Brown Pundits

Episode 22 - The British East India Company

In this episode, Shrikant, Gaurav and Omar talk to Maneesh about the beginning and consolidation of British East India rule in India. We end the episode on the 1857 revolt.

Major Amin on the Current Crisis in Pakistan

Dr Omar Ali speaks to Major Amin on the current crisis in Pakistan.

A Conversation on Caste with Dr. Prakash Shah

Dr Prakash Shah, Reader in Culture and Law at School of Law Queen Mary University of London, talks to Dr Ali on the framework of studying caste in India and it's colonial antecedents.

Conversation with Chitra Iyer: Founder- Space2Grow A Social Impact Firm

Chitra Iyer, Co-founder and CEO of Space2Grow, talks to Maneesh about Anti Child Trafficking, Digital Safety and making Indians employable.

Episode 21: South India Post Vijayanagar Empire till 1857

Shrikanth talks to Maneesh about the History of South India post Vijayanagar kingdom till the year 1857.

Conversation with Pooja Sharma: Founder The Sarvodya Collective

Maneesh is in a freewheeling conversation with Pooja Sharma, founder of The Sarvodya Collective. A NPO working to build awareness and allyship for Neurodiversity as a cause.

Episode 20: Europeans in India

Prathamesh and Omar talk to Maneesh about Europeans in India. This a precursor to a dedicated episode on the history of British in India.

Conversation with Prof. Aseem Shrivastava

Omar and Maneesh talk to Aseem on Ecospohy and the challenges posed by Modernity.

Episode 19 - The Rajputs

In this episode, we discuss the Rajputs - their origins, wars and alliances in the medieval time. The speakers are Jay Vardhan Singh, Gaurav Lele and Maneesh Taneja.

Mr. Tilak Devasher on his book The Pashtuns- A Contested History

Author of multiple books on Pakistan Mr. Tilak Devasher joins Maneesh, Somnath and Dr. Omar Ali to talk about his new book The Pashtuns-A Contested History.

Sunny Narang in Conversation with Dr. Omar Ali

Sunny Narang, a punjabi born and brought up in Delhi with ancestral roots in Pakistan, speaks for Dr. Ali on punjabis; they also talk about culture and people who have and continue to shape history of the sub-continent.

Episode 18- The Marathas

In this episode, Prathamesh Godbole and Amit Paranjpe discuss the Maratha empire - spanning from its humble origins as a Jagir of Adilshahi to the largest power in the subcontinent before the British conquest. We discuss the great maratha rulers Shivaji Raje, Sambhaji Raje and the Peshwas.

Episode 17: Mughals-the socio-cultural milieu and their decline

Maneesh talks to Jay and Omar on the socio-culutral milieu of the Mughals and their decline.

Episode 16: The Rise of the Mughals

In this episode, Omar and Jay discuss the rise of the "Great" Mughals. We start from the rise of Babur and follow through the empire his descendants. We do not cover the challengers to the Mughal hegemony (Maharana Pratap, Chattrapati Shivaji and Lachit Borphukan) OR the fall of the Mughal empire or other softer aspects in this episode. All that will be covered in the coming episodes.

Discussion with J Sai Deepak

In this episode, Gaurav talks with J Sai Deepak - the prolific author about Bharat, Hindu civilization, politics and his books.

Pakistan 2022: Things Fall Apart ?

Omar is in conversation with Ambassador Kamran Shafi and Dr. Mohammad Taqi on the ongoing political upheaval in Pakistan.

Episode 15: The Vijayanagara Empire

Shrikanth and Gaurav talk to Maneesh about all things Vijayanagara Empire. An empire that lasted longer than Mughal empire and whose legancy thirves to this day.

Episode 14: The Delhi Sultanate

In this episode of the history podcast, Omar and Jay discuss the period of Delhi Sultanate with Jay and Gaurav. We go over all the major dynasties and also discuss the religious, economic aspects of this time. As Omar Ali puts it, the legacy of Delhi Sultanate is the legacy of Islam in the subcontinent.

Episode 13: South India from 1100-1400 CE

13th Episode of the History Podcast. Shrikanth, Mukunda and Gaurav speak to Maneesh on all things South India from 1100-1400 AD.

All Things Tamil Cinema

Maneesh talks to Sai and Arun on all things Tamil Cinema- its history, its unique relationship with the political milieu of Tamil Nadu, its evolution over the years and the cults of personalities that it has spawned.

A conversation on Hinduphobia

History Podcast Episode 12: Social Milieu of North India 700-1200AD

The History Podcast resumes on Brown Pundits. In episode 12 Mukunda and Jay talk to Maneesh about the cultural and social milieu in North India from 700-1200 AD.

Start-up Ecosystem in India

Maneesh has a freewheeling conversation with Roshan Cariappa on the Indian Start-up ecosytem.

Khalid Baig on Indian Nationalism and Islam

In this episode Gaurav chats with Khalid Baig - an Indian Nationalist on a wide range of topics - Indian nationalism, Hindu-Muslim relations, Hindutva and bright future of India. Khalid Baig and Amana Ansari Begam also run a very popular Youtube show called India This Week By Amana & Khalid - YouTube . We also chatted to his co-host Amana Ansari Begam a few months back - Amana Begam Ansari on Muslims and Women in India – Brown Pundits...

Caste, Hindus in America and Hinduphobia

On this episode of the Brown Pundits Browncast I had a long conversation with Nikunj Trivedi and Pushpita Prasad of the Coalition of Hindus of North America . One of the things we talked extensively about during this podcast is the Carnegie Endowment study Social Realities of Indian Americans: Results From the 2020 Indian American Attitudes Survey . The survey is rich with data that might surprise (for example, there are as many Bengali speakers as Punjabi speakers in the US, though I suspect th...

Episode 11: Palas, Prathiharas and early Islamic invasions

In this episode Maneesh and Gaurav chat with Jay and Omar Ali and they discuss North Indian politics and power struggles for a vast period from 700 CE to 1200 CE. We touch upon the origins of the Imperial Pratiharas and Palas and discuss the tripartrite struggle for domination of Kannauj between the 3 great kingdoms of Indian subcontinent while a storm brewed up in the west. We also talk about the earlier Arab invasions of Sindh and Punjab and the later Turkic invasions by the Ghaznavids and Ghu...

Subcontinent and Movies

Omar Ali and Maneesh Taneja have a free-flowing conversation with Gaurav about movies in the Indian subcontinent in the 20th century

Episode 10: North India before and after Harsha

The history podcast returns to North India. Gaurav and Jay are in conversation with Maneesh about the changes in the North Indian landscape before and after the times of Harsha - generally considered as the last Emperor of "Ancient India". We touch upon political splintering that followed the fall of the imperial Guptas, the political Game of thrones that followed, the Kumbha Mela and the decline of trade. 玄奘 (Xuanzang) and Banabhatta make appearances as prolific storytellers along with the stor...

Episode 9: South India from 500-1100 AD

Shrikanth and Mukunda talk to Maneesh about South India from 500-1100 AD.

Episode 8: Guptas and the Classical Age of India

In this episode of the History series, we return to North India and talk about the Age of the Guptas. We touch upon the military genius of Samudragupta and various Gupta emperors, the emergence of Classical Hinduism and various forms of Art, Music, Science which consolidated during this era. The speakers of the episode are Gaurav Lele and Jay Vardhan and the discussion is moderated by Maneesh