The ancient iron pillar standing in Delhi’s Qutb Minar complex is popularly described as a ‘trophy of conquest’. In fact, it marked the cultural continuity of a royal practice in ancient and medieval north India, of re-using and re-inscribing pillars erected by predecessors.

An excerpt from ‘Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri: Monuments, Cities and Connected Histories’, which highlights the need to move beyond a monument-centred vision and treat heritage sites as repositories of a wider historical and cultural legacy.

At the Red Fort, on August 15, 1947, the past and the present had coalesced to mark a newly independent nation’s step towards the future.

After spending so much time and effort and several resources, it is still not clear whether we are asking the right set of questions.

The story of the Khamba Baba presents a fascinating account of the cultural anthropology of the site in Vidisha.

Archaeological exploits of the colonial government took Buddhist relics from the Sanchi and Satdhara stupas to museums in UK. These sacred remains of important Buddhist saints were returned after a prolonged battle.

Amidst the current controversy of an ideological narrative that views the Taj Mahal as a site of contestation, Yogi Adityanath visited it on October 26. The monument’s history is full of fascinating attempts to appropriate its aura, be it in politics or popular culture.

The long-standing friendship between Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker turned sour during the course of building of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the North and South Blocks, which affected the way the ‘power corridor’ ultimately shaped up.

While the Qutb Minar is celebrated as a historic and architectural icon, the Quwwat ul-Islam is seen as haunting evidence of destruction, trauma and fanaticism.