This book focuses on the third: the role of U.S. and European churches, academics, think-tanks, foundations, government and human rights groups in fostering separation of the identities of Dravidian and Dalit communities from the rest of India. The book is the result of five years of research, and uses information obtained in the West about foreign funding of these Indian-based activities. The research tracked the money trails that start out claiming to be for "education," "human rights," "empowerment training," and "leadership training," but end up in programs designed to produce angry youths who feel disenfranchised from Indian identity. The book reveals how outdated racial theories continue to provide academic frameworks and fuel the rhetoric that can trigger civil wars and genocides in developing countries. The Dravidian movement's 200-year history has such origins. Its latest manifestation is the "Dravidian Christianity" movement that fabricates a political and cultural history to exploit old faultlines. The book explicitly names individuals and institutions, including prominent Western ones and their Indian affiliates. Its goal is to spark an honest debate on the extent to which human rights and other "empowerment" projects are cover-ups for these nefarious activities. For more information, or to view videos about this book, visit www.breakingindia.com

    With almost everyone they know suddenly erased from the face of the earth, the girls set out for the convent where they attend school. They are abducted almost immediately and sold to a Mumbai brothel owner, beginning a hellish descent into the bowels of the sex trade.Halfway across the world, Washington, D.C., attorney Thomas Clarke faces his own personal and professional crisis-and makes the fateful decision to pursue a pro bono sabbatical working in India for an NGO that prosecutes the subcontinent's human traffickers. There, his conscience awakens as he sees firsthand the horrors of the trade in human flesh, and the corrupt judicial system that fosters it. Learning of the fate of Ahalya and Sita, Clarke makes it his personal mission to rescue them, setting the stage for a riveting showdown with an international network of ruthless criminals.

    It is also a unique civilization with philosophies and cosmologies that are markedly distinct from the dominant culture of our times – the West. India’s spiritual traditions spring from dharma which has no exact equivalent in western frameworks. Unfortunately, in the rush to celebrate the growing popularity of India on the world stage, its civilizational matrix is being digested into western universalism, thereby diluting its distinctiveness and potential.This book addresses the challenge of direct and honest engagement on differences, by reversing the gaze, repositioning India from being the observed to the observer and looking at the West from the dharmic point of view. In doing so it challenges many hitherto unexamined beliefs that both sides hold about themselves and each other. It highlights that unique historical revelations are the basis for western religions, as opposed to dharma’s emphasis on self-realization in the body here and now. It describes the integral unity that underpins dharma’s metaphysics and contrasts this with western thought and history as a synthetic unity. The west’s anxiety over difference and fixation for order runs in contrast with the creative role of chaos in dharma. The book critiques fashionable reductive translations and argues for preserving certain non-translatable words of Sanskrit. It concludes with a rebuttal against western claims of universalism and recommends a multi-civilizational worldview.The discussions and debate within the book employ the venerable tradition of purva-paksha, an ancient dharmic technique where a debater must first authentically understand in the opponent’s perspective, test the merits of that point of view and only then engage in debate using his own position. Purva-paksha encourages individuals to become truly knowledgeable about all perspectives, to approach the other side with respect and to forego the desire to simply win the contest. Purva-paksha also demands that all sides be willing to embrace the shifts in thinking, disruptive and controversial as they may be, that emerge from such a dialectical process.Being Different highlights six distinct and fundamental points of divergence between the dharmic traditions and the West. These are as follows:1) Approaches to difference: The West’s pervasive anxiety over personal and cultural differences have resulted in the endless need for the appropriation, assimilation, “conversion” and/or digestion and obliteration of all that does not fit its fundamental paradigms. The roots of this anxiety lie in the inherent schisms in its worldview. Dharmic traditions, in contrast, while not perfect, are historically more comfortable with differences, both individual and collective; they are not driven by mandates for expansion and control.2) History-centrism vs. Inner Sciences: The Judeo-Christian religious narrative is rooted in the history of a specific people and place. Further, the divine is external rather than within and guides humanity through unique and irreplaceable revelations. The dharmic traditions, in contrast, emphasize a series of sophisticated techniques of meditation and related inner sciences to achieve higher states of embodied knowing.3) Integral unity vs. synthetic unity: Since the time of Aristotle, the West has assumed an atomic partitioning of reality into distinct and unrelated parts. The Judeo-Christian worldview is based on separate essences for God, the world and/ human souls. Additionally, there is an unbridgeable gap between Greek reason and religious revelation. The result has been a forced unity of separate entities, and such a unity always feels threatened to disintegrate and remains synthetic at best. In dharmic cosmology all things emerge from a unified whole. In Hinduism this integral unity is the very nature of Brahman; in Buddhism there is no ultimate essence like Brahman, but the principle of impermanence and co-dependence provides unity. Dharma and science are enmeshed as part of the same exploration. Every aspect of reality mirrors and relates to every other aspect in a web of interdependency.4) The nature of chaos and uncertainty: The West privileges order in its aesthetics, ethics, religions, society and politics, and manifests a deep-rooted fear of chaos, uncertainty and complexity. The dharmic worldview see chaos as a creative catalyst built into the cosmos to balance out order that could become stultifying., and hence it adopts a more relaxed attitude towards it5) Translatability vs. Sanskrit: Unlike Western languages, in Sanskrit the fundamental sounds have an existential link to the experience of the object they represent. This makes Sanskrit a key resource for personal and cultural development. It also implies that the process of translation and digestion into Western schemas is unavoidably reductive.6) Western universalism challenged: In the “grand narrative” of the West, whether secular or religious, it is the agent or driver of historical unfolding and sets the template for all nations and peoples. This book challenges this self-serving universalism. It contrasts this with dharma’s non-linear approach to the past and multiple future trajectories.The very openness that makes dharma appealing, however, often makes it vulnerable to invasion, appropriation and erosion by a more aggressive and externally ambitious civilization. The book uses the metaphor of digestion to point to the destructive effects of what is usually white-washed as assimilation, globalization or postmodern deconstruction of difference. For complex reasons, which are analyzed at length, the dharmic traditions have been a particular target of digestion into the West, and Being Different challenges the uncritical acceptance of this process by both Westerners and Indians.

    Based on his Indian experience, Dr Kalam recommends a sustainable and inclusive development system called PURA—Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas—to uplift the rural masses not by subsidies but through entrepreneurship with community participation. To make his case, Dr Kalam cites the examples of individuals and institutions, in India and from across the world, who, with an entrepreneurial spirit and a burning desire to make a difference, have successfully generated and tapped into the potential of the rural masses.Fabio Luiz de Oliveira Rosa changed the face of the rural district of Palmares, Brazil, by acquiring for the farmers access to electricity and water, which effect combined with better agricultural methods led to an increase in prosperity and stemmed the migration to the citiesThe 123-strong Magar clan owned Magarpatta, a 430-acre plot on the outskirts of Pune, Maharashtra. In the 1990s, they organized and set up the Magarpatta city which is now home to over 35,000 residents and a working population of 65,000, and boasts of an IT park.

    Battling odds, Ambedkar drafted the Constitution of India and eventually embraced Buddhism. Experiences similar to Ambedkar's continue to haunt a majority of India's 170 million dalits. They are still denied water, shelter and the basic dignities of life.In this ground-breaking work, Pardhan-Gond artists Durgabai Vyam and Subhash Vyam interweave historical events like the Mahad satyagraha with contemporary incidents. Defying conventional grammar, they infuse fresh energy into the graphic idiom through their magical art mounted on an epic scale.

    54 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more – everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Shantaram: A Novel. This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion on Shantaram: A Novel by Gregory David Roberts.

    Called Netaji ( leader ) by his countrymen, Subhas Chandra Bose struggled all his life to liberate his people from British rule and, in pursuit of that goal, raised and led the Indian National Army against Allied Forces during World War II. His patriotism, as Gandhi asserted, was second to none, but his actions aroused controversy in India and condemnation in the West.Now, in a definitive biography of the revered Indian nationalist, Sugata Bose deftly explores a charismatic personality whose public and private life encapsulated the contradictions of world history in the first half of the twentieth century. He brilliantly evokes Netaji s formation in the intellectual milieu of Calcutta and Cambridge, probes his thoughts and relations during years of exile, and analyzes his ascent to the peak of nationalist politics. Amidst riveting accounts of imprisonment and travels, we glimpse the profundity of his struggle: to unite Hindu and Muslim, men and women, and diverse linguistic groups within a single independent Indian nation. Finally, an authoritative account of his untimely death in a plane crash will put to rest rumors about the fate of this deathless hero.This epic of a life larger than its legend is both intimate, based on family archives, and global in significance. "His Majesty s Opponent" establishes Bose among the giants of Indian and world history.

    Hundreds of thousands of men died in twelve hours in their titanic struggle for supremacy. One of them emerged victorious; yet it was a pyrrhic victory.This is that story, researched meticulously by Uday S.Kulkarni from scores of primary and secondary sources in English, Persian and marathi, spread across many tomes dating back to the 17th century.With a foreword by Ninad Bedekar, over two dozen maps and several colour photographs of personalities and locations; it is a lucid and balanced account of the last battle of Panipat.

    And they raise the question: can women’s access to public space be viewed in isolation from that of other marginal groups?Going beyond the problem of the real and implied risks associated with women’s presence in public, they draw from feminist theory to argue that only by celebrating loitering—a radical act for most Indian women—can a truly equal, global city be created.

    most outspoken and fearless political activist.War has spread from the borders of India to the forests in the very heart of the country. Combining brilliant analysis and reportage by one of India's iconic writers. Broken Republic examines the nature of progress and development in the emerging global superpower. and asks fundamental questions about modern civilization itself. In three incisive essays Roy lays bare the corruption at the centre of government and industry. explores life with the Maoist guerrilla movement and reveals the thwarted search for justice and democracy in India.

    It is a fictional biography and more accurately can be called historical fiction. The original Dutch version was a trilogy, published separately in three volumes. The trilogy was written between 1937-1947 by a Dutch scholar Wytze Keuning in Groningen in the Netherlands. These three volumes Ashoka: The Wild Prince, Book I, Ashoka: The Wise Ruler, Book II and Ashoka: The World's Great Teacher, Book III are now brought together and presented in this single volume Ashoka The Great. The book is an exhilarating, spiritually edifying and deeply moving story of one of India's greatest emperors. It recreates the life and times of the Mauryas with an authenticity that is remarkable. The book presents a plausible vision of the past balanced by a captivating story. It is said that a great book if it is to endure cannot do without profound ideas. Keuning perfectly fuses facts and thoughts, Mauryan customs and mores, life and reflection on the meaning of life as seen through the vision of Ashoka's gurus and the history of personal influences upon Ashoka that marked his rule and legacy. This and more makes it a rare and distinguished book.About the AuthorWytze Keuning (Author) was a Schoolteacher and Headmaster of a primary school in the Netherlands since 1897, when, in 1937, he decided to dedicate his further career to writing the historical biography of Ashoka. The three-volume biography was published between 1941 and 1948. He died in 1957.Elisabeth Steur (Translator) worked as a Child Psychologist between 1962 and 1995 and was fascinated by Keuning's book and her experiences in the surroundings of one of India's great spiritual masters in the late eighties. She took upon herself the task to make these forgotten books available to the Indian reader by taking care of the translation after her retirement.

    Within one exotic land lie the secrets of a lifetime! Newlywed Nerys Watkins leaves rural Wales for the first time in her life, to accompany her husband on a missionary posting to India. Travelling from lonely Ladakh, high up in the Himalayas, Nerys discovers a new world in the lakeside city of Srinagar. Here, in the exquisite heart of Kashmir, the British live on carved wooden houseboats and dance, flirt and gossip as if there is no war. But the battles draw ever closer, and life in Srinagar becomes less frivolous when the men are sent away to fight. Nerys is caught up in a dangerous friendship, and by the time she is reunited with her husband, the innocent Welsh bride has become a different woman. Years later, when Mair Ellis clears out her father's house, she finds an exquisite antique shawl, woven from the finest yarns and embroidered in the shades of lake water and mountain skies. Wrapped within its folds is a lock of child's hair. Tracing her grandparents' roots back to Kashmir, Mair embarks on a quest that will change her life forever.

    Walking alone and spending the nights sleeping under the stars, in the homes of welcoming strangers or in small towns and villages, he experienced the dusty enchantment of ordinary, real India on the smallest of budgets. There Are Other Rivers tells the story of the walk through an account of a single day as well as reflecting on the allure of difficult journeys and the eternal appeal of the open road. Alastair Humphreys is a National Geographic 'Adventurer of the Year'. Reviews for previous books"Believe me, he can write, and rather well" - Geographical"...displays a tendency for Big Hairy Audacious Goals that is almost unnerving." - Treehugger.comAmazon Reviews"This book has it all: it's a great travel read, a look into the human soul and how most people, given enough determination, could attempt something like this.""No expensive equipment or 'fastest, strongest, quickest'; just a brilliant, understated story.""Simply outstanding.""If you prefer the comfort of your armchair these books will still stir your imagination and curiosity for the world.""An absolute must-read or any passionate traveller." GoodReads Reviews "Wow... another great book by Alastair Humphreys.""One of the best adventure travel books I've read."www.alastairhumphreys.com@al_humphreys

    and reprint of some of Tagore's most famous stories

    There are several changes that have been incorporated in the second edition, in order to make the atlas more compatible with the syllabus followed by various education boards across India.Oxford Student Atlas For India is designed to make map reading and understanding a much easier task for school children. The quality digital maps provided in this book are accurate and the layout is attractive, raising the aesthetic value of the book. The book features sections on the World Time Zone map and World History, which are sure to be useful for all students.It also has a section that draws attention to the history of cartology and landforms, which gives students some insights into the history and concepts behind map-making.The book lays great emphasis on the accuracy of its maps. The material has been well researched, and the Geographic Information System (GIS) technology has been incorporated to provide 3D physical maps that have amazing clarity and accuracy.

    But it also deals with issues confronting more and more Indians caught in an identity crisis: What does it mean to be Indian? What is specific to the worldview developed by Indian culture? How has it dialogued with other cultures? Is it built on durable foundations, or is it little more than colourful religiosity and quaint but outdated customs? And what are the meaning and application of secularism and tolerance in the Indian context? The French-born author, who has been living in India for 33 years, argues that Indian culture is not some exotic relic of the past, but a dynamic force that still has a role to play in defining India's identity and cohesion, and in proposing solutions to today's global challenges. Written in a crisp and engaging style, this thought-provoking volume challenges received ideas on India's culture and invites us to think afresh.

    David Malone identifies relevant aspects of Indian history, examines the role of domestic politics and internal and external security challenges, and of domestic and international economic factors.He analyzes the specifics of India's policy within its South Asian neighborhood, and with respect to China, the USA, West Asia, East Asia, Europe, and Russia as well as multilateral diplomacy. The book also touches on Indian ties to Africa and Latin America, and the Caribbean.India's 'soft power', the role of migration in its policy, and other cross-cutting issues are analyzed, as is the role and approach of several categories of foreign policy actors in India. Substantive conclusions touch on policies India may want or need to adjust in its quest for internationalstature.This book will appeal to both scholars and students of international relations as well as policymakers, diplomats, journalists, strategic affairs experts, and informed readers.

    

    A young Sikh girl, Simran Kaur, has run away from her father, who would rather poison his daughter than see her defiled. And Ibrahim Masud, an elderly Muslim doctor driven from the town of his birth, limps toward the new Muslim state of Pakistan, rediscovering on the way his role as a healer. As the displaced face a variety of horrors, this unlikely quartet comes together, defying every rule of self-preservation to forge a future of hope.A dramatic, luminous story of families and nations broken and formed, "Partitions" introduces an extraordinary novelist who writes with the force and lyricism of poetry.

     The Mahabharata belongs in the annals of world literature, and every educated person should be familiar with it. Its message is timeless (without it being a "message" book), and especially relevant in these turbulent times. Western readers in particular should be reading the Mahabharata, including non-resident Indians who may have lost touch with their roots.SONS OF GODS -- MAHABHARATA is kaleidoscopic in its beauty and intricacy. The hurdle of the tale's massive scope has always daunted translators, and the difficulty of prising the right tone from an ancient grand epic to suit a modern and Western audience has relegated it to largely academic obscurity.

What's saved it for us is that Sharon Maas knows full well that love, betrayal, lust, envy, pride, devotion, and heroism never go out of style. SONS OF GODS is a literary soap opera with a soul that spans the full horizon."The highest literature transcends regionalism, and through it, when we are properly attuned, we realise the essential oneness of the human family."The Mahabharata is of this class. It belongs to the world and not only to India. To the people of India, indeed, this epic has been an unfailing and perennial source of spiritual strength. Learnt at the mother’s knee with reverence and love, it has inspired great men to heroic deeds as well as enabled the humble to face their trials with fortitude and faith."From: Preface to the Second Edition of The Mahabharata, by C. Rajagopalachari; Madras 1952

    The Swedish Research Council awarded a very generous three-year research grant to enable me to carry out the investigation. It is the only comprehensive and complete study of the partition process in the Punjab, beginning with the election campaign of 1945 and culminating in December 1947. It proceeds at two levels, secret British deliberations and decisions and the ground reality in the Punjab. Most time and effort has been devoted to tracing survivors and eyewitnesses from 1947. In some cases I have collected evidence of the same incident from the two opposing sides after 55-63 years. Such a work will never be possible later because the generation on whose testimony it is base will be gone. The partition of the Punjab resulted in the biggest forced migration in history-some 14 million people altogether of which 10 million were from the Punjab. It also resulted in the first major case of ethnic cleansing after the Second World War-on both sides of the divided Punjab unwanted minorities were driven away or killed. Some 500,000 to 800,000 people were killed. It is an unprecedented work and will most certainly become the standard reference on the partition of the Punjab.

    Of this, the Baghdadi Sephardic community is very small in number but has produced one of India???s greatest contemporary soldiers, Lt Gen. Jack Jacob. This is his fascinating story. As a small boy, Jacob, who was from a business family, was sent to a residential public school in Darjeeling along with his two brothers. When the Second World War broke out, Jacob without informing his family joined the army in 1941 to fight against the Nazis! After Independence, Gen. Jacob became a gunnery instructor for some time and subsequently was trained in an advanced Artillery and Missile course at Fort Sill in the US. A quick learner, he commanded infantry and artillery brigades, headed the artillery school, and finally the Eastern Army. Rubbing shoulders with some of the stalwarts who strode the Indian political and military arena in those times, Gen. Jacob sometimes fell foul of his bosses and twice came close to resigning. But he stuck on and the pinnacle of his career came in 1971, when he planned and oversaw operations leading to the fall of Dacca and obtained an unconditional public surrender, the only one in history, of Gen. Niazi and his army of 93,000. Written lucidly, this autobiography comes to life as a historical document recapitulating some of the most important events of the 1960s to the 90s ??? from the defeat of the Naxalites in West Bengal, to the problems of Nagaland and Sikkim and the politics of Goa and Punjab. This is not only the story of the life of one great soldier, but provides glimpses of some of the most influential and colourful personalities who wrote the history of those tumultuous times.

    This new collection of Hindu tales, including the birth of the gods, tales of creation, and the arrival of humans, is illuminated by Amanda Hall's exquisite artwork, which reflects the influence of both classical and contemporary Indian art.

    Over ten thousand Pathans and Afghan tribesmen advanced on their signaling post of Saragarhi, located in the North-West Frontier province of undivided British India. For the next seven hours, the Sikhs fought to the last man, protecting the Indian soil of the British Empire with unflinching courage and determination. Each was posthumously awarded the Indian Order of Merit, the highest gallantry award an Indian soldier could receive from the British crown. Never in the history, or since the battle of Saragarhi, has an entire contingent of troops received the highest gallantry honor for a single action. This is their story, based on the actual dispatches sent during the battle and the days that followed it.… the name of your race has become almost synonymous in the English language with traditions of desperate courage and unflinching loyalty.- Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, in Lahore. (The Times, April 07, 1899)…the conduct displayed by the 21 men of the 36th Sikh Regiment whose names were inscribed on the memorial was characteristic of the [Sikh] nation's traditions. It should be kept as an example to others, in order to show how brave men should behave when facing fearful odds. - General Sir Arthur Power Palmer (The Times, April 17, 1902)

    However, the nature of the topic and the contents will be extremely relevant and useful for those interested in understanding the evolving dynamics of the system of governance in the country.In his inimitable style which is hallmark of Laxmikanth' s books, the author clearly identifies the topics of the subject and presents them in his familiar reader friendly format. It is also worth mentioning that these topics do not overlap with his Indian Polity book

    It also reveals the stratagem of the Chief Justice S M Sikri on the date of the judgments by which he fortuned on a paper hurriedly prepared by him. It also shows how later cases of the Supreme Court have distilled the concept of the basic structure of the Constitution and how it has been considered in other jurisdictions.

    Autobiographical reminiscences of Kidar Sharma, dead in 1999, Indian motion picture producer and director

    R. Nagaraj, the foremost non-Brahmin intellectual to emerge from India’s non-English-speaking world, presents his vision of the Indian caste system in relation to Dalit politics—the Dalit being a self-designation for many groups in the lower castes of India. Nagaraj argues that the Dalit movement rejected the traditional Hindu world and thus dismissed untouchable pasts entirely; but he believes rebels too require cultural memory. Their emotions of bewilderment, rage, and resentment can only be transcended via a politics of affirmation.He theorizes the caste system as a mosaic of disputes about dignity, religiosity, and entitlement. Examining moments of caste defiance, he argues for a politics of cultural affirmation and creates a new cultural identity for Dalits. More significantly, he argues against self-pity and rage in artistic imagination, and for recreating the banished worlds of gods and goddesses.Nagaraj’s importance lies in consolidating and advancing some of the ideas of India’s leading Dalit thinker and icon, B. R. Ambedkar. He suggests an inclusivist framework to build an alliance of all the oppressed communities of India.

    The European rediscovery of India's cultural heritage led to the emergence of Orientalist scholarship and a belief that India was the original home of the arts and sciences.In India the great patron of Indie studies was the Governor-General, Warren Hastings. He gathered around himself a select group that included Charles Wilkins, Nathaniel Halhed, and William Jones, the most famous of the Orientalists.But the growing political ascendancy of the British in India dampened the early exuberance for Indie studies. As conquerors, the British began to feel the need to justify their conquests and exalt their own race and religion. Several other forces were at work to turn the tide against India. The Industrial Revolution in England had created the need to convert India into a market for machine-made British goods. Meanwhile, the Evangelicals pressed for the Christianization and Anglicization of India, which, they felt, would lead to permanent British rule and also change Indian lifestyle to the advantage of British manufacturers. The Evangelicals allied with the Utilitarians to launch a tirade against Indian culture and force the retreat of the Orientalists.This volume covers the period from A.D. 1700 to 1850. A significant number of travellers visited India during this century and a half. The accounts available to us are primarily those written in English. A considerable amount of the work in French and the rich accounts of the early Danish missionaries on the Coromandel Coast, for instance, have yet to be translated into English.

    If Ayodhya falls, then all mortals fall. Rama must go to Mithila—a city lying directly in the path of destruction. There, a small band of heroes plan a valiant stand against the advancing armies of darkness. But Lanka's forces are nearly boundless and have swept all before them. For at the head of the demon tide rides Rama's nemesis, a terrible slayer of souls—the demonlord Ravana.

    verso.

    

    The only sight that fills her with terror is the monsters who live on the other side of the train tracks — the lepers. When Valli discovers that that her “aunt” is a stranger who was paid money to take Valli off her own family’s hands, she leaves Jharia and begins a series of adventures that takes her to Kolkata, the city of the gods. Valli finds that she really doesn’t need much to live and is very resourceful. But a chance encounter with a doctor reveals that she has leprosy. Unable to bear the thought that she is one of the monsters she has always feared, Valli rejects help and begins an uncertain life on the street.

    When Dad unwittingly unleashes upon himself a deadly and ancient curse, it’s up to 12-year-old Chloe Walker to come to the rescue. Once the entire family is deep within the Indian rainforest, Chloe and her local friend, Sotol, head out to find a cure for the illness that threatens her father’s life. To find the Golden Seed, Chloe and Sotol risk life and limb, facing ruthless poachers, desolate elephant burial grounds, and the fantastical wilds of nature. With a magical amulet, arguing gibbons, a mama tiger on the run, and an impossible rope bridge that only a nut would try to cross—Chloe is on the adventure of a lifetime. Decode the map, find the seed, and defeat Yama. No problem... Yeah Right!

    With his landing, India became accessible to Portuguese conquistadors, traders, travellers, scholars and clergymen. The sixteenth century could, in a sense, be termed the Portuguese century, for no European power could challenge its mastery of the sea route to India.The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 by Holland and England, however, signaled the end of this monopoly and in 1595, the first Dutch fleet entered the Indian Ocean. In the seventeenth century, the Dutch, with their British camp followers, seriously undermined the Portuguese. The French also entered the Indian trade in the second half of this century.While several Portuguese accounts of India in the sixteenth century are available, for the seventeenth century, we also have the writings of travellers, scholars and missionaries from the latter three countries. Additionally, Jesuits of various nationalities wrote regular letters to home, providing valuable information on facets of Indian life, albeit tempered by their religious bias.This volume confines itself to European writings of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It does not claim to be exhaustive but presents glimpses of the Indian reality as recorded by contemporary European visitors. Only English translations have been used. A sizeable number of accounts in European languages still await translation.

    "Wings of Freedom" depicts an intense, cross-cultural romance and is set in British India of the early twentieth century.In the turbulent backdrop of India's struggle for freedom, destiny brings together an Indian young man, aspiring to be a revolutionary and the teenage daughter of a British officer.Will their effervescent romance survive the societal pressures, cultural divide, the political turmoil and the catastrophic First World War?

    These remarkable paintings, dating from 1100 to 1900, were selected according to identifiable artists, and they refute the long-held view of anonymous authorship in Indian art.Traditionally, Indian paintings have been classified by regional styles or dynastic periods, with an emphasis on subject matter. Stressing the combined tools of connoisseurship and inscriptional evidence, the pioneering research reflected in this book has identified individual artists and their oeuvres through the analysis of style.The introductory essay outlines the origins of early Indian painting of the first millennium, which set the scene for the development of the art of the book. The sections that follow examine manuscript painting as it evolved from palm-leaf to paper, the emergence of traditional painting as an independent art form, and its demise with the coming of photography. Biographies of the artists whose works appear in this volume and a glossary of their major literary sources provide valuable context.

    Following a hundred years of vociferous social reform, including a 1947 law that criminalized their lifestyles, the women in devadasis communities contend with severe social stigma and economic and cultural disenfranchisement. Adroitly combining ethnographic fieldwork with historical research, Davesh Soneji provides a comprehensive portrait of these marginalized women and unsettles received ideas about relations among them, the aesthetic roots of their performances, and the political efficacy of social reform in their communities. Poignantly narrating the history of these women, Soneji argues for the recognition of aesthetics and performance as a key form of subaltern self-presentation and self-consciousness. Ranging over courtly and private salon performances of music and dance by devadasis in the nineteenth century, the political mobilization of devadasis identity in the twentieth century, and the post-reform lives of women in these communities today, Unfinished Gestures charts the historical fissures that lie beneath cultural modernity in South India.

    By the seventh century, the world scenario had altered significantly with the advent of Islam and the attendant era of Arab expansion. The age of Arab travellers, geographers, merchants and historians commenced with the Islamic ascendancy.India was then at a high point in her intellectual and cultural attainments. The Arabs transmitted knowledge of Indian numerals, mathematics, philosophy and logic, mysticism, ethics, statecraft, military science, medicine, astronomy and astrology to the outside world. Arab travellers described the grandeur and wealth of the kings of India, singling out for special mention the Palas, the Gurjara Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas.Politically, while north India was being subjected to Arab and Turkish invasions which culminated in the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate in A.D. 1206, the south moved on a different trajectory. In the last quarter of the tenth century, the mighty Cholas on the Coromandel Coast replaced the Rashtrakutas as the paramount kings of India. By A.D. 1200, the Chola kingdom had withered away. In A.D. 1336, was established the Vijayanagar kingdom, which stood as a bulwark against Muslim attacks from the north for over two centuries.Meanwhile, several European missions and missionaries undertook the journey to China, visiting India en route, or on their return journey. European merchants took advantage of the land routes opened by the Mongol conquests and some of them managed to visit India.Besides the works of European travellers, traders and merchants, several Chinese accounts of India are also available from the twelfth century.

    

    His canvas of human relationships is rooted in the everyday lives of families in turn-of-the-century Bengal. Saratchandra's carefully crafted stories, brimming with emotion, and his sharply etched characters, are unforgettable. This omnibus that brings together eight of his novels in translation; is a collection to be cherished. Biraj Bou Parineeta (A Married Woman) Palli Samaj (The Village Life) Arakkhaniya (The Unprotected) Srikanta, Devdas, Swami (Husband) Grihadaha (House of Cinders) About the Author: Saratchandra Chattopadhyay Saratchandra Chattopadhyay was born on 15 September 1876 in Devanandapur, a village in West Bengal. He grew up in dire poverty and received very little formal education. After spending some of his youth in Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur, Saratchandra left for Burma in1903, and it was from here that he began to send his stories and novels to magazines in Kolkata. Sensitive and daring, Saratchandra's writings captivated the hearts and minds of readers, and he soon became Bengal's most popular novelist. He returned to Kolkata in 1916, and dedicated himself to writing. Saratchandra was India's first successful professional writer-a person who earned his entire livelihood only from writing. He died in 1938. Saratchandra remains one of the best-loved Indian novelists of all time: his works have been translated into various languages and made into films as well. Among his best-known novels are Srikanta, Devdas, Palli Samaj (The Village Life), Parineeta (An Unmarried Woman), Charitraheen (The Immoralist), Grihadaha (House of Cinders) and Pather Dabi (The Call of the

    These are right-wing Hindu fundamentalism, leftwing Maoist extremism, and seccessionist movementsseeking up the break-up of India. In recent years, to those three longstanding threats have been added three more: inequality, corruption, and environmental degradation.Guha analyses each of these six threats in turn, explaining their origins and course, and suggesting ways in which they may be tamed or overcome.

    Comprising a small but prestigious segment of India’s labor force, these transnational knowledge workers dominate the country’s economic and cultural scene, as do their notions of what it means to be Indian. Drawing on the stories of Indian professionals in Mumbai, Bangalore, Silicon Valley, and South Africa, Smitha Radhakrishnan explains how these high-tech workers create a “global Indianness” by transforming the diversity of Indian cultural practices into a generic, mobile set of “Indian” norms. Female information technology professionals are particularly influential. By reconfiguring notions of respectable femininity and the “good” Indian family, they are reshaping ideas about what it means to be Indian. Radhakrishnan explains how this transnational class creates an Indian culture that is self-consciously distinct from Western culture, yet compatible with Western cosmopolitan lifestyles. She describes the material and symbolic privileges that accrue to India’s high-tech workers, who often claim ordinary middle-class backgrounds, but are overwhelmingly urban and upper caste. They are also distinctly apolitical and individualistic. Members of this elite class practice a decontextualized version of Hinduism, and they absorb the ideas and values that circulate through both Indian and non-Indian multinational corporations. Ultimately, though, global Indianness is rooted and configured in the gendered sphere of home and family.

    Is the holy place bigger, or the devotee?More people have embarked on a quest for the sacred in India than anywhere else. An exceptionally rich religious tradition and an abundance of minor and major pilgrim sites have given seekers ample motivation to pack their bags and go on a search.Pilgrim's India is about all journeys impelled by the idea of the sacred. It brings together essays and poems from the Katha Upanishad, Fa-Hien, Basavanna and Kabir to Paul Brunton, Richard Lannoy, Amit Chaudhuri, Arun Kolatkar and others about various aspects of trips undertaken in the name of God. Readers will encounter the watchful reserve of a British journalist in southern India, the vigorous prose of a contemporary Sikh pilgrim, a French author-adventurer s appraisal of the Ellora caves, a modern-day Zoroastrian s reflections on Udvada and a woman's impression of what it means to be Muslim in India.Mystics, witnesses and wanderers write about the Supreme Being, about journeys and destinations, false starts, bottlenecks and blind alleys, about humour, rage and revelation all of which make this anthology a deeply absorbing and idiosyncratic take on pilgrims and pilgrim trails in India.

    Early modernity in India consists in the formation of a new philosophical self, one which makes it possible meaningfully to conceive of oneself as engaging the ancient and the alien in conversation. The ancient texts are now not thought of as authorities to which one must defer, but regarded as the source of insight in the company of which one pursues the quest for truth. Thisnew attitude implies a change in the conception of one's duties towards the past. After reconstructing the historical intellectual context in detail, and developing a suitable methodological framework, Ganeri reviews work on the concept of knowledge, the nature of evidence, the self, the nature ofthe categories, mathematics, realism, and a new language for philosophy. A study of early modern philosophy in India has much to teach us today - about the nature of modernity as such, about the reform of educational institutions and its relationship to creative research, and about cosmopolitanidentities in circumstances of globalisation.

    Born into a humble Hindu family, Nanak was an extraordinary child who from a very young age questioned the rituals of religion and the ways of the world around him. He grew up to be a great spiritual teacher and revolutionary for his times. His attempt to define a universal humanity resulted in Sikhism – a religion that embraces everyone. Singh's version of the guru’s life is based on the janam sakhis (birth stories) as well as the Sikh scriptures.

    This essay is a lightly revised version of Dr Ramachandra Guha's 2011 address to the General Assembly of the United Nations, to mark the International Day of Non-Violence, observed every year on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, 2nd October.

    Innovative and inspirational, these 16th and 17th century constructions demonstrate the staggering wealth and power of those responsible for their creation, notably the emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Mughal architecture is a remarkable hybrid that fuses building forms and decorative schemes from Iran and Central Asia with long-established Indian practice. The most famous examples are the Red Fort in Dehli and Taj Mahal in Agra. This beautifully illustrated book outlines the history of Mughal architecture and gardens, from stylistic developments under different emperors, to the geometric origins of Mughal design and decoration. Now the gardens are mostly lost, but Michell carefully depicts how they would have been; their structures and layouts, the favoured varieties of colorful flowers and scented plants, and the laborious but innovative methods sometimes used to create running water in areas without natural springs and streams. The author gives particular attention to the major monuments and gardens in the imperial centers of Mughal power, namely Dehli, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Lahore. These sections are accompanied by specially commissioned architectural plans as well as over 250 stunning color photographs. Written by a leading authority on Indian architecture, this magnificent book is the quintessential guide to Mughal architecture and garden design.

    Civil rights work provided Balagopal the cause and context to engage with history, the public sphere and political change. He wrote through nearly three tumultuous decades: on encounter deaths; struggles of agricultural labourers; the shifting dynamics of class and caste in the 1980s and thereafter in Andhra Pradesh; the venality and tyranny of the Indian state; on the importance of re-figuring the caste order as one that denied the right of civil existence to vast numbers of its constituents; the centrality one ought to grant patriarchy in considerations of social injustice; and on the destructive logic of development that emerged in the India of the 1990s, dishonouring its citizens’ right to life, liberty and livelihood. This volume comprises essays—largely drawn from the Economic & Political Weekly—that deal with representations and practices of class power as they exist in tandem with state authority and caste identities. Inspired by naxalism in the late 1970s, intellectually indebted to D.D. Kosambi’s writings on Indian history and society, and politically and ethically attentive to the politics of feminist and dalit assertion in the 1990s, Balagopal refused dogma and shrill polemics just as he refused theory that did not heed the mess of history and practice. Kandala Balagopal (1952–2009),a mathematician by training, was associated with the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee for two decades. In 1998, he became one of the founder-members of Human Rights Forum in which he was active till his death.

    This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

    In this regard, it seeks to understand as to what Pakistan may have meant to the Muslim masses in the UP in order to explain their extraordinary support for its establishment. The dissertation argues that the UP Muslims overwhelmingly supported the demand for Pakistan for two reasons. First, Pakistan was seen s an Islamic utopia akin to the one that the Prophet had created in Medina nearly thirteen hundred years earlier. Second, Pakistan was also viewed by the UP Muslims as a Muslim dominated sovereign state bordering a Hindu dominated India which would act as the best guarantee for the protection of their political, economic and cultural rights an interests in the UP in post-colonial India.;While the existing partition historiography has insisted upon the vagueness of Pakistan in the public mind, and the consequent lack of active participation of the Muslim masses in the partition drama, my dissertation argues that the UP Muslims were clearly aware that the UP would remain in Hindu India and not be a part of Pakistan. This becomes evident from an examination of the intense and widespread public debates on the question of Pakistan in the public sphere through forums such as the popular press, public meetings and propaganda materials circulated by both the Congress and the Muslim League in the aftermath of the Lahore Resolution. The critical support of the UP Muslims for the formation of Pakistan therefore attests to the agency of the masses in the making of their own history. Given the intense and widespread public debates on the nature of Pakistan as a modern Islamic state, this dissertation also challenges the conventional wisdom in South Asian studies that the idea of the modern state with its origins in Europe has remained a diffuse concept in the public mind in South

    We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you soon. We have thousands of titles available, and we invite you to search for us by name, contact us via our website, or download our most recent catalogues. The Bagavad Gita is a conversation between Lord Krishna and the Pandava prince Arjuna taking place on the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra War. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma about fighting his own cousins, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince, and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu theology and also as a practical, self-contained guide to life. During the discourse, Lord Krishna reveals His identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Svayam Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring vision of His divine universal form. Two words that are of paramount importance in grasping the Upanishads are Brahman and Atman. The Brahman is the universal spirit and the Atman is the individual Self. Differing opinions exist amongst scholars regarding the etymology of these words. Brahman comes from the root brh which means "The Biggest The Greatest The ALL." Brahman is "the infinite Spirit Source and fabric and core and destiny of all existence, both manifested and unmanifested and the formless infinite substratum and from whom the universe has grown." Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent, the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or shall be. The word Atman means the immortal perfect Spirit of any living creature, being, including trees etc. The idea put forth by the Upanishadic seers that Atman and Brahman are One and the same is one of the greatest contributions made to the thought of the world. The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas. Some of its verses are still recited as Hindu prayers, at religious functions and other occasions, putting these among the world's oldest religious texts in continued use. The Rigveda contains several mythological and poetical accounts of the origin of the world, hymns praising the gods, and ancient prayers for life, prosperity, etc.

    How does one travel through such a collage of contradictory images? Journeys through Rajasthan shows you Rajasthan through the eyes and imaginative universe of some of India's most talented writers and feted travelers including poets, journalists, novelists, explorers, historians, a wildlife enthusiast, a photographer, a foodie, a naturalist, a bird lover and a princess. Their stories, each located in a different part of Rajasthan, are informative, sensitive, humourous, even dark, and at times deeply moving. Journeys through Rajasthan is an invaluable companion for both the wandering traveler and the armchair one interested in the imaginings, memories, dreams and discoveries that emerged from the skilled pens of those who chose to look beyond familiar picture-postcard images of a fabled land. Contributors include: Aman Nath, Amrita Kumar, Annie Zaidi, Bittu Sahgal, Gayatri Devi, James Tod, Jug Suraiya, Nilanjana S Roy, Pierre Loti, Pradip Krishen, Prem Shankar Jha, Rajesh Mishra, Royina Grewal, Rudyard Kipling, Sanjay Singh Badnor, William Dalrymple

    Set in 1909-10, this is the story of a young Bengali man, Shankar. His cravings for a life full of adventure and excitement brings him to the Dark Continent ? Africa. From a small village in Bengal to Uganda to Salisbury, his journey is a veritable roller-coaster which takes him through many intimidating forests, mountains and deserts. There are dangers at every step; many of which catch Shankar unawares. A ferocious volcanic eruption, a labyrinth of caves and savage man-eating lions ? Shankar is in for a life-altering experience, only if he manages to stay alive! Will Shankar survive unscathed? Would he ever be able to return to his home? Racy and thrilling, this African odyssey will virtually transport the reader to some of the most exciting and perilous locations of the continent. About The Author: Jayanta Sengupta worked in advertising for many years before deciding to leave the corporate world and do things which he couldn't do earlier. A voracious reader, he soon came up with his first book Wrap Around ? Delivering a Great Brand Experience published in 2006. He has always been fascinated by writings on travel, adventure and fantasy. This is his first attempt at translation.

    The confluence of two major river systems, Ganga and Brahmaputra, created the delta of Bengal—an ancient land known as a center of trade, learning and the arts from the days of the Mahabharata and through the ancient dynasties. During the medieval era, this eventful journey saw the rise of Muslim dynasties which brought into being a unique culture, quite distinct from that of northern India. The colonial conquest in the eighteenth century opened the modern chapter of Bengal’s history and transformed the social and economic structure of the region. Nitish Sengupta traces the formation of Bengali identity through the Bengal Renaissance, the growth of nationalist politics and the complex web of events that eventually led to the partition of the region in 1947, analyzing why, despite centuries of shared history and culture, the Bengalis finally divided along communal lines. The struggle of East Pakistan to free itself from West Pakistan’s dominance is vividly described, documenting the economic exploitation and cultural oppression of the Bengali people. Ultimately, under the leadership of Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman, East Pakistan became the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971. Land of Two Rivers is a scholarly yet extremely accessible account of the development of Bengal, sketching the eventful and turbulent history of this ancient civilization, rich in scope as well as in influence.

    Spanning 800 years and including some 240 masterpieces by more than 40 artists, it dispels the notion of anonymity in Indian art. The high points of artistic innovation in the history of Indian painting are demonstrated through works of the greatest Indian masters, some of whom are identified for the first time. The book is structured chronologically, which is unusual since Indian paintings have traditionally been classified according to regional styles or dynastic periods, with an emphasis on subject matter and narrative content. Recent scholarship, however, has begun to securely link innovations in style with specific artists and their lineages, allowing a more precise chronology of the development of Indian painting."Masters of Indian Painting 1100-1900" accompanies the exhibition "Wonder of the Age: Master Painters of India, 1100-1900" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.Milo Beach is former director of the Freer and Sackler Galleries, Washington, DC. B. N. Goswamy is professor emeritus of art history at the Panjab University, Chandigarh. Eberhard Fischer is former director of the Museum Rietberg, Zurich.

    His intellectual and moral legacy - encapsulated in works such as Hind Swaraj - as well as the example of his life and politics serve as an inspiration to human rights and peace movements, political activists, and students in classroom discussions throughout the world. This book, comprised of essays by renowned experts in the fields of Indian history and philosophy, traces Gandhi's extraordinary story. The first part of the book, the biography, explores his transformation from a small-town lawyer during his early life in South Africa into a skilled political activist and leader of civil resistance in India. The second part is devoted to Gandhi's key writings and his thinking on a broad range of topics, including religion, conflict, politics, and social relations. The final part reflects on Gandhi's image - how he has been portrayed in literature and film - and on his legacy in India, the West, and beyond.

    This handbook gives an overview of India's international relations, given the development of India as a major economic power in the world, and the growing interest in the impact of Asia on the international system in the future.

    Revising the conventional view of the Mahatma as an isolated Indian moralist detached from the mainstream of twentieth-century politics, Faisal Devji offers a provocative new genealogy of Gandhian thought, one that is not rooted in a cliched alternative history of spiritual India but arises from a tradition of conquest and violence in the battlefields of 1857.Focusing on his unsentimental engagement with the hard facts of imperial domination, Fascism, and civil war, Devji recasts Gandhi as a man at the center of modern history. Rejecting Western notions of the rights of man, rights which can only be bestowed by a state, Gandhi turned instead to the idea of "dharma, " or ethical duty, as the true source of the self s sovereignty, independent of the state. Devji demonstrates that Gandhi s dealings with violence, guided by his idea of ethical duty, were more radical than those of contemporary revolutionists.To make sense of this seemingly incongruous relationship with violence, Devji returns to Gandhi s writings and explores his engagement with issues beyond India s struggle for home rule. Devji reintroduces Gandhi to a global audience in search of leadership at a time of extraordinary strife as a thinker who understood how life s quotidian reality could be revolutionized to extraordinary effect.

    Oh! Dear raindrop like a pearl do you weep with me no! I know you don't I've had plenty of those childish fantasies today, not one remains helpless, I look on as the last one fades.A memorable collection of poems, three short plays and a story.

    Rejection of his theory would compel us to search for the likes of Newton and Lagrange, among the Sages of India, at least thousand years before Sir Isaac Newton & Joseph-Louis Lagrange. Praise for 'When did the Mahabharata War Happen?: The Mystery of Arundhati' "You have done a great job. I requested astronomers to consider if Arundhati had gone ahead of Vasisth in 1971, when I published 'Swayambhu' . But nobody cared. You are the first to do the great job!" - P V Vartak (Author of 'Swayambhu' & 'Wastav Ramayana')"A very interesting book to read. Author has approached dating of Mahabharat from a very innovative angle. He accurately predicts the date of the war. This book also gives a very good explanation of the nakshatras and their positions. It is facisnating to see the detailed research. A scientific approach in debunking all the theories so far. I highly recommend this book."- M.S., A reader from USA, Online review

    Reading through [her writings]... you catch glimpses of a mind of someone who could have been a serious scholar or academic who was overtaken by her conscience and found it impossible to sit back and merely theorize about the terrible injustice she saw around her. These writings reveal a person who is doing all she can to link theory and practice, action and thought. —Arundhati Roy, New DelhiAnuradha Ghandy's life and work stands as an example for a generation of Indian revolutionaries. But more than that she has directly contributed to the development of the Indian revolutionary movement in significant ways. Take the caste issue. Anuradha was one of the new generations of revolutionaries that in practical political activity gained and formulated an insight that helped the movement to move forward from the former narrow economism in the perception of caste of the old CPI to a new and broader understanding of the class role of the superstructure. ...her writing contains much more. It is necessary reading for anyone who wants to understand the present situation in India.

    As a poet, thinker, teacher, playwright, he had a deep knowledge of the society of his days and was a staunch lover of Nature. Gurudev Tagore founded Santiniketan in a natural surrounding thereby giving vent to his passion for nature and a new education system. This biography of Rabindranath Tagore impressively records the development of the personality of the man through the various influences, the ordeals he faced in life and his zest for life. Krishna Kriplani (1907-1992), a freedom fighter, began his career as a teacher in Santiniketan. Between 1933 and 1941 he worked in close association with Rabindranath Tagore and edited Visva-Bharati Quarterly the journal started by Tagore. He was the first secretary of the Sahitya Akademi from 1954 to 1971. A nominated member of Rajya Sabha from 1974 to 1980, a Padmabhushan recipient, he was also the Chairman of National Book Trust, India, from 1980 to 1985. Gandhi - A Life, Gandhi - the Modern Mahatma, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, Dwarakanath Tagore, Modern India: Rammohan Roy to Rabindranath Tagore are some of his important books.

    Dheeraj Sinha's intelligence vividly illuminates the intersection of culture and commerce in New India. Adam Morgan Founder eatbigfish Among the many books I have read on the cultural evolution taking place in India, this is perhaps the most insightful. It does not just map mindset changes; it does so with the certainty of a person who has lived the changes as much as he has witnessed them. Every marketeer should keep this book on his office desk as a ready reckoner. Ranjan Kapur Country Manager - India WPPIndia in many ways is a "Nation of Nations." So much heterogeneity and hence complexity in understanding consumers and consumerism. Dheeraj has done a commendable job in peeling off the layers from the onion--creating frameworks and providing very relatable examples to understand the culture. For instance, Dheeraj has used Bollywood as an effective mirror to portray societal changes. Consumer India is a must-read for those who want to understand the cultural evolution of India with its nuances. Rajesh Jejurikar Chief Executive - Automotive Division Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.A labor of love. For years, I have marveled at how Dheeraj's inquisitive brain continuously churns away to make meaning of everything he observes. His writing simultaneously reflects him as a "sutradaar" telling the captivating story of a changing India, even as it does so with the unbiased and expert credentials of the "computerji" he describes here. Dheeraj insightfully marries the rapid changes he chronicles with the assimilative fabric of India; where "and" trumps "or." Against the clich� "change is the only constant," he underlines that in India, change works with the constant. Enjoy the ride on Dheeraj's time machine! Prasad Narasimhan Managing Partner, Asia Brandgym

    Internationally, their struggle is forgotten, as the West refuses to bring pressure to bear on its regional ally India. Kashmir: The Case for Freedom is an impassioned attempt to redress this imbalance and to fill the gap in our moral imagination. Covering Kashmir’s past and present and the occupation’s causes and consequences, the authors issue a clarion call for the withdrawal of Indian troops and for Kashmir’s right to self-determination.

    This book concentrates on the way in which the two, after an initial period of relative independence, confronted each other, both in and around the royal courts and in society at large. In this confrontation, Buddhism was strong in philosophical debate, but could not compete with Brahmanism in the services it could provide to the centres of political power, primarily ritual protection and practical advice. Buddhism evolved in both areas, providing practical advice to lay people and rulers from early Mahayana onward, and ritual protection in its Tantric developments. Some of these developments came too late, though, and could not prevent the disappearance of Buddhism from the subcontinent.

    As he searches for her, he is caught up in the violence surrounding India’s struggle for freedom.At the heart of this fast-moving narrative is the love of two men for one woman. Reviews for Blue Eyes by Hema Macherla ‘A stunning novel about irrational traditions and conflicts, and the courage to overcome all odds. A must read for all.’Smita Singh, Chairperson VAANI, Asian Writers and Artists ‘An inspiration… this book has touched a chord among women not only from India but from the West and Europe…’The Hindu

    A short non-fictional essay, first published in The New Yorker in 2011.

    When Kiwi Gill Winter went there to teach English she was immediately drawn into the fascinating environment of 'Little Lhasa'.The personal stories of Tibetan refugees wound through her days as she struggled to fathom the intricacies of the Tibetan language, the mysteries of Buddhism and the finer points of making momos.In this engaging community of constant surprises, a work gang of nuns took their turn on a building site, student monks sang reggae and the foam on the morning cappuccinos read Free Tibet!Available as an e-book on Kindle, I-pad, NOOK, Sony Reader.US$1.99(E-book ISBN 978-0-473-20319-1)or as a paperback (NZ$20 + p&p) from the author gillwinter.nz@gmail.com (paperback ISBN 978-0-473-19522-9)

    They blend amazingly well without compromising their own truths and cultural integrity. This is the first and only Tarot deck to work solely within the parameters of sacred Indian mythology - almost the only living mythology today. Millions of people daily worship, or meditate upon, the deities depicted within. This gives The Sacred India Tarot an unmatched spiritual power and contemporary resonance.The Major Arcana depicts the archetypal forms of the gods and goddesses of India. The Indian epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, form two of the themes depicted in the suits of the Minor Arcana. Other themes in the suits include the life of the Buddha, and the great love story of the culture - that of Shiva and Parvati.This stunningly beautiful deck is designed for readings as well as for meditation. The comprehensive, knowledgeable text in the accompanying Handbook explains the illustrations as well as their context within the Tarot. It provides insights on various aspects of Tarot, Indian mythology, card meanings, doing readings, and also includes unique spreads using Indian symbolism. Contents: 78 Cards + 4 Bonus Cards and 350-page Comprehensive Handbook

    Subtly blending elements from Iran, West Asia, southern India, and sometimes Europe, as well as southern and northern India, the arts produced under these sultanates are markedly different from those of the rest of India and especially from those created under Mughal patronage. This publication, dedicated to the unique artistic output of the Deccan, is the result of a symposium held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2008. Updating prior research in this field, the essays in this volume respond to and challenge earlier perceptions of Deccani art by bringing to light previously unpublished paintings, investigating new works of literature, identifying otherwise unattributed carpets and textiles (including several in the Metropolitan Museum), and supplying fresh interpretations of rarely studied architectural monuments. Throughout, the Deccan's connections to the wider world are explored. Special features of the book are the illustration of all thirty-four paintings from a 16th-century copy of the poem the Pem Nem, and new photography by Amit Pasricha of the Ibrahim Rauza in Bijapur, with the first full transcription and translation of the tomb's inscriptions.

    The boy's deformity, a badly twisted leg, creates pity and allows him to make a living begging from the tourists. It is not a good life, but the only one Rajeen knows.Rajeen's father insists that his deformity is an advantage because he can earn a living without working, but Rajeen continues to long for a better life.His unlikely friendship with a wealthy American artist, Margaret Dawson, leads him to an open door and face-to-face with an unforseen possibility...one capable of changing his future forever.A short story from our Nibs literary line.

    By focusing on the changing dynamics of the Lok Sabha, The Indian Parliament demonstrates the changes in the idea of the nation as it reached out to encompass pluralism and diversity. It interrogates the prevalent notion of the decline of the Indian Parliament and argues that this institution cannot be understood in isolation. Rather, any such study needs to be organically linked to an analysis of the nature of Indian democracy. By exploring the extent to which both have continued to mutually shape each other, the book draws attention to the interface between politics and society. Addressing a major gap in scholarship on the Indian Parliament, the present volume eschews a conventional approach to institutional studies. It aligns the study of the institution with the examination of the historical, political, and cultural processes that are concurrent to it.

    It is an activist’s record that reveals both the architecture of the violence during Partition as well as the efforts of ordinary citizens to bring the cycle of reprisal and retribution to a close.Beginning from the murder of her husband in October 1947, with a rare frankness, sympathy and depth of insight, Anis Kidwai tells the stories of the thousands who were driven away from their homelands in Delhi and its neighbouring areas by eviction or abduction or the threat of forced religious conversion. Of historical importance for its account of the activities of the Shanti Dal, the recovery of abducted women and the history of Delhi, In Freedom’s Shade also has an equal contemporary relevance. In part a delineation of the roots of the afflictions that beset Indian society and in part prophetic about the plagues that were to come, Anis Kidwai’s testament is an enduring reminder that memory without truth is futile; only when it serves the objective of reconciliation, does it achieve meaning and significance.

    The foreigners marvelled at the deep spiritual convictions that allowed yogis and widows to ascend a burning pyre without murmur; the social harmony of myriad tribes and castes; and above all, the common culture and love of justice permeating and binding all in seamless unity. Beginning with the Greeks and especially those who accompanied Alexander, these accounts comprise our first records into the social, moral, legal, and economic life of the Indian people, and the early development of the civilisational paradigm of dharma, artha, kama and moksa. The rise of Christianity pushed Europe into a cocoon. Thereafter, Buddhist pilgrims from China traversed the land between the fourth and the eighth centuries, visiting the major monasteries and sites associated with the Buddha, and left interesting memoirs behind. This uninhibited intellectual and spiritual exploration of India’s Sanskritic or Indic culture ended abruptly with the rise of Islam in Arabia in the seventh century, and its outward thrust into Europe, north Africa, Central Asia and the Indian sub-continent, where it fought to establish political and religious supremacy. Possibly the last Buddhist monk to take the land route to India was the Korean pilgrim Hye Ch’O, who arrived as the armies of Islam began cutting through Central Asia

    No Alphabet in Sight is the first of two-volumes aimed at documenting the upsurge of dalit writing and thought in each of the major south Indian languages which began in the 1990s. This volume brings together in English translation the work of over forty intellectuals from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and provides a textured feel of the new settings in which Dalits themselves are addressing the Dalit question today. The writers form a distinct group of post-Ambedkarite thinkers who do not belong to traditionally literate lineages. Self-conscious and assertive, they bring to their analyses the force and insight of personal experience as well as an alert awareness of theoretical propositions and political struggles the world over. Nearly all the writings in this volume first appeared outside mainstream publishing in energetic, self-financed little magazines. Experimental work draws on allegorical, mythical and spiritual modalities to push open a space outside the ghettoes of victimhood and golden pasts of Dalit communities. 'Dalit' as a political idea is being fashioned today in grounded, practical relationships to the present. In its own small way, No Alphabet in Sight stands witness to this creation.

    The trail of two key figures, an accused Pakistani mastermind and his American operative, traces the rise of a complex, international threat.

    In this book, Prabha Kotiswaran asks how we might understand sex workers' demands that they be treated as workers. She contemplates questions of redistribution through law within the sex industry by examining the political economies and legal ethnographies of two archetypical urban sex markets in India.Kotiswaran conducted in-depth fieldwork among sex workers in Sonagachi, Kolkata's largest red-light area, and Tirupati, a temple town in southern India. Providing new insights into the lives of these women--many of whom are demanding the respect and legal protection that other workers get--Kotiswaran builds a persuasive theoretical case for recognizing these women's sexual labor. Moving beyond standard feminist discourse on prostitution, she draws on a critical genealogy of materialist feminism for its sophisticated vocabulary of female reproductive and sexual labor, and uses a legal realist approach to show why criminalization cannot succeed amid the informal social networks and economic structures of sex markets. Based on this, Kotiswaran assesses the law's redistributive potential by analyzing the possible economic consequences of partial decriminalization, complete decriminalization, and legalization. She concludes with a theory of sex work from a postcolonial materialist feminist perspective.

    This book is much more than the biography of an important politician--it is also an analysis of issues, movements, and political conflicts that marked the late pre-Independence and early post-Independence era. This book is volume I of a multi-volume work on The Politics of Northern India: 1937 to 1987.

    The Ad Dharm movement of Punjab, founded in the 1920s by Mangoo Ram, stakes claim as a religion separate from and superior to both Hinduism and Sikhism. In this pioneering work, Mark Juergensmeyer chronicles the history of the Ad Dharm movement based on extensive field research, sociological surveys and interviews that weave the life stories of dalit leaders into the history of the movement. He also explores Ad Dharm’s links with organisations supported by the dalits: Arya Samaj, Valmiki Sabha, Ambedkar and Dalit Panther movements, Christianity, Marxism, the Congress party, Radhasoami Satsang, and the lifestyle of modern secularism.

    Can they confront the storms or are their dreams destined to shatter?

    Commissioned by a Cera-dynasty king and composed by five masterful poets, the anthology illustrates the five landscapes of reciprocal love: jealous quarreling, anxious waiting and lamentation, clandestine love before marriage, elopement and love in separation, and patient waiting after marriage. Despite its centrality to literary and intellectual traditions, the Ainkurunuru remains relatively unknown beyond specialists. Martha Ann Selby, well-known translator of classical Indian poetry and literature, takes the bold step of opening this anthology to all readers, presenting crystalline translations of 500 poems dense with natural imagery and early examples of South Indian culture. Because of their form's short length, the anthology's five authors rely on double entendre and sophisticated techniques of suggestion, giving their poems an almost haiku-like feel. Groups of verse center on one unique figure, in some cases an object or an animal, in others a line of direct address or a specific conversation or situation. Selby introduces each section with a biographical sketch of the poet and the conventions at work within the landscape. She then incorporates notes explaining shifting contexts. Excerpt: He has gone off all by himself beyond the wastes where tigers used to prowl and the toothbrush trees grow tall, their trunks parched, on the flinty mountains, while the lovely folds of your loins, wide as a chariot's seat, vanish as your circlet worked from gold grows far too large for you.

    Bigg outlines all the information you need in a smart, organized, and straightforward manner, making planning the move abroad manageable.Moon Living Abroad in India is packed with essential information and must-have details on setting up daily life, including obtaining visas, arranging finances, gaining employment, choosing schools, and finding health care. With color and black and white photos, illustrations, and maps to help you find your bearings, Moon Living Abroad in India makes the transition process easy for tourists, business people, adventurers, students, teachers, professionals, families, couples, and retirees looking to relocate.

    The resultant architecture reflects this fabric of one of the world's largest and most populous nation states. Architect, educator and author Rahul Mehrotra has been at the forefront of the Indian contemporary architecture scene for more than two decades, and Architecture in India is his unique take on the topic across four themed chapters: -Global Practice: Expression of (Impatient) Capital-; -Regional Modernism-; -Alternative Practice: Towards Sustainability-; and -Counter Modernism: Resurfacing of the Ancient.- Each chapter introduces exponents of these distinct genres of architectural expression, examining the work of more than 60 contemporary architects in more than 500 photographs. Architects, students, academics, architecture buffs and admirers of India's famed heritage of architectural pioneering will find this volume a rich trove of design ideas.

    Starting with his first contact with Bangladesh’s founding father, Shaikh Mujibur Rahman, in the early 60s, he persuaded Mujib to not only agree a Parliamentary system of Government based on the principles of secularism, but also to appoint Justice Abu Sayeed Choudhury, with whom Banerjee had a strong working relationship, as the first President of Bangladesh. Mujib and Banerjee together sang and informally agreed the national anthem of Bangladesh on a historic flight they shared from London to Dhaka, via Delhi, shortly after the end of the 1971 Bangladesh War. In this first publication of these critical, behind-the-scenes, events, Sashanka Banerjee also recounts his chilling encounters with Mujib’s future conspirator, General Ziaur Rahman, and assassin, Colonel Farook Rahman. In spite of Banerjee’s dire warnings to Mujib to take heightened security precautions, fondness for his countrymen resulted in his untimely and violent death, and triggered a long souring of the relationship between Bangladesh and India, remote-controlled by Pakistan. With the return to power of Mujib’s daughter, Shaikh Hasina, Bangladesh has rediscovered its original path of secular democracy and economic development, whilst ensuring the horrific war crimes of the mass rape and murder of over two million Bangladeshis by Pakistan’s soldiers are finally aired and justice brought to bear. This unique insider's account of the Bangladesh Liberation Struggle not only reads like a gripping thriller, it also sets out the historical context of the dawn of Islamic extremism and terrorism emanating from Pakistan. The loss of almost a half of its original territory was a body-blow to the psyche of Pakistan's Punjabi-dominated military rulers. The author argues that the bloody Af-Pak conflict in Central Asia, beginning in 2001 and continuing even today, was born in the battle fields of Bangladesh during the India-Pakistan War of 1971. Fearing further losses to the other ethno-national groups of the Balochis, Pashtuns and Sindhis, the Pakistan military embarked on a self-destructive strategy of the wholesale radicalisation to extreme Islam, hoping it would serve as a glue to keep the country together, giving Pakistan a new national identity. The Army helped establish countrywide Madrassas, religious seminaries, and created and sponsored a host of extremist terrorist groups, from Lashkar e Tayyaba, to the Haqqani Network and the Taliban itself. It engaged in a ferocious proxy war of revenge not only against India but extending it to Afghanistan, and most strikingly against the the United States of America through its close affiliation and protection of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. The Bangladesh story not only helps to explain the context in which Pakistan embarked on this strategy, it also contains within it the kernel of a democratic resolution. The Bengalis of East Pakistan led by example and chose to fight their way to freedom from the repression and economic stranglehold of Pakistan. Mujib offered to help his fellow ethno-national groups to throw off the shackles of exploitation immediately after Bangladesh secured its own independence. At that time, however, the people of Balochistan, NWFP, and Sind were not able to rally to his call, and emulate the bravery of the Bengalis.

    She traces the agony and ecstasy of her life, the critical junctures of becoming and unbecoming in the life of a Sindhi woman-the two phases of her pre-Partition and post-Partition life are fused by the inconsolable and unmitigated trauma triggered by the loss of home. Through an exegesis of gender relations in colonial and postcolonial India and scrutiny of personal experiences and memories, Hiranandani offers her understanding of the real obstacles that come in women's ways of wielding autonomy over their lives. Hiranandani's short stories posit a fictional account of multifaceted existence of womanhood. Caught in the web of nostalgia, agony, pain of separation, and reunion-both imaginary and real-Hiranandani's protagonists attempt to veil their tears and recount the stories of the lives that remained untold and unheard for a long time. Translated, and with an Introduction, by Jyoti Panjwani, this work traces the migration of the Sindhi community in pre- and post-Partition India. The detailed analysis of the development of Sindhi literature is accompanied by Panjwani's re-contextualizing of Hiranandani's life and work in present-day India.

    This volume highlights how around the turn of the century, Indians began to 'talk back' and question the colonial assumptions in imagining and narrating India's past.Focusing on how the idea of civilization formed one of the strong elements of the Indian nationalist discourse, it examines the debates surrounding the civilization discourse and nationhood. While Gandhi, Tagore, or Nehru were the foremost thought-leaders in the representation of Indian civilizationin a new way, the author argues that there were many others, mainly academic intellectuals in the areas of sociology, linguistics, intellectual history, and various branches of historiography, who contributed to make 'Indian civilization' a central theme in all forms of Indian studies.

    Together they portray a strikingly unique relationship that was not only personal but also political. Notwithstanding the ideological differences, these exchanges bring out a comradeship that while engaging with the larger issues of the day has an important bearing on the understanding of our struggle for freedom and a vision of independent India.

    A tightly constructed plot relies on a minimalist portrayal of characters—among them beggars, peasants, widows, children and the upwardly mobile middle class—whose pragmatism drives them to break convention and fight for their survival. The aged auditor’s young wife in ‘Got to Go to Eluru’ seduces an adolescent boy in order to produce a son who will protect her status when she is widowed; in ‘Firewood’, a peasant girl overcomes fear and speaks out when she is falsely accused of theft.A realist devoid of ideologies, Chaso was deeply interested in the actual life and the inner world of people around him. These luminous translations bring Chaso to a new audience.