History Vignettes

Viscount Valentia's diary recording his journey from Calcutta to Bhagalpur provides a candid picture of how an unapologetic colonist views Indians as an inferior people

On January 26, 1803, Wellesley throws a lavish dinner at Lok Bhavan, Calcutta, attended by Valentia. Its extravagance is funded by the British plunder of India.

When Valentia visits Lucknow, the Nawab of Awadh tells him that his people think that the East India Company is an old Woman, Wellesley is her son and Valentia, her grandson

George Viscount Valentia was an unapologetic advocate of colonial slavery and celebrated British colonialism

George Viscount Valentia, an Earl in England embarked on a trip to India in 1802 and published a detailed record of his experiences in three volumes

This is the story of an old Brahmin who openly performed Puja in Delhi under Firuz Shah Tughlaq's bigoted regime and was burnt to death

Raghu a Poddar or cashier working for the East India Company is accused of misappropriation and tortured by its officials

Shah Alam II's addiction to opium and sexual depravity resulted in the final takeover of the Mughal Empire by the British

Shah Alam II, the 11th descendant of Aurangzeb singlehandedly ruined whatever was left of the Mughal Empire. It is a truly deplorable story.

An essay listing the entire treasury and earthly possessions of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

The Viragals (Hero Stones) at Eksar in Borivali represent a fragment of Bharatavarsha's glorious naval heritage left behind by Bhoja Raja, Kadambas and Shilaharas. They are now in a compound of the po ...

Read these little-known episodes of Ghar-Wapsi in the Vijayanagara and the Maratha Empire, and the Arya Samaj's role in reconverting Hindus

Ghar-Wapsi of converted Hindus was a continuous process until it suddenly stopped due to the depleted vigour of the Hindu society

The Vrātya-stōma was the typical ceremony performed for admitting foreigners into the Sanatana society during the pre-Islamic period. It is still valid for foreigners who formally want to become Hindu ...