History Archive

Recent years have seen a resurgence in nostalgia for the British empire. High-profile books such as Niall Ferguson’s Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World, and Bruce Gilley’s The Last Imperialist, have claimed that British colonialism brought prosperity and development to India and other colonies.

The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected. — Sun Tzu, ‘Art of War’

Again and again, military men have seen themselves hurled into war by the ambition, passions and blunders of civilian governments, almost wholly uninformed as to the limits of their military potential and almost recklessly indifferent to the military requirements of the war they let loose. —Alfred Vagts, ‘The History of Militarism’ (Max/289)

"Instead of leader he acted as a politician and made blunders with the theory of probability": Nehru's flawed attitudes towards Communist China and Tibet, the unsettled border in both Aksai Chin & MacMahon line, his 'rigid line' finally led to 1962 war

Nehru failed to negotiate with China on a peaceful settlement of borders, which was so vital to India's security. Doing so was not difficult considering that China at that time was not strong, had numerous external and internal problems to contend with, and was therefore willing for a “give and take”, particularly  ‘Aksai  Chin—McMahon Line swap’: recognition of McMahon Line by China in return for India's recognition of China's claim on Aksai Chin, with minor adjustments.

“This great doctrine [Panchsheel] was born in sin, because it was enunciated to put the seal of our approval upon the destruction of an ancient nation which was associated with us spiritually and culturally... It was a nation which wanted to live its own life and it sought to have been allowed to live its own life ...” — Acharya Kriplani (Arpi2)

This is our only foreign debt, and someday we must pay the Mantzu and the Tibetans for the provisions we were obliged to take from them. — Mao Zedong, when he passed through the border regions of Tibet during the Long March

"Danger gleams like sunshine to a brave man's eyes": Savarkar, a writer, trendsetter – man of many firsts, such as being the one to write 1857 Freedom Struggle that irked British into banning it even before its publication, whom Indira Gandhi worshipped

Veer Savarkar and his ideas have become the most contentious political issue of our age. In the current times, the major dividing line of the country’s political spectrum is Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. On one side there is a huge community who respect Savarkar, adore him, and accept him as a public icon. On the other side of the spectrum, are the ones who oppose ideologue.

"Spices, Christianity, and Extreme violence": 1498 Vasco da Gama anchored his ships in Calicut on Malabar Coast of India, a haven of peaceful trade, to only two years later slaughter, destroying houses and killing inhabitants, Portuguese terror started

We took a ship from Mecca in which were 380 men and many women and children, and we took from it fully 12,000 ducats, with goods worth at least another 10,000. And we burned the ship and all the people on board with gunpowder. – A Portuguese companion of Vasco da Gama, 1502.

The revolt of 1857 left a deep mark on the history of Modern India. British policy changed after the rebellion of 1857. The uprising of 1857 played a crucial role in shaping the Indian Empire during the early nineteenth century. The display of unity among the masses and revolting led the British to rethink their existence in India and their way of working.