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Wednesday, November 5, 2025
TopicThinking Medieval

Topic: Thinking Medieval

How Rajaraja Chola became the world’s richest king

Rajaraja alone gifted 38,604 gold coins. This was more than what most European courts at the time could muster.

Brahmins, Mughal yogis, British propaganda–How Kumbh Mela became world’s greatest gathering

Historical documents suggest the Kumbh Mela is only 150 years old, but it stands as a testament to Hinduism’s amazing ability to reinvent itself under changing regimes.

A Sanskrit Bible story was written in Ayodhya. The patron was a Lodi, the poet a Kshatriya

Sanskrit poetry did not simply disappear under Sultanate rule: it continued to evolve, and was enriched by contact with Persian and Arabic literature and stories, both Christian and Muslim.

Ajmer Dargah survey isn’t about righting historic wrongs. It’s an assault on Indian history

There is nothing a premodern Muslim ruler, teacher, or devotee could ever do to be accepted as Indian by the far Right—even if premodern Hindus accepted or even worshipped them.

Hindus didn’t drive missionaries away in Jharkhand. Adivasis held their own, whoever the coloniser

From the British perspective, Adivasi hostility to the colonial state was simply ethnic hostility from the savage against the civilised. Nothing could be further from the truth

What Arthashastra tells us about strongmen rulers and autocracies in ancient India

Americans might be puzzled as to why an autocratic strongman holds such appeal with voters. But it’s a story India has seen a thousand times in our ancient politics.

How did Durga’s popularity survive Mughal & colonial rule? Bengali zamindars made it happen

Since Durga could no longer be the premier royal war-goddess in a Sultanate-dominated world, Sanskrit texts from the 15th century stopped asking her for military success.

Port Blair’s new name ‘Sri Vijaya Puram’ isn’t historical or decolonial. It’s politics

Srivijaya today is one of Southeast Asia’s most puzzling polities. It made temple gifts from Thailand to Bengal and Tamil Nadu. And many of its remains have disappeared into private collections.

Tirupati god was originally offered pongal. North Indian pilgrims brought laddus

Tirumala was once a minor shrine with only local devotees. It grew as an investment destination for Vijayanagara elites in the 16th century.

Torture, death, fines — how Arthashastra guided ancient kings on addressing crime & dissent

Ancient and medieval Indian theorists had a grim view of justice. Arthashastra insisted on harsh punishments—but also restrained state power in surprisingly moral ways.

On Camera

Pakistan can’t bomb or bargain its way out of the TTP-TLP mess

Among the many problems Pakistan is currently dealing with, the TLP and TTP offer two varying dimensions of the same one.

Kerala’s silent startup surge—work near home, smooth roads, fast internet & diaspora engagement

Once seen as a fading presence on India’s investment & startup picture, the state is slowly moving up the ladder, with policy reforms & infrastructure building.

India & Israel ink agreement to share, co-develop & co-produce advanced defence tech

Agreement signed during 17th Joint Working Group (JWG) on defence cooperation. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh met Director General in Israeli Ministry of Defence Amir Baram Tuesday. 

Trump’s trade wars have rewritten powerplay, but India didn’t get the memo

This world is being restructured and redrawn by one man, and what’s his power? It’s not his formidable military. It’s trade. With China, it turned on him.