Alluri Sita Rama Raju’s Rampa Fituri

Alluri Sita Rama Raju's Rampa Fituri is one of the last major tribal rebellion against the British Rule in India. Spread all over the tribal belt of North Andhra Pradesh corresponding to the current Araku Lok Sabha Constituency of Andhra Pradesh, the story of the rebellion is a saga of sticking to a stand even if it means on one side and on the other side, the opportunism of those who saw some use in this rebellion to further their own selfish ends.

Caldwell’s Sudra Invasion Theory

Caldwell, who is considered as the founder of Dravidian Linguistic Theory had another fantastic idea in his quiver - Sudra Invasion Theory. Using that, he explains why South Indians are not that much suffering as compared to the North Indian Sudras - because they represented different invasion waves.

The Paradox of Orthodox Sikhism – sikh quest for identity means rejection of sikhism of the gurus

The collapse of Sikh Empire meant that the old order will have to bow down to the new Government and this despairing situation meant that the Sikhs will have to reinvent themselves. The Sikhs became more orthodox and drifted away from the Hindu whole to carve out a separate identity which led to much violence further down. The biggest casualty, ironically, is the Sikhism which the Sikh Gurus and Maharaja Ranjit Singh practiced - a sort of syncretic Sikhism which treated Hindu gods as their equals and the sort of Sikhism which considered itself as a part of Hindu whole. What we have today is an ultra-orthodox Sikhism which was never accepted by the society as a mainstream phenomenon leading to devastating consequences from it's inception.

The Legend of Kumara Rama of Kampili

Kumara Rama is a legendary folk hero of medieval Karnataka but whose historicity is not completely clear. His story revolves about two points - his fight and death trying to preserve Kampili's independence and his wife-to-be but step mother's lust for him. The spirited fight he put against the Delhi Sultanates is a stuff of legend and a treat to read.