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Wednesday, September 2, 2026

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TopicThinking Medieval

Topic: Thinking Medieval

Gurukuls, Nalanda, madrasas: India’s ‘traditional’ education was never for everyone

India’s precolonial schools were more diverse than our traditional image suggests. Colonial rule helped turn the Brahmin teacher into the archetype of the Indian classroom.

Why India must return the British loot in its museums

After Indonesia’s ministerial request at Bhopal, it’s time for joint action to remedy regional histories shaped by colonial looting.

13,000 Bhogapuram dancers wasn’t a spectacle. That’s political power since ancient India

Jatakas tell us that Siddhartha Gautama had left behind 40,001 wives when he embarked in search of enlightenment. These were not meant to be taken literally, but rather to suggest the grandeur of legendary royal figures.

Dharna was sacred even in medieval India. BJP is following the path the British created

The Arthashastra of Chanakya—the coldest manual of statecraft the Sanskritic tradition ever produced—issues a warning that the BJP’s Chanakyas might wish to heed. 

NTR Jr movie row is about 2 ideas of Murugan—mascot of Hindutva mythos vs Tamil-only icon

Two nationalisms are shouting past each other. One would dissolve Murugan into a pan-Indian Hindutva spectacle, while the other would make him an icon to be guarded against the North.

Ayodhya isn’t new. Chola kings were probing temple scams a thousand years ago

Chola inscriptions record treasure stolen by temple priests, donations used for tax evasion, and land scams that bankrupted entire villages.

How a jobs crisis helped Tibet become the centre of the Buddhist world

Once in demand as far as Japan, over the course of the 10th and 11th centuries, Indian Buddhist translators found both international and domestic opportunities drying up.

India’s water future is being built on myths about its medieval past

Outside the Vijayanagara king Krishna Raya's new city of Nagalapur, Hospet, Paes counted 15,000 or 20,000 labourers, crowding “like ants, so that you could not see the ground on which they walked."

The Netherlands is confronting its colonial history. It’s time for India to do the same

The fact remains that the VOC did not introduce debt bondage or human trafficking to the Coromandel Coast. It expanded and exploited existing systems.

Leiden Plates returned by Netherlands aren’t for ASI storerooms. They belong at Nagapattinam

The past decade under the Modi government has seen a dangerous erosion of evidence-based histories in India, owing to an ongoing neglect of both public universities and museums.

On Camera

City, village, or something in between? India’s urban transition needs governance roadmap

Village and urban governance cannot operate as separate worlds when settlements themselves are moving between them. They need to talk to each other.

Ather Energy steers past Tesla and BYD as stock surges 130%

BlackRock Global Funds  have acquired less than 1% stake via open-market transactions in Ather while a Bloomberg EV index is down 1%, dragged by Tesla, BYD and Xiaomi.

4 Agniveers questioned after AK-203 assault rifles, pistols, ammo stolen from Madras Regiment armoury

Army informed police that around 1,800 rounds of ammunition and 21 magazines were missing from the high-security compound in Secunderabad.

Pakistan’s most embarrassing secret is internationalised. Now cricketing world is looking out for Imran

Given how arrogant and self-loving Imran is, he may not be capable of introspection even in the isolation of Adiala jail. The harsh truth is, he played the same game when it suited him.