History Of India

BS Yediyurappa's plan to erase Tipu Sultan from textbooks in Karnataka smacks of brazen belief to alter history when expedient

If Tipu’s legacy has been to create a deeply divisive people, erasing his name won’t solve the problem and automatically bring those people together. Instead, why not revisit the past with fresh eyes and chronicle it objectively?

William Dalrymple on writing The Anarchy, his history of the East India Company's conquest of the subcontinent

Through William Dalrymple’s enjoyable history of the East India Company, a study in contrasts emerges: the juxtaposition of the Company’s rise in India with the Mughal empire’s collapse, the personalities of the emperor Shah Alam and Robert Clive, and quite importantly, the perception of the ‘Raj’ in India versus the reality of a corporate, profit-driven enterprise being at the helm.

On 73rd Independence Day, examining Mahatma Gandhi's legacy and why his position as 'Father of the Nation' is secure

Why has history been so kind to Gandhi, a man whose very public life and thousands of letters, editorials, essays and utterances expose him to easy mockery, particularly by a new India whose political elite has always regarded him with contempt? How is it that, through all the hate and resentment unleashed by India’s current political climate, the man who stands on the opposite pole continues to smile down at us in fatherly benevolence?

RSS' role in 'nation-building' part of Maharashtra varsity syllabus; Congress rebukes move, points at group's chequered history

The history of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its role in 'nation-building' have been included in the syllabus of a university based in Nagpur, where the Sangh has headquarters

Ancient India's political history is based on violence: Historian Upinder Singh on new book

Historian Upinder Singh challenges the idea of a nonviolent India in a compelling new book

Paika rebellion of Odisha was spectacular, but Prakash Javadekar dubbing it as 'India's first war of independence' is a stretch

It would be a stretch to call the Paika rebellion India’s first war of Independence. This is because the British witnessed a string of uprisings from the very inception of its rule, largely because traditional rights were extinguished or redefined and land rents were jacked up.

Victoria & Abdul: The story of the unlikely friendship between a queen and her munshi

Abdul Karim was 24 when he travelled from Agra to England in 1887, to serve at Queen Victoria's court

Aurangzeb's tyranny and bigotry cannot be whitewashed: A counter-view

We do not need to re-interpret Aurangzeb, for, revulsion for his conduct in the past cannot be misinterpreted as revulsion for people of his own faith in the present.

The Black Prince: A new film brings the story of Punjab's last king, Maharaja Duleep Singh, to life

Maharaja Duleep Singh's story is one of tremendous loss: the loss of his family, throne, the Koh-i-Noor diamond, his country. A new film, The Black Prince, examines the life of this last king of Punjab.

Audrey Truschke on row over Aurangzeb book: 'I remain committed to dispassionate history'

Historian Audrey Truschke says she wrote her book on Aurangzeb, which has triggered quite the backlash, because she felt there was a hunger among some in India for a balanced, historically-based view of the Mughal emperor