History is written by the victors, and guess what? They’re all aspiring comic writers in disguise. The Times of India frontpaged this report on the new and controversial NCERT history textbooks, whose authors appear to have borrowed their motto from Whitman: “Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself.” (Wondering what the kerfuffle was about? J S Rajput, director, NCERT, offered this defence when the controversy first broke. For the other side of the argument, read Kai Friese on the subject.)

Imagine Saddam Hussein’s really dead. Would the Other Evil Empire want us to know–or would they continue with a troop of shadow warriors? Ruchir Joshi, author of The Last Jet Engine Laugh, lets his imagination roam free in this op-ed piece from The Telegraph.