October 15, 1982, Forty Years Ago: Bengal Famine
West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu has asked central leaders to allow his government to purchase foodgrain from other states to stave off near-famine conditions arising from a calamitous drought. West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu has asked central leaders to allow his government to purchase foodgrain from other states to stave off near-famine conditions […]Read More
Kohinoor, the ‘Stolen’ Diamond’s Travel History
The ascent of Charles III to the British throne last week has, once again, rekindled demands for the return of the fabled ‘mountain of light’ diamond to India, over 175 years after it was obtained by the English. The ascent of Charles III to the British throne last week has, once again, rekindled demands on social media, […]Read More
Bhagavad Gita in Schools: Rote Learning of Illiberal Theological Text Will Trump Rational Inquiry
The book is full of obscurantist themes and ideas which require critical engagement of the kind school teachers will not be willing or able to provide. Earlier this week, the Gujarat government announced that the Bhagavad Gita will be part of the school syllabus for classes VI to XII across the state from the academic year 2022-23. The Karnataka […]Read More
Alexander and Chandragupta Maurya: a short history of war, empire, and greatness
The use of the suffix ‘great’ has become less common in modern history-writing however, as historians have moved their focus away from the political triumphs of individual rulers to the society, economy, art and architecture of their times. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday (November 14) said that Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the […]Read More
