Let us rewind the past week.

May 16, 1857: How a massacre by rebel sepoys at the Red Fort felled Bahadur Shah Zafar

The Mughal king was convicted of the murder of 56 Europeans taken prisoner by rebel soldiers. He refuted the charge, saying he had done all he could to prevent the slaughter of innocents – a claim supported by several important historical accounts. Read more here.

Not just presidential polls: BJP threat is why Mamata had a meeting with Sonia Gandhi in Delhi

It is easy for Mamata Banerjee to do business with the Congress as she was once a member of the grand old party. And she enjoys a good rapport with Sonia Gandhi. Moreover, the Congress and Left are no longer Banerjee’s political enemies in West Bengal. That place has been taken by a resurgent BJP. Read more here.

Also read: RSS wing says it could not find more than three journalists in Bengal who uphold its idea of Bharat

Triple talaq case: Model nikahnamas exist, but most brides have no say in their marriage contracts

The Muslim Personal Law Board claims wives can protect themselves from triple talaq through their nikahnamas or marriage contracts. Technically true. But does it really work in a society where a woman has little say in the choice of her husband or her family in wedding-related decisions? Read more here.

The little-known history of how Zoroastrian merchants helped create the old Silk Route

China’s One Belt One Road has revived popular interest in the old Silk Route, whose success was in small part owed to Zoroastrian merchants carrying goods – mostly silk but also paper, rice wine, perfumes, drugs, carpets, furniture, leather, pearls and gourmet delicacies – from China across Central Asia and often all the way to Europe. Read more here.

Metal cows and attacks: Ten months since the Una assault, cow politics still stalks Gujarat’s Dalits

Dalits in Gujarat continue to live in fear. But many of them are fighting back, some through novel protests such as this rally with a metal cow drawing attention to cattle deaths from consumption of plastic waste, and others through vocational training. Read more here.