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About

Shunya’s Notes, a blog associated with Shunya.net, went live in Oct 2006.

Editors: Namit Arora, Usha Alexander

INDIANS
A Brief History of a Civilization
A web-series in ten episodes (~30-mins. each) on YouTube (open access)

Research, Script & Narration by Namit Arora

Recent Books:

Speaking of History

Conversations about India’s Past and Present

Romila Thapar | Namit Arora

Indians

A Brief History of a Civilization

Namit Arora

The Legend of Virinara

A Novel

Usha Alexander

Recent Posts

Why is there so much history in today’s politics?
by Namit Arora
Caste System and Its Evolution in the Indian Subcontinent: Namit Arora’s Talk at the School of Social Sciences, JNU
by Namit Arora
On Anachronism and Presentism in Historical Writing
by Namit Arora
Namit Arora’s response to a review of ‘Speaking of History’ in Frontline magazine
by Namit Arora
The Emergence of a Common Indian Identity: An Excerpt from ‘Speaking of History’ by Romila Thapar, Namit Arora
by Namit Arora
Asian Review of Books Podcast about ‘Speaking of History’
by Namit Arora
Why is History So Controversial in Today’s India?
by Namit Arora
What’s Pride-worthy in Hindu India’s past: An Excerpt from ‘Speaking of History’ by Romila Thapar and Namit Arora
by Namit Arora
An Indian Inferiority Complex: An Excerpt from ‘Speaking of History’ by Romila Thapar and Namit Arora
by Namit Arora
Nonviolence and Tolerance in Early India: An Excerpt from ‘Speaking of History’ by Romila Thapar and Namit Arora
by Namit Arora
A talk on Marco Polo’s India of the 13th century
by Namit Arora
In Memoriam, Reena GeetAnjali Chesla (1965–2025)
by Usha Alexander
In Memoriam, Dr. Malati Kesaree (1934/5–2025)
by Usha Alexander
On Social Scientists Engaging With Civic Spaces
by Namit Arora
The Mystic Tradition of India
by Namit Arora
“Indian Civilization is an Idea But Also an Enigma”: Karan Thapar interviews Namit Arora
by Namit Arora
Exploring India’s Past: From Al-Beruni to Marco Polo and Ibn-Battuta
by Namit Arora
What Can I Do About Climate Change?
by Usha Alexander
Is There Hope?
by Usha Alexander
Fossil Fuels and Modern Myths
by Usha Alexander

A Deccani Journey
Namit’s photo essays from a two-week train journey in June 2025—going from Mumbai to Hyderabad—with stops in Lonavala, Pune, Bijapur, Gulbarga and Bidar.

A Deccani journey

“Shunya” means both zero and the metaphysical void. Zero and the decimal system emerged in India about 1,500 years ago, later travelling westward with the Arabs—hence the term Arabic numerals. The earliest known epigraphic evidence of zero in decimal notation appears in the Bhojadeva inscriptions of Gwalior—at least the earliest found on stone. And so Gwalior is sometimes regarded as the birthplace of zero. It also happens to be where this blog’s founder, Namit Arora, grew up, so he claims a modest pride in being associated with nothing. 🙂

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Shunya's Notes

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