Bajaj
Presents
Co-presented by
KIA Seltos
Associate Sponsor
SBI
skip to content

The forgotten Danish colony in India: How Tranquebar became Denmark’s foothold in Tamil Nadu Subscriber Only

An expedition meant to challenge the Portuguese in Sri Lanka instead left behind a Protestant church, a Tamil printing press, and a marginal empire in Tranquebar.

More From Research

The political debate around Vande Mataram cannot be understood without revisiting Anandamath, the 1882 novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay that embedded the song within a larger nationalist narrative set during the 18th-century Sanyasi Rebellion.
Feb 19, 2026
From 1888 to 1979, ‘Capital’ reported on trade, production, taxation, infrastructure, labour relations, and politics with balanced authority and clarity.
Nikita MohtaFeb 12, 2026
Deepta Roy Chakraverti’s ‘Daktarin Jamini Sen’ traces Jamini Sen’s journey from her birth in a Bengal village to her rise as one of British India’s first female doctors.
Aishwarya KhoslaFeb 10, 2026
Hated in his lifetime and celebrated in death, the Duke of Buckingham became the convenient villain through whom England learned to criticise power without naming the king.
Nikita MohtaFeb 4, 2026
While Trump described the reduction of tariffs on Indian goods as an act of reciprocity, an idea rooted in early American trade policy, the First Tariff Act of 1789 treated reciprocity as a safeguard against
Nikita MohtaFeb 2, 2026
Vaikom Narayani Janaki served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for 23 days in 1988 following the death of her husband, M G Ramachandran (MGR).
Nikita MohtaJan 30, 2026
Akhilesh Upadhyay’s book, In the Margins of Empires: A History of the Chicken’s Neck, spotlights the borderland people of the eastern Himalayan region who find themselves caught in the crosscurrents of larger geopolitical rivalries.
Shehnab Sahin’s short story collection, ‘Colour My Grave Purple and Other Stories’, seeks to expand Assam’s narrative beyond insurgency and AFSPA.
Aishwarya KhoslaJan 27, 2026
Historian Jane Ohlmeyer reflects on the long and uneasy connections between Ireland and India under British rule, from shared imperial structures and Irish participation in empire to partition, migration, and the politics of historical memory.
"The Pahlavi monarchy has always been there as a strong alternative... especially in the minds of younger people." As anti-government protests challenge the Islamic Republic, the legacy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his father,
Nikita MohtaJan 22, 2026
At a time when US President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ threatens the UN’s future, the League of Nations and its collapse offers some sobering lessons.
Nikita MohtaJan 20, 2026
Once played across the subcontinent under many names, kabaddi was rapidly standardised in newly independent India. This process enabled its rise as a “national sport” but also eroded much of its vernacular and rural roots
Jan 17, 2026
19th-century English Directories and Bengali Directory-Panjikas recorded streets, professions and rituals with a precision modern urban history often neglects
Nikita MohtaJan 14, 2026
While US President Donald Trump has reiterated his desire to take control of resource-rich Greenland, he is not the first to harbour such intentions, history shows.
Aishwarya KhoslaJan 13, 2026
Once engineered as a symbol of women’s liberation, the cigarette has travelled a long road from corporate manipulation to cinematic cliché, and now, to acts of rebellion under Iran’s authoritarian rule.
Nikita MohtaJan 9, 2026
The Monroe Doctrine was meant to keep European empires out of the Americas. But it has, scholars argue, become a flexible tool for justifying US intervention instead. President Donald Trump’s invocation of the doctrine over
Rohan BasuJan 8, 2026
Today, when NCERT textbooks assert that Brahmagupta and Bhaskaracharya developed algebra independently and before Arab scholars, they repeat a logic that has haunted Indian scholarship for nearly two centuries. Such claims are framed as historical
Indira Gandhi’s brief visit to Venezuela reveals how India once sought common cause with Latin America’s post-colonial nations.
In this interview, Madhavan K Palat, editor of The Nehru Archive, reveals a remarkably transparent leader, even in his most controversial moments.
Dec 29, 2025
The Lund International Tagore Choir stands as a testament to how Rabindranath Tagore’s music weaves human connections, fosters friendships, and kindles warmth among those moved by his philosophy.
Arup K ChatterjeeDec 23, 2025
From artillery salutes and ballroom dinners to Bow Barracks lights and Tangra feasts, a history of how Calcutta made Christmas its own.
On the anniversary of Goa’s Liberation Day, revisiting the 1787 Pinto rebellion — an early challenge to Portuguese rule, long before 1961.
Fashion journalist Shefalee Vasudev on the politics of the saree, PM Narendra Modi’s “best-dressed” image, and why denial itself has become a powerful sartorial statement.
Nikita MohtaDec 12, 2025
Apart from its proximity to the princely states—and Simla—Delhi’s symbolic importance as the seat of India’s erstwhile empires sealed its selection as the new capital.
Arup K ChatterjeeDec 11, 2025
From the making of the Constitution to the courts of today, Shakespeare’s words have shaped India’s legal imagination in surprising ways.
Weather
Edition
Install the Express App for
a better experience
Featured
Trending Topics
News
Multimedia
Follow Us