This colonial attitude is infuriating.

At Sotheby's, they are auctioning Buddha's body relics. They were dug from India in the colonial times and stolen by some British.

Can they think of auctioning St Xaviers body or Muhammad Paigambar's hair in similar way?

These are sacred body relics and must be respected. Going under hammer in auction makes them marketed commodity.

Nikhil

Linguistic State Formation
(Post Independence)

This article appeared in today's The Hindu

Complete darkness from JnK till Rajasthan. Things are evolving second by second. Our generation has not seen this.

All our students in this region, please take care. Keep mobiles charged, petrol tanks full and some cash in hand.

Warfare has completely changed. This is the era of drones, missiles, jets, air defence and radars. Boots on ground come much later if at all.

Try to not spread unconfirmed news. Disinformation campaign is also part of the warfare.

It is going to be a long night.
Har Har Mahadev.

Nikhil

Hello,

This may be a little early. These are merely saturation drone attacks. We will know in some days/hours whether this will escalate or not. There seems to be all the possibility that things will cool down in some time. However, in case it escalates, this is a small list of items everyone and every household should be ready with:

1. Dry ration for 7-10 days
2. Potable water for 3 days
3. First aid box
4. 5 kg fire extinguisher (abt Rs 1800-2000)
5. Close gas cylinder regulator when not in use
6. Essential medicines
7. Fuel in vehicle
8. Mobiles charged
9. Some Cash in hand
10. All imp IDs in pocket when going out
11. Black paper for windows if blackout is needed
12. Phone numbers of emergency services (fire, police, ambulance etc)
13. Balcony, Stair fights, Lift/elevators - avoid. Most unsafe.
14. Try to avoid going out unnecessarily

Take care. Dont spread any panic or mis-information.

Nikhil

Don't think of this is an action movie. Screen ke samne chaay coffee leke excite hone ke liye this is not entertainment.

This is serious. It leads to loss of life. Entire border from Kashmir till Kutchh is live. All border districts are blacked out. There is news of Indian counter drone attacks on various Pakistan cities as well.

I know most of us will not sleep tonight. Try to take some rest.

Nikhil

I am available on YT to answer live queries in chatbox right now. For those watching the above lecture.

Sources for History Optional:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRY4mFD-4D6sYznfYEHs3muaCOK64jbXH

Watch here: https://youtu.be/pkjW4RgwtJY

https://youtu.be/r0QcWLlEQ7Q?si=vsYi1Z0glpWUeQQZ

It seems to be a movie based on someone named Neeraj Atri. I have never heard of him before. In the coming time, we might get to read more about him.

From the trailer, the movie seems very sensational and I am sure as the movie comes out it will cause some debate and uproar. I only hope that the debate is fact-based and not merely ideology-based. Such fact based debate would Enlighten all of us.

Nikhil

UPSC released 2026 calender. Mark the date.

A new book. Extremely exciting. Linguistics is really a facinsting subject.

We in UPSC get to read only a part of the larger story i.e. how Proto Indo European evolved into Sanskrit. This book gives the whole picture.

#bookreview

My overall assessment on Operation Sindoor after things have cooled down.

Our net gains have been military and tactical.

1. We proved our precision attack capacity. We strike in Punjab heartland. We showed that we can demobilize part of their their airforce, destroy swarm of drones and we can even attack their nuke bases and force them to peace. But we neither destroyed terror infra capacity nor their military power. Whatever losses they faced, they can repair and recover very shortly.

2. All we proved that next time they have to think long and hard as it might lead to more escalation pretty fast. Our new three point doctrine (response in their land, no nuke blackmail and no difference between terror and it's sponsors) have added the risk for Pakistan but also for us. This is a necessary strategy, I am not against it at all because Pakistan has to bear the cost, but this is a high risk strategy.

There was one domestic achievement and one setback for us.

1. After initial communal polarization, we were able to unite as one nation against Pakistan, despite its attempts otherwise. That I think is a major achievement domestically.

2. Our attempts to improve Kashmir situation may have received some setback. We have taken massive efforts since 2019 but now things need to be rebuilt tenuously.

On the other hand, Pakistan net gains are much more in diplomatic arena.

1. Asif Munir's position has become stronger. People in Pakistan were turning against him and army due to Imran Khan but things suddenly changed now.

2. Kashmir got internationalized. This is against our position of bilateralism.

3. India-Pakistan got hyphenated. The world doesn't focus on terrorism but on two nuclear states fighting. Our diplomats couldn't stop this. Pakistani ecosystem was able to get its narrative out louder.

4. China and Turkey came to help Pakistan openly. We have no such friend. Russia is weak while America didn't remain even neutral. We are in the situation all alone.

5. Moreover it proved that in air dominance, the Chinese military hardware that Pakistan uses can withstand western military hardware that India uses. So we dont have a very clear and decisive edge in air. Our upper hand may be marginal.

Conclusion:

We have again proved that we may succeed in war but in diplomacy and narrarive dominance, we have a long way to learn.

But our only tangible gain is the suspension of IWT. This is a major strategic gain for us. But everything else is mosty positioning.

Nikhil

This is the second part of the Art and Culture Current Affairs 2025.

You can download the handout here.

https://youtu.be/2kJ20aL1RpU

A simple answer from World History. Conceptual clarity, analytical approach, simple language, a tadka of historiography...

One more answer, this time from Modern India.

Again, conceptual clarity, analytical approach, simple language and historiography swad-anusar, wherever required.

Never make historiography as the main meal, unless specifically asked in the question. The meal tastes good with only pinch of salt.

All of you know well what does excessive salt do to the meal.

Just after Prelims, we are coming with three History Optional courses:

1. Sunday Live Mentorship for 2026 (updated version)

2. Crash course and Test series for 2025 (targeted for 2025 with historiography, imp topics and theme wise discussion lectures)

3. Mapping module and mapping book (exhaustive coverage)

All the details will be announced soon.