Articles by Anirudh Deshpande

been crippled by policy, intrigue and War and the Military opportunism your victory becomes easier.
Economy Historiographical Questions The Anglo-Maratha Campaigns and the Contest for India: The Struggle for Control of the South Asian Military Economy by Randolf G S Cooper; Cambridge University Press (published in South Asia by Foundation Books, New Delhi); Cambridge, 2005;

The time has come to seriously examine the approach of historians to cinema in general and the historical film in particular. Since history itself has proved to be a dynamic discipline, the habit of viewing films with an eye to 'facticity' should give way to a nuanced understanding of the historical potential of cinema. This paper argues for a new relationship between visual and written history in the interest of both public memory and a socially relevant history. If historians want to bridge the widening chasm between public and academic histories they have no choice but to take relatively new forms of knowledge like film seriously. On the other hand, film-makers cannot, and should not, ignore the context of literacy informing their work. Given the will and ample opportunity to collaborate, historians and film-makers, operating in a heterogeneous field of post-literacy, literacy and pre-literacy, can learn a lot from each other.

Coming back to the problem of being identi

This paper, based on a selective reading of a historical novel set in 17th century India, attempts a theoretical reconstruction of Indian military history. Cuckold by Kiran Nagarkar is however not merely a narration of events and experiences in the life of Maharaj Kumar, heir to the throne of Mewar. Nagarkar conceives him as a political character to serve as an effective foil to the milieu of feudal India, with all its possibilities and problems; his attitude towards the military and other matters are highlighted to deliberately counter prevailing feudal norms. Nagarkar skilfully reconstructs Maharaj Kumar's military experiments to critically examine the military mentality of feudal Mewar.

The continued dominance of Pakistan-supported Taliban poses threats to stability in northern India, especially Kashmir. Pakistan's attempts to wage a proxy war with India over Kashmir by using Afghan trained militiamen can be effectively countered by India actively wooing and offering assistance to Taliban-opposed nations like Iran, Russia and several central Asian nations.