Rediscovering Indus Cities, with Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri

2024 marks the twenty year anniversary of Finding Forhotten Ciities, Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri’s landmark book on the various events and personalities which led to the discovery of Indus Valley civilization in the early twentieth century and later. In a freewheeling conversation with Anirban Bandyopad…

Operation Vijay | Konkan Uprising 4

When economic blockade encouraged the Portuguese to hold on to Goa rather than abandon it, India finally decided to use force. Yet its long held pacifist position in international diplomacy misled Portugal and China into complacency that India would never actually use force. While secret military p…

How An Economic Blockade Made Goa Prosperous | Konkan Uprising 3

The third episode of Konkan Uprising, our special series of the liberation of Goa, focuses on the economic blockade during the late 1950s. India did not want to make a military intervention, even though diplomatic relations broke down irrevocably. Instead, it imposed an economic sanction, since tra…

Internationalising the Goa problem | Konkan Uprising 2

Between 1946 and 1956, the Goa question had entered the international domain. India became independent but did not want to annex Goa by force. It stressed Goa’s social and cultural unity with India but insuu insisted on a diplomatic handover by Portugal. The latter had no such intention. Meanwhile…

Goa Towards Liberation | Konkan Uprising 1

The people of Goa fell into a peculiar problem this month due to a recent change in Indian passport laws. Early last year, Prime Minister Modi claimed that Jawaharlal Nehru deliberately delayed Goa’s liberation and integration with India. What really happened with Goa? I went back to Sushila Mendes…

Konkan Uprising: Goa's Liberation Saga | Trailer

🔎 Why 🧐 did #Nehru delay the liberation of #Goa from the Portuguese and make it a part of Bharat? A delay that was 15years after India got its independence from the #BritishRaj?? Was it on purpose? What was the real strategy? From the makers of chart-topping history series comes another gripping …

When South India started drinking coffee

Coffee drinking on a large scale did not start in India before the early 20th century. Once it became popular as a leisure drink, many commentators responded to its novel appeal. Some believed it was making Indians more prone to diseases. Yet others believed coffee reduced breast milk supply in la…

G20 & History!- All you need to know

The G20, also known as the Group of Twenty, includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States, in addition to the European Union.…

Sikkhim, R&AW, & Integration | India United #5

Sikkim followed a different trajectory from other former princely states. India virtually treated it as a foreign country, until early 1970s. The final episode of the series India United explores the twists and turns of internal and external politics around Sikkim between 1947 and 1975. Join us o…

The Sikkim puzzle | India United 4

Jawaharlal Nehru was firmly against hereditary monarchs. But he made an exception in the case of Sikkim. He let Sikkim’s King stay on, until after his death. His daughter Indira Gandhi believed it was an indirect concession to China. But there were movements within Sikkim for democracy and the en…