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Wednesday, November 26, 2025
TopicThinking Medieval

Topic: Thinking Medieval

Was sati a British myth about India? Medieval memorial stones hold the truth

After Amish Tripathi and Bhavish Aggarwal questioned the reality of sati, liberals are claiming that the ritual was endemic to Hindu society. Neither have it completely right.

A Chola queen shaped Hinduism like no one else. Yet you haven’t heard of her

Sembiyan Mahadevi, a 10th-century Chola queen, reshaped Hinduism through temple patronage and art. Her vision turned Nataraja into the most iconic symbol of Shiva.

It was a Tamil merchant guild that helped Rajendra Chola become a global conqueror

As much as kings, Tamil merchants are the unsung heroes of medieval India’s global footprint. Sometimes, cultural diasporas can achieve as much, if not more, than an armed force.

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Historical documents suggest the Kumbh Mela is only 150 years old, but it stands as a testament to Hinduism’s amazing ability to reinvent itself under changing regimes.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

On Camera

Rajnath Singh is discovering India-Pakistan civilisational ties

Even as India, Pakistan have seemed on the edge of war, their intelligence services have often sought to find space to de-escalate tensions and reduce risks for the two countries.

Chhattisgarh pitches state as hub for ‘specialty steel’, nets investment plans of Rs 6,321 crore

Speaking at 2nd Investor Connect, CM Vishnu Deo Sai says 'we have been able to attract a lot of investors.' The focus of the event was the steel sector. 

General secrets from frozen peaks: A Kargil veteran reveals what politically correct writers left out

At the Jindal Literature Festival, Maj Gen (Retd) Lakhwinder Singh reveals secrets from 25 years ago, speaking about the decision that outwitted Musharraf and changed the course of the war. 

A tribute to Tejas. India’s delay culture is the real enemy in the skies

It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.