heritage

Explained

South Asia Is More Than Its Borders

The first error of modern South Asian politics is to imagine that the map explains the region. It does not. The map tells us where customs officers sit, where armies patrol, where…

Explained

When Forests Fall, Civilisations Begin Their Decline

Every civilisation begins by clearing some forest. Many civilisations begin to decline when they forget what the forest was doing for them. It was not merely standing there as sce…

Explained

India Is Politically Free, but Still Mentally Seeking Foreign Approval

India became politically independent in 1947. The question of whether it has achieved intellectual and psychological independence is considerably more complicated, and the honest…

Explained

India's Next Creative Boom Will Come From Ordinary Lives

India's Next Creative Boom Will Come From Ordinary Lives The most original stories in India rarely announce themselves as stories. They sit in a tea stall where three generations…

Explained

India's Hustle Culture Is Forgetting the Point of Success

India's Hustle Culture Is Forgetting the Point of Success There is a particular light that appears in Indian cities after midnight: the glow of laptops in paying-guest rooms, cal…

Explained

The Next Superpowers Will Be Knowledge Civilisations

The Next Superpowers Will Be Knowledge Civilisations The old maps of power were drawn with ports, armies, oilfields, mines and sea lanes. The new maps are being drawn inside labo…

Explained

History Moves When Science Defeats Sentiment

History Moves When Science Defeats Sentiment A visitor enters an old monument with a phone in one hand and a verdict in the other. Before reading a plaque, before asking who buil…

Explained

History Does Not Repeat Itself; We Repeat Our Mistakes

History Does Not Repeat Itself; We Repeat Our Mistakes There is a comforting laziness in the phrase that history repeats itself. It allows a society to look at recurring failures…

Explained

India Is Building Civilisation Faster Than It Is Preserving Culture

India Is Building Civilisation Faster Than It Is Preserving Culture India is building at a speed that would astonish many earlier generations. Airports rise where towns once wait…