India | Editors Outlook

R D Burman working with musicians in a 1970s Hindi film recording studio

India

R. D. Burman: The Composer Who Turned the Studio Into an Instrument

R. D. Burman transformed Hindi film music through melody, rhythm, studio experimentation and collaborations that created the distinctive Pancham sound.

11 Sep 2026 · 15 min read

India

Dilip Kumar: The Acting Style That Changed Hindi Cinema

Dilip Kumar transformed Hindi film acting through restraint, voice and psychological detail. Explore his films, craft, range and lasting influence.

11 Sep 2026 · 23 min read

Ahilyabai Holkar with the fort and ghats of Maheshwar, her eighteenth-century capital on the Narmada

India

Ahilyabai Holkar: Biography, Reign, Achievements and the Making of a Remarkable Maratha Queen

Ahilyabai Holkar is often remembered as an ideal queen. Her more interesting historical achievement was governing a vulnerable eighteenth-century state through administration, pat…

29 Aug 2026 · 30 min read

Traditional representation of Sant Tukaram singing devotional poetry in the Marathi Varkari tradition

India

Sant Tukaram: Life, Abhangs, Varkari Bhakti and the Voice of Marathi Devotion

Sant Tukaram transformed Marathi bhakti through powerful abhangs about Vithoba, suffering, humility, caste pride, household life and the moral meaning of devotion.

28 Aug 2026 · 34 min read

Traditional depiction of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, associated with the formation of the Khalsa

India

Guru Gobind Singh Biography: Life, Khalsa, Battles and Legacy

Explore Guru Gobind Singh's life, creation of the Khalsa, battles, Sahibzade, Zafarnama and enduring transformation of Sikh history.

28 Aug 2026 · 19 min read

Mirza Ghalib in a nineteenth-century portrait associated with the literary culture of late Mughal Delhi

India

Mirza Ghalib Biography: Life, Poetry, 1857, Letters and Legacy

Mirza Ghalib biography exploring his life, Urdu and Persian poetry, letters, experience of Delhi in 1857, Mughal court connections and enduring literary legacy.

27 Aug 2026 · 25 min read

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan associated with the monumental architecture of his reign, including the Taj Mahal and imperial Delhi

India

Shah Jahan Biography: Empire, Taj Mahal and the Politics of Mughal Splendour

Shah Jahan biography exploring his reign, Taj Mahal, Mumtaz Mahal, Mughal architecture, military ambitions, succession war and enduring legacy.

27 Aug 2026 · 24 min read

Historical map of the early Mauryan Empire with a reconstruction of Chandragupta Maurya and Pataliputra

India

Chandragupta Maurya: Founder of the Mauryan Empire

Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire, defeated the Nandas, faced Seleucus and created a dynasty that reshaped ancient India.

25 Aug 2026 · 20 min read

India

The Life of Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi combined electoral dominance, state-led economic politics and decisive wartime leadership with an unprecedented concentration of executive power. Her legacy cannot b…

23 Aug 2026 · 13 min read

India

The Legacy of Dr Rajendra Prasad

Rajendra Prasad’s most important contribution may have been institutional rather than dramatic: he presided over the Constituent Assembly and then helped establish the conventions…

23 Aug 2026 · 13 min read

India

Sarojini Naidu: Poet, Freedom Fighter and Political Leader

Sarojini Naidu was a poet, freedom fighter and political leader who championed women’s rights and helped shape India’s independence movement.

22 Aug 2026 · 18 min read

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, nineteenth-century educator and founder of the institution that developed into Aligarh Muslim University

India

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: Education, Reform and the Aligarh Movement

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan made education central to Muslim reform, building the Aligarh Movement while reshaping debates on religion and politics.

22 Aug 2026 · 19 min read