Part 1: A century after his landmark Patna lectures, Main Currents of Maratha History remains a classic primer for understanding the anatomy of Maratha power. It seems Chhatrapati Shivaji and Maratha history are condemned to be trapped between the Scylla of ‘liberal’ Western obloquy and the Charybdis of regional chauvinism that fails to evaluate historical processes with objective rigor. Every so often, a piece appears in a ‘liberal’ Western newspaper casting Shivaji Maharaj

Peter o' Toole in 'The Night of the Generals' (1967), which remains vastly underrated despite its trenchant probing of the Nazi psyche. This week marks yet another anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe. The dating of the twentieth century’s most cataclysmic war, always a matter of controversy, has definitively begun to shift in both popular and academic histories to underscore its global dimensions. In the past two decades, the war’s historiography has

From Teutonic fortresses to modern missile garrisons, the contested geography of the Baltic has made Königsberg, now Kaliningrad, a recurring European flashpoint. Russian naval and missile forces make Kaliningrad a strategic hinge on NATO’s eastern flank. In 1736, Swiss polymath and mathematician Leonhard Euler sat down to solve a quirky civic obsession that Königsberg was renowned for: how to stroll across all seven bridges of the historic capital of the East Prussian city e

A new book revisits the contentious case that Israel’s friends wield too much influence in Washington. Yet the roots of America’s attachment to Israel run deeper. Harry Truman's recognition of Israel in 1948 remains an early test of the competing forces that shaped America's relationship with the Jewish state. By now, William Faulkner’s iconic observation in Requiem for a Nun that “the past is never dead. It’s not even past” has achieved gold cliché status, being quoted ad na

Nearly half a century separates today's journalism students from the midnight of June 25, 1975. For many of them, the Emergency belongs to textbooks, examination questions and occasional political debates. Yet, history acquires a different texture when narrated by someone who has spent decades in the newsroom, understands the anatomy of power and appreciates the indispensable role of a free press. That opportunity came alive at Jain (Deemed-to-be University), where the Depart

From restoring ancient temples to rewriting historical narratives, this year’s Prakashchandra Surana Historian Award celebrated the need for a wider understanding of India’s past. Pune: History is not merely a record of vanished centuries but a map to understanding the present. That was the central message at the fifth edition of the ‘Late Shri Prakashchandra Surana Historian Award’, where archaeologist K.K. Muhammed and historian-author Aniruddh Kanisetti were honoured for t

Besides redrawing the political map, British rule in India altered the rhythms of everyday life, introduced new social habits and, perhaps most significantly, influenced the way Indians viewed themselves. The end of colonial rule in 1947 brought political independence, but the deeper process of decolonisation — of institutions, cultural instincts and inherited assumptions — has continued well into the 21st century. Indian civilisation, one of the world’s oldest, evolved aroun