mahabharat’ for the opposition RJD-Congress, it’s ‘NDA mein Dangal' for the ruling BJP-JDU coalition.

Why MSME reps are resisting govt QCOs, calling them ‘protectionist’ rather than quality control tool

Quality Control Orders (QCOs), governed by Bureau of Indian Standards, are meant to enhance quality of domestic products and restrict substandard imports.

Amit Shah announces 7th NSG hub in Ayodhya, near Ram temple, to ensure troops available 24×7

On NSG raising day, Home Minister also opens Special Operation Training Centre at NSG facility in Manesar. Besides NSG troops, it will also train state police forces.

CJI, IPS, IAS & Homebound: A wake-up call 75 years in the making

Education, reservations, govt jobs are meant to bring equality and dignity. That we are a long way from that is evident in the shoe thrown at the CJI and the suicide of Haryana IPS officer. The film Homebound has a lesson too.