Indian sepoys who left their homes and crossed oceans to witness a world being conquered and exploited by the British, sought to understand, interpret, and even profit from it all.
Sources on the Guptas—and their Central Asian rivals & successors—show that ancient India’s most ostensibly ‘indigenous’ rulers had more complex identities than we think.
The Pallava dynasty was turning toward Shaivism. Buddhists took immediate note and strung up a narrative where Shiva is immature and Trailokyavijaya emerges supreme.
In Tibet and China, he would take on altogether darker tantric forms, whereas in Japan, he evolved into a unique ‘twin’ form with a male and female aspect.
In 2024-25, India exported $387.54 bn worth of services, against imports of $198.14 bn, earning all-time high surplus of $189.40 bn. This offset 2/3rd of goods trade deficit.
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.
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