Dear reader, Mani Ratnam’s upcoming period drama, Ponniyin Selvan, will hit the big screen next month. The film, based on Kalki Krishnamurthy’s 1955 historical fiction by the same name, portrays the imperial ambitions and exploits of the Cholas, who are claimed to be the longest recorded dynasty in world history. The Cholas are easily one of the most extensively written about among the multiple strands of history in South India. This has to do with the large volume of material culture left behind by them, and the fact that they hold the claim of being the only South Indian dynasty to have expanded northwards, and the first empire with territorial ambitions outside of India, in large parts of Southeast Asia. But the reading of the Chola grandeur is also politically coloured. Our story this week tries to unravel what makes the Cholas so special in South Indian memory. It is important to remember that much about the Cholas was discovered and written about during the colonial rule of India, when their exploits in Southeast Asia served as the perfect pushback against British claims of India lacking any claims to a magnificent past. The depiction of the Cholas by Kalki, a freedom fighter and a staunch Congressman, too had its political undertones. The portrayal of the 9th century empire in the upcoming movie is in tune with recent endeavours in Tamil Nadu of reclaiming its long and rich historicity, often highlighting the Cholas as the pinnacle of South Indian glory. Our other story this week is by Mira Patel, who closely follows the lawsuits and investigations being faced by former US president Donald Trump and compares it to the impeachment trial of Richard Nixon in connection to the Watergate scandal of the 1970s. Read the full stories here: Understanding Cholas, the south Indian dynasty that left its imprint on Southeast Asia Democracy in disgrace; the lessons Watergate can teach us about prosecuting Trump Sincerely, Adrija Roychowdhury | 
