The Marathas began their quest for Swarajya in 1646 under Chhatrapati  Shivaji. From this year until 1818, the Marathas remained a formidable  power in the Indian sub-continent. This is a story of their rise to  paramountcy in the Eighteenth century – and their fall in early  Nineteenth century. It was the first indigenous Empire after centuries  of foreign rule…and the last before the British took over.   Dr. Uday Kulkarni is an author of 6 excellent books on 18th century  Maratha history. He is an AFMC, Pune graduate and a retired navy  surgeon. Dr Kulkarni started writing about Maratha history a decade  back, while still practicing medicine.   His first book Solstice at Panipat, describing the 1761 Panipat War,  released in 2011 on 250th anniversary of what perhaps is the most  significant war in Indian history. He followed it with Bakhar of Panipat  (2014), The Era of Baji Rao (2016) and James Wales: Artist &  Antiquarian in the time of Peshwa Sawai Madhavrao (2019).   The Maratha Century is the latest in his series of books on Maratha  history. In this discussion, we talk to Dr Kulkarni about this book, his  passion for writing about Maratha history and the very intriguing 18th  century India. He talks about how the impact of Chhatrapathi Shivaji,  his campaign on Surat, Aurangazeb's 25-year war with the Marathas, and  more.     Amit Paranjape, the anchor for this conversation, is a Pune-based  history buff and technology entrepreneur. Amit himself has deep  knowledge of Maratha history and has helped Dr Kulkarni with the  production process of his latest book. Amit also compered the book  launch program, where Madhya Pradesh minister Smt Yashodhara Raje  Scindia was the chief guest.    Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfBfBd-1kvCOPxVll8tBJ9Q/join   0:00 - Introduction 3:30 - About the book "The Maratha Century" 10:05 - Impact of Chhatrapati Shivaji 19:06 - Strategies and innovations used by Shivaji in war 22:10 - Shivaji's Campaign on Surat and his famous letter 23:52 - 25 Year War: Aurangazeb vs. the Marathas 31:00 - Maratha campaign to capture North India 34:50 - Last decades of the 18th Century: Nana Phadnavis and Mahadji Shinde 39:39 - Why were there no new Maratha rulers after Nana Phadnavis? 42:40 - Life in the 18th Century 48:20 - Khunya Murlidhar Temple 50:40 - Final thoughts on the legacy of the Maratha empire  52:47 - Conclusion

More than three decades later, the Tiananmen Square incident refuses to  be forgotten. The events that occurred in the summer of 1989 would not  only set the course for China's politics but would also re-define its  relationship with the world. China's message was clear: it remained  committed to market-oriented reform, but it would not tolerate any  challenge to the supremacy of the Chinese Communist Party. In return for  economic prosperity, the Chinese have surrendered some rights to the  state. A democratic future seems far away.  Vijay Gokhale, then a young diplomat serving in Beijing, was a witness  to the drama that unfolded in Tiananmen Square. This unique account  brings an Indian perspective on an event in China's history that the  Chinese government has been eager to have the world forget.   India's relations with the People's Republic of China have captured the  popular imagination ever since the 1950s but have rarely merited a  detailed understanding of the issues. Individual episodes tend to arouse  lively debate, which often dissipates without a deeper exploration of  the factors that shaped the outcomes.  Mr. Gokhale's book 'The Long Game' explores the dynamics of negotiation  between the two countries, from the early years after Independence until  the current times, through the prism of six historical and recent  events in the India-China relationship.

The Bharatvaarta Weekly is our reaction to the news headlines of the  week that was.   If you liked this episode, then don’t forget to subscribe to our channel  and share this content. You can stay updated with everything at  Bharatvaarta by following us on social media: we're @bharatvaarta on  Twitter, facebook.com/bharatvaarta.in on Facebook, and @bharatvaarta on  Instagram).  #Bharatvaarta #BVWeekly  Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfBfBd-1kvCOPxVll8tBJ9Q/join

Shri Swaminathan Gurumurthy is a chartered accountant and corporate and  legal adviser of high standing. Having qualified in the intermediate and  final examination of the CA examination in 1972 with all India ranking  in both examinations, he has been in practice for the last 42 years.  Shri Gurumurthy is a very well known adviser to many corporates on law  and finance and also on macro economic issues affecting corporates. As a  professional he has mediated and solved some of the most complex  corporate issues.  Being a keen thinker on geo political and strategic issues, he is the  vice chairman of the well known strategic think tank in Delhi, the  Vivekananda International Foundation.  Being an adviser to many corporates and drawn by larger national  interest, Shri Gurumurthy began studying the impact of globalisation on  an economy and economic and political culture habituated to command  economy.  For the last three decades Shri Gurumurthy is highly rated as a  journalist for his investigative writings. He has since then ceaselessly  campaigned against corruption at high places. He has been a powerful  opinion maker in India on issues national importance, particularly in  the field of economics. He is now the editor of the famous and powerful  socio-political weekly Thuglak in Tamil. 

Millennia have passed since the dharma yudhha of the cousins shook the  land of Bharata. But this history of our ancestors continues to  fascinate us. Even today, we have passionate discussions about the  people and their actions in the epic, fervidly defending our favourites  and denouncing others. The number of works on the  Mahabharata-adaptations, retellings and fiction-that still get written  is a testimony to its enduring relevance.  While the general storyline is largely known, a lot of questions and  myths prevail, such as-What was the geographical extent of the war? Did  Drona actually refuse to take on Karna as his disciple? What were  Draupadi's responsibilities as the queen of Indraprastha? Did she ever  mock Duryodhana? Were the women in the time of the Mahabharata meek and  submissive? What were the names of the war formations during the time?  What role did the sons of the Pandavas play? Does the south of India  feature at all in the Mahabharata? What happened after the war? These  and many other intriguing questions continue to mystify the contemporary  reader.  Author Ami Ganatra debunks myths, quashes popular notions and offers  insights into such aspects not commonly known or erroneously known,  based solely on facts as narrated in Vyasa's Mahabharata from generally  accepted authentic sources. For a history of such prominence and  influence as the Mahabharata, it is important to get the story right. So  pick this book up, sit back and unveil the lesser-known facts and  truths about the great epic.

The Bharatvaarta Weekly is our reaction to the news headlines of the  week that was.   If you liked this episode, then don’t forget to subscribe to our channel  and share this content. You can stay updated with everything at  Bharatvaarta by following us on social media: we're @bharatvaarta on  Twitter, facebook.com/bharatvaarta.in on Facebook, and @bharatvaarta on  Instagram).   Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfBfBd-1kvCOPxVll8tBJ9Q/join

The new draft e commerce policy by the government will touch upon  multiple aspects of the eCommerce business itself and has wide ranging  consequences for all stakeholders involved. Understandably, there's a  lot of debate, skepticism, on certain clauses of the policy. To make  sense of all of these policy proposals and understand what is the right  way to look at these circumstances.  In this episode, we have Rajeev Mantri, investor, bestselling author and  Managing Director at Navam Capital. He has appeared on many  Bharatvaarta podcasts before, speaking about startups, policy, and  related subjects. Joining him for the discussion is Rameesh Kailasam. He  is the CEO of IndiaTech.org, a think tank and industry group setup to  support Internet startups. Rameesh has over 2 decades of experience  working with the industry and the government. He's also a regular  columnist on Indian newspapers and appears on Indian television on  policy discussions.   We begin the episode by breaking down what the new reforms actually are,  along with the overlap in jurisdictions between multiple ministries.  Then, the guests deconstruct the effect of the proposed related party  clause. They also addressed topics such as flash sales and deep  discounting, redressal for grievances, and data protection. The guests  also presented possible protection for small businesses and regulations  for large players.

The Bharatvaarta Weekly is our reaction to the news headlines of the  week that was.   If you liked this episode, then don’t forget to subscribe to our channel  and share this content. You can stay updated with everything at  Bharatvaarta by following us on social media: we're @bharatvaarta on  Twitter, facebook.com/bharatvaarta.in on Facebook, and @bharatvaarta on  Instagram).  #Bharatvaarta #BVWeekly

The Pegasus expose has caused a huge scandal for Indian journalists and  politicians. With the high-tech modern approach of this virus, we need  to take a big-picture geopolitical view of this complex situation.  Today, our guests are Surya Kanegaonkar and Karan Datta. Surya is a  finance professional passionate about Indic culture and global  geopolitics, and a columnist for many prominent news outlets. Welcome to  the podcast Surya.  Karan has over 25 years of experience in the Financial Service industry  and has held leadership positions at Goldman Sachs, Axis Mutual, and  more. He is also a speaker on India and prominent geopolitical issues.

26th July is celebrated every year as Kargil Vijay Diwas. On this podcast, we look back at some of the events that unfolded 22 years ago on perhaps the toughest terrain in the world, and speak about some the history and significance of a war that everybody deemed impossible to win. 

To discuss this, we have Aadit Kapadia, who runs MyIndMakers, a website discussing Indian policy, politics and culture. We also have Mohal Joshi, who hosts the India Rising podcast with Kishore Narayan. He also has a deep interest in geopolitics and defence.  

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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfBfBd-1kvCOPxVll8tBJ9Q/join