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Sunday, July 27, 2025
TopicThinking Medieval

Topic: Thinking Medieval

Rise and fall of Indian Buddhism was a stranger, more exciting process than we know

Andhra was once as foreign to Buddhism as China was. Its conversion to the religion took many innovations, including worship of the dead.

Turks weren’t barbarians. They appreciated Hindu temple architecture

The Ghaznavids and Ghorids were not the medieval equivalents of ISIS fundamentalists, as we might like to believe.

Srimad Muhammad Ghori: orthodox maniac in West Asia, promoter of Sanskrit, Lakshmi coins in east

Govindaraja, son of Muhammad Ghori’s rival Prithviraj Chauhan, was appointed as the ruler of Ajmer. He accepted robes of honour from Ghori and sent him golden statues as tribute.

Muslim Coins with Shiva’s bull: The strange world of the Hindu Turk Shahs

Seismic shifts in Afghanistan poised Northern India for even stranger interactions in the 12th century: Kashmiri kings with Turkish wives and Turkish maharajadhirajas.

Mahmud of Ghazni had Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka soldiers. History is not as simple as you think

Muhammad Ghori had Lakshmi coins, Ghazni’s robes were worn by a Khajurao king. Don’t view history through ‘Hindu king vs Muslim invader’ lens.

How Cholas, Mings dominated Indian Ocean before INS Vikrant

The idea of dominating the Indian Ocean is not new. Naval interactions between South India and Sri Lanka date back to the 11th century.

Mongols speaking Malayalam – What a sunken ship says about South India & China’s medieval ties

The silent ceramic objects that survive from medieval Indian Ocean trade carry incredible stories of a time when South Asia had the upper hand over China.

India’s Hindu preachers — How Shaiva monks converted Cambodia

Contrary to what we may think, Cambodia became Shaivite through active conversion by Hindus monks, market forces, and selectivity engaging with ‘Indian’ ideas.

Chola period wasn’t golden age of Tamils. Modern obsession with their glory is misplaced

Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan is another attempt to reclaim the medieval Chola dynasty as icons of muscular nationalism.

‘Historic hurt’ is a modern phrase. Muslims were integral to South Indian gods

The legends of Vavar and other South Indian gods venerated by both Hindus and Muslims show that the Deccan's religious history in the region is far more complex.

On Camera

Maharashtra’s language war reaches West Bengal. Actor Prosenjit Chatterjee is the first victim

While the language war in other states is targeting those who can't speak the local language, in Bengal, even those whose mother tongue is Bengali have to constantly prove their Bengali-ness.

India-US set to ink mini trade deal soon, reach understanding on agricultural & dairy products

Mini deal will likely see no cut in 10% baseline tariff on Indian exports announced by Trump on 2 April, it is learnt, but additional 26% tariffs are set to be reduced.

DRDO successfully tests latest version of UAV-launched precision missile, ULPGM-V3

Capable of being fired in plain and high-altitude areas, it has day-and-night capability and two-way data link to support post-launch target, aim-point update.

Modi’s Bharat vs Indira’s India: 11-yr report card of politics, diplomacy, economy, nationalism

As Narendra Modi becomes India’s second-longest consecutively serving Prime Minister, we look at how he compares with Indira Gandhi across four key dimensions.