For the first 92 years, the 135-year-old party was headed by a Nehru-Gandhi family member for only 11 years, even though Nehru and Indira were collectively the PM of India for 28 years. Then things changed. Indira was the party president for seven consecutive years, and succeeded by her son Rajiv Gandhi for six years. After Rajiv’s assassination in 1991, PV Narasimha Rao was party president for five years. Sitaram Kesri was the next Congress president for 18 months. Enter Sonia Gandhi. Barring a 20-month period when her son Rahul held the post, she has been Congress president for 23 years. During her ‘reign’, the party has seen an average 31.6% decline in vote share and a 50.2% reduction in seats in the Lok Sabha. Due to her not allowing a proper election for the post of party president — as was the norm for the first 92 years — the Congress is collapsing. Ever since the Modi-led NDA routed the party in 2014, several Congressmen have been complaining about “lack of effective leadership.” Narendra Modi. Whether you admire him or belittle him, adore him or chastise him, praise him or ridicule him, love him or hate him, no Indian can pretend to ignore the man. Since September 2013, he has been the biggest newsmaker in India . On 15th August 2020, Modi became the longest-serving non-Congress PM of India. The first three chapters of this easy-to-read book are about Congress party’s corruption. The next three analyse the 2019 elections in great detail. Then, there is a chapter about the Left Front and one on the Congress’ performance in each state since Sonia became the chief. The next eight chapters are about Modi, his successes, his failures, and the work he has done in 80 months. The longest chapter, divided into 14 sections, details the successes and failures of India’s 14 prime ministers. “Is Congress Becoming Anti-India” and “Congress-Mukt Bharat” are the final two chapters. The Appendix lays out ‘Agenda 2024’ for India.

    Even in the thickest fog of war, the law-abider and the law-breaker must be distinguished.’India is justly proud of a parliamentary democracy that has never been threatened by a military coup. No mean feat in a neighbourhood where coups are common and notions of constitutionality shaky. However, for decades now, India’s democratic standing has been steadily declining. An international analysis recently rated the country as only ‘partly free’, while another deemed it an ‘electoral autocracy’.Josy Joseph investigates this decline and comes away with a key insight: that the process of confronting militancy has warped the system. As insurgencies erupted across India, and grew increasingly more sophisticated in the 1980s and ’90s, the security establishment struggled to keep up. Increasingly overwhelmed, the police forces, intelligence agencies, federal investigation agencies, tax departments and the like came up with ingenious—at times sinister—solutions: from faking and framing evidence to staging massive terror attacks and even creating terrorist organisations. Over time, militancy became a flourishing, multi-faceted business enterprise.From the Kashmiri militancy to the Sri Lankan civil war, from the attack on Mumbai to the long-term unrest in the Northeast, India’s ‘war on terror’ has made its security institutions more nationalistic and chauvinistic and, inevitably, more corrupt. Most dangerously, there is a near-complete capture of the security apparatus, whether investigative agencies, police or intelligence, by the political executive—serving as stormtroopers with no accountability, rather than as defenders of the Constitution.The result of more than two decades of reporting on insurgencies, terrorism and the security establishment, The Silent Coup is a wake-up call to the nation. You do not need a military coup to subvert democracy, Joseph says—in India, it has already been subverted.

    It lays the foundation for its sequels by covering the period between the Age of Discovery, marked by Christopher Columbus' expedition in 1492, and the reshaping of Bharat through a British-made constitution-the Government of India Act of 1919. This includes international developments leading to the founding of the League of Nations by Western powers that tangibly impacted this journey.Further, this work also traces the origins of seemingly universal constructs such as 'toleration', 'secularism' and 'humanism' to Christian political theology. Their subsequent role in subverting the indigenous Indic consciousness through a secularised and universalised Reformation, that is, constitutionalism, is examined. It also puts forth the concept of Middle Eastern coloniality, which preceded its European variant and allies with it in the context of Bharat to advance their shared antipathy towards the Indic worldview. In order to liberate Bharat's distinctive indigeneity, 'decoloniality' is presented as a civilisational imperative in the spheres of nature, religion, culture, history, education, language and, crucially, in the realm of constitutionalism.

    Back then he was seen just as a founder-editor of the news satire website with no special interest in politics or ideology.The first time Rahul Roushan was called a Sanghi, he felt deeply offended. After all, he held a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Patna University, a post-graduate diploma in journalism from IIMC in New Delhi, an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and was a self-made media entrepreneur.Sanghi literally means someone who is a member of the right-wing RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) or its affiliates, but the ‘liberals’ use the term liberally to deride those who differ with their political and ideological stand, or those who wear Hinduism on their sleeves. This book analyses why Hindutva as an ideology is no longer anathema and what brought about this change. Why did a country that was ruled for decades by people espousing Nehruvian secularism suddenly began to align with the ‘communal politics’ of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)?The book is the story of this transformation. This is not an autobiography, though it could read like one in parts. It is not even a collection of intellectual essays, though it could read like one in parts. It is the retelling of some historical events and how those events impacted the journey of Rahul Roushan and countless people like him. The book looks at factors like education, media, technology and obviously, electoral politics, which played a key role in this transformation. The book also touches upon some of the personal experiences of the author, both as a media entrepreneur and a journalist.In author's words, ‘This book will be of special interest to readers who just want to badmouth me and the book, but I really hope the same people make an earnest effort to also understand what changed India and all those Sanghis who never went to any shakha.’

    Divided by class but united in fandom, they remain steadfast in their search for intimacy, independence and fun. Embracing Hindi film idol Shah Rukh Khan allows them a small respite from an oppressive culture, a fillip to their fantasies of a friendlier masculinity in Indian men. Most struggle to find the freedom-or income-to follow their favourite actor.Bobbing along in this stream of multiple lives for more than a decade-from Manju's boredom in 'rurban' Rampur and Gold's anger at having to compete with Western women for male attention in Delhi's nightclubs, to Zahira's break from domestic abuse in Ahmedabad-Bhattacharya gleans the details on what Indian women think about men, money, movies, beauty, helplessness, agency and love. A most unusual and compelling book on the female gaze, this is the story of how women have experienced post-liberalization India.

    

    Dancing across this long arc of time are thousands of beautiful, astonishing stories, many of which can inspire and provoke us, even move us to meaningful action in our own lives.A diamond twice as large as the famous Kohinoor pledged to survive a financial crisis; a meeting with a ‘relatively unknown young monk’ who later went on to be known as Swami Vivekananda; the fascinating story of the first-ever Indian team at the Olympics; the making of India’s first commercial airline and first indigenous car; how ‘OK TATA’ made its way to the backs of millions of trucks on Indian highways; a famous race that was both lost and won; andmany more.#TataStories is a collection of littleknown tales of individuals, events and places from the Tata Group that have shaped the India we live in today.

    It is also defined by progressive and liberal young Indians, who vote beyond the constraints of identity, and paradoxically, by an unchecked population explosion and rising crimes against women. Is it, though?In 2020, the annual population growth was down to under 1 per cent. Only thirty-one of hundred Indians live in a city today and just 5 per cent live outside the city of their birth.As recently as 2016, only 4 per cent of young, married respondents in a survey said their spouse belonged to a different caste group. Over 45 per cent of voters said in a pre-2014 election survey that it was important to them that a candidate of their own caste wins elections in their constituency. A large share of reported sexual assaults across India are actually consensual relationships criminalised by parents. And staggeringly, spending more than Rs 8,500 a month puts you in the top 5 per cent of urban India.In Whole Numbers and Half Truths, data-journalism pioneer Rukmini S. draws on nearly two decades of on-ground reporting experience to piece together a picture that looks nothing like the one you might expect. There is a mountain of data available on India, but it remains opaque, hard to access and harder yet to read, and it does not inform public conversation. Rukmini marshals this information—some of it never before reported—alongside probing interviews with experts and ordinary citizens, to see what the numbers can tell us about India. As she interrogates how data works, and how the push and pull of social and political forces affect it, she creates a blueprint to understand the changes of the last few years and the ones to come—a toolkit for India.This is a timely and wholly original intervention in the conversation on data, and with it, India.

    It is an urgent, brave call for justice.' Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King'Page after page, Farah Bashir juxtaposes moments of heart-stopping terror and beauty in a stunning memoir of life and love under a bloody military occupation.' Mirza Waheed, author of Tell Her Everything'I couldn't put it down, and even after it had ended, the people and their stories - wonderful, horrific, familiar and unfathomable - stayed textured and formidable in my mind.' Jennifer Croft, author of Homesick'A beautifully tender and often heart-stopping memoir of growing up in a world that is spinning out of control.' Mahesh Rao, author of Polite Society Rumours of Spring is the unforgettable account of Farah Bashir's adolescence spent in Srinagar in the 1990s. As Indian troops and militants battle across the cityscape and violence becomes the new normal, a young schoolgirl finds that ordinary tasks - studying for exams, walking to the bus stop, combing her hair, falling asleep - are riddled with anxiety and fear. With haunting simplicity, Farah Bashir captures moments of vitality and resilience from her girlhood amidst the increasing trauma and turmoil of passing years - secretly dancing to pop songs on banned radio stations; writing her first love letter; going to the cinema for the first time - with haunting simplicity. This deeply affecting coming-of-age memoir portrays how territorial conflict surreptitiously affects everyday lives in Kashmir.

    This is a tale of India’s states, of why they build schools but do not staff them with teachers; favour a handful of companies so much that others slip into losses; wage water wars with their neighbours while allowing rampant sand mining and groundwater extraction; harness citizens’ right to vote but brutally crack down on their right to dissent. Reporting from six states over thirty-three months, award-winning investigative journalist M. Rajshekhar delivers a necessary account of a deep crisis that has gone largely unexamined.

    Delving into the fascinating early history of South Asia, this original book reveals how migration, both external and internal, has shaped all Indians from ancient times. Through a first-of-its-kind and incisive study of languages, such as the story of early Sanskrit, the rise of Urdu, language formation in the North-east, it presents the astounding argument that all Indians are of mixed origins. It explores the surprising rise of English after Independence and how it may be endangering India’s native languages.

    While hard work, passion and focus emerge as winning lessons, delicate and tender learnings from Dr Mohan's life, such as empathy or spirituality, are not forgotten.Written in Dr Mohan's sagacious and affable voice, and peppered with examples of his bold and unusual ideas such as planning a diabetes expo or conducting a country-wide diabetes study, this book is a behind-the-scenes account of a person honoured internationally for delivering path-breaking care to hundreds of thousands of people with diabetes.

    He penetrated deep into the world of Hindutva and uncovered a hate-filled universe, where stories of rape and murder are exchanged over a cup of tea. Each time, he returned with reports that shook the country to its core. Equipped with cameras small enough to be clipped to a button on his shirt, Khetan secretly filmed men close to the corridors of power, or indeed in them, admitting to mind-numbing venality during the Gujarat riots of 2002. The men he filmed said the riots could not have happened without the implicit, sometimes explicit, support of the state government. His investigations led to the conviction of Babu Bajrangi, his close aides and Maya Kodnani, and in the Best Bakery case, he proved that the defence had bribed Zahira Sheikh to turn hostile.One of India’s leading investigative journalists, Khetan has broken some of the biggest stories of the last twenty years, but the time he spent in Gujarat, especially a gruelling six-month spell in 2007, left gaping emotional wounds. As he recounts the course of the three investigations, and the long, frustrating legal processes that followed, Khetan fills in the gaps in the Gujarat-model narrative. He also reminds us that this is not the story of something that happened nearly two decades ago—it is a portrait of the present and future of India. The Gujarat playbook is now the India playbook.

    Does not pull punches. Phantom stuff!”Anukriti Pandey (Screenwriter): “Read Bhang Milkha Bhang for a ride through space and time and the narrow, eerie, lanes of the human mind.”BOOK DESCRIPTION:*A millennial trying to break the shackles of caste and sexual orientation**An anxiety-ridden NCB officer advocating CBD and spirituality**An ambitious woman entangled in an abusive marriage**A balding educational consultant playing assassin by the night**An eccentric narco looking for his deal of a lifetime*What brings them together?Chirasthayi Bhang – an unknown species of cannabis which has historically been protected by a lineage of monks has suddenly appeared in Mumbai’s drug underbelly. Rumor has it that it reverses biological processes – and almost everyone wants it.What follows is a high-stakes tussle between a group of highly peculiar but dangerous individuals for the mythical treasure, where each is prepared to put a lot up for gamble to obtain that which was previously considered unobtainable. Before long, things start getting messy – messier than anyone could possibly imagine.To what extent would one go to get something that was already lost forever?

    A disconcerting read, but indispensable.'-ASHLEY J. TELLISIndia's relations with the People's Republic of China have captured the popular imagination ever since the 1950s but have rarely merited a detailed understanding of the issues. Individual episodes tend to arouse lively debate, which often dissipates without a deeper exploration of the factors that shaped the outcomes. This book explores the dynamics of negotiation between the two countries, from the early years after Independence until the current times, through the prism of six historical and recent events in the India-China relationship. The purpose is to identify the strategy, tactics and tools that China employs in its diplomatic negotiations with India, and the learnings for India from its past dealings with China that may prove helpful in future negotiations with the country.

    The next morning, a family member is found dead. Murdered.On the other side of the neighbourhood, battling with depression and a sickening habit of self-mutilation, is Mrs Sheetal Gupta, a widowed lady of the most maniacal personality who is suspected of shielding a secret—a secret that might not live long. What is this secret and what does her world bring to the wealthiest family in Mussoorie is a question that irks many.Amidst all this are Dev, a retired policeman, and Vikram, a struggling writer, who take it upon themselves to sieve false from the truth before the family's dark, dysfunctional side alters the case completely, and the murder strikes again . . . and again . . .

    

    But this history of our ancestors continues to fascinate us. Even today, we have passionate discussions about the people and their actions in the epic, fervidly defending our favourites and denouncing others. The number of works on the Mahabharata-adaptations, retellings and fiction-that still get written is a testimony to its enduring relevance.While the general storyline is largely known, a lot of questions and myths prevail, such as-What was the geographical extent of the war? Did Drona actually refuse to take on Karna as his disciple? What were Draupadi's responsibilities as the queen of Indraprastha? Did she ever mock Duryodhana? Were the women in the time of the Mahabharata meek and submissive? What were the names of the war formations during the time? What role did the sons of the Pandavas play? Does the south of India feature at all in the Mahabharata? What happened after the war? These and many other intriguing questions continue to mystify the contemporary reader.Author Ami Ganatra debunks myths, quashes popular notions and offers insights into such aspects not commonly known or erroneously known, based solely on facts as narrated in Vyasa's Mahabharata from generally accepted authentic sources. For a history of such prominence and influence as the Mahabharata, it is important to get the story right. So pick this book up, sit back and unveil the lesser-known facts and truths about the great epic.

    A towering figure in the field of economics, Sen is perhaps best known for his work on poverty and famine, as inspired by events in his boyhood home of West Bengal, India. But Sen has, in fact, called many places “home,” including Dhaka, in modern Bangladesh; Kolkata, where he first studied economics; and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he engaged with the greatest minds of his generation.In Home in the World, these “homes” collectively form an unparalleled and profoundly truthful vision of twentieth- and twenty-first-century life. Here Sen, “one of the most distinguished minds of our time” (New York Review of Books), interweaves scenes from his remarkable life with candid philosophical reflections on economics, welfare, and social justice, demonstrating how his experiences—in Asia, Europe, and later America—vitally informed his work. In exquisite prose, Sen evokes his childhood travels on the rivers of Bengal, as well as the “quiet beauty” of Dhaka. The Mandalay of Orwell and Kipling is recast as a flourishing cultural center with pagodas, palaces, and bazaars, “always humming with intriguing activities.”With characteristic moral clarity and compassion, Sen reflects on the cataclysmic events that soon tore his world asunder, from the Bengal famine of 1943 to the struggle for Indian independence against colonial tyranny—and the outbreak of political violence that accompanied the end of British rule. Witnessing these lacerating tragedies only amplified Sen’s sense of social purpose. He went on to study famine and inequality, wholly reconstructing theories of social choice and development. In 1998, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his contributions to welfare economics, which included a fuller understanding of poverty as the deprivation of human capability. Still Sen, a tireless champion of the dispossessed, remains an activist, working now as ever to empower vulnerable minorities and break down walls among warring ethnic groups.As much a book of penetrating ideas as of people and places, Home in the World is the ultimate “portrait of a citizen of the world” (Spectator), telling an extraordinary story of human empathy across distance and time, and above all, of being at home in the world.

    

    His life changes when he meets a stranger one fateful night and is enamoured by her.ANAMIKA is a mystery, who is searching for herself. She tells Kabir her story, but on the condition that they would never meet again. The night ends, but their story has just begun!Their paths cross again, but Anamika disappears. With no clue about where she is, Kabir is lost and disheartened.To what extent will Kabir go to find Anamika? What is Anamika hiding from him? Will they meet again?Read this electrifying tale of destiny, love and courage to know more about The Girl I Met that Night.

    In Price of the Modi Years, he seeks to explain the data and facts on India’s performance under Narendra Modi.Modi’s predecessor as prime minister, Manmohan Singh, had once said that Modi would be a disaster as prime minister. This book shows how. It concedes Modi’s popularity; this is an accounting of the damage he has wrought. It is the history of India since 2014 assessing the damage across the polity from the economy, national security, federalism, foreign relations, legislations and the judiciary to media and civil society.Our memories are not long, news cycles are transient and incidents are forgotten or misclassified as being only episodic, unless documented, unified and placed together as a record. And therefore this book—a history of these present times.

    Her secret Muslim boyfriend Amir, who sends her origami love notes, must now flee with his sister Layla and their parents to Lahore, Pakistan. Amir promises to return to Delhi to marry Deepa after the violence of Partition has ended. Soon after Amir’s departure, Deepa’s parents are killed. Her God-parents, fearful that Deepa is in grave danger, force her to move with them to London. Nine months later, Deepa gives birth to Vijay. She never sees or hears from Amir again.After a devastating miscarriage in Atlanta in the present day, 40-year-old newly unemployed Shanthi (“Shan”) Johnson must confront her husband Max about his reckless spending. While grieving both her pregnancy loss and her marriage’s subsequent implosion, she finds clues that lead her to believe that the real reason her deceased father Vijay had abandoned her and her mother 30 years earlier to move to New Delhi was because he was in search of his father, a man he’d never known. To kickstart her life again, Shan moves out of her marital home, searches for a new job, and resumes her father’s search for her grandfather, whose name, she later learns, is Amir. To find Amir, Shan must first track down her estranged 86-year-old grandmother Deepa, a prickly woman who never wanted to have anything to do with Shan. During Shan's search, which eventually takes her to Amsterdam and New Delhi, she comes to realize that the origami love notes Amir once sent to Deepa may be the clue to their reunion.

    The heady mix of human depravity, humour, satire, tragedy, revenge and drama makes these stories an essential cocktail of emotions.Review:“Breezy, Flippant, Poignant... Tales of pleasurable wickedness.”-Salil Desai, author of Inspector Saralkar Mystery Series“Although not all sugar and sunshine, Dalvi's voice is an important one, because he chooses to tell stories that others would normally shy away from. There's a serene resignation in his tales, one that is completely devoid of both hope as well as regret. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories.”-Bhaskar Chattopadhyay, author of Patang, Penumbra, Here Falls the Shadow, The Disappearance of Sally Sequeira and Best Served Cold“Gripping short-stories by Rafaa Dalvi. I am both intrigued and scared by his plot-twists. Thrilled to have read this book.”-Sanhita Baruah, author of The Art of Letting Go and The Art of Healing“Some of the best stories I have read so far. Rafaa has a gift of telling complex stories in a very intuitive and straightforward and are easy to read. This book is the best thing that has come out during these current circumstances.”-S. G. Kabe, author of Everything is Normal“Rafaa Dalvi is a flash fiction expert.”-T.F. Carthick, author of Carthick’s Unfairy Tales and More Unfairy Tales“Taut, propulsive and riveting, Rafaa’s mesmerising stories pack a big punch. Chasing Nirvana has been carefully crafted for maximum impact. A highly compelling read.”-Vivek Banerjee, author of ‘The Long Road’ and ‘The Other Side’

    The story witnesses the emergence of the naïve Draupadi into a complex world, complex due to her sudden commingling with the new earthly element, a puzzle because of the newness of her matrix, the suddenness of her birth and as she tries to understand the sense of her birth and life she finds a friend, an erudite guide and a sagacious panacea to all her woes and questions, her SAKHA, KRISHNA.As she travels in this new element with her Sakha she tries to adapt herself as a daughter, a princess, a sister, a friend, a lover and a wife but not as a wife to five husbands! She challenges and questions and sees through the deception and denies to her being a common wife to five husbands, five brothers!The story line of the proposed book traces the life of Draupadi in a different light altogether. All the characters are exactly the same as in the original Mahabharata, the story too follows the sequence of the Mahabharata except that Draupadi in the story ‘Refuses to Marry the five Pandava brothers, she declines to be a common wife to five princes, five brothers’Why did Draupadi refuse such a glorious, powerful and seemingly propitious marriage with the Pandavas? Wasn’t her birth a fulfillment of a wounded heart for revenge? Was she aware of her purpose in life, if yes why did she take such a bold decision of not marrying the Pandavas? Was she against marrying the five princes as they were brothers, was it her love for Arjuna, were there conspiracies by people unknown to her or was she being guided by a force beyond human understanding?The story traces the journey of Draupadi, a woman so fiercely aware of the sanctity of a woman, her womanhood that she refuses the most powerful, the most loved, the most revered to carve her own niche in society. Draupadi in the story refuses war and embraces peace. The story tries to regale a different alternative of Draupadi's life.Draupadi is also portrayed as an ambassador of peace unlike the vindictive and war mongering Draupadi portrayed in mythology! She seems a princess genuinely concerned about the innocent people of Panchaal as she argues with the acrimonious intents of her father, King Drupad!

    In 2012, Meena Kandasamy, who grew up with poster-size pictures of Tamil Tigers and Tigresses, decides to make a documentary on the violence faced by the female fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the aftermath of the brutal war. She meets the women who had survived the Sri Lankan camps where the orders were to rape them—women who are now refugees in distant lands, pale shadows of their blazing selves. Her documentary never gets made. But Kandasamy exhumes old hard drives to piece together their shattered lives.Kandasamy also translates and presents us the poetry of three Tamil women combatants—poetry as op-ed, poetry as resistance, poetry as a call to arms, poetry as a call to poetry.

    Lovers, sisters, wives and mothers who hold a complex epic together—these are the women of Valmiki’s Ramayana.

    Filmmaker and writer Anungla Zoe Longkumer brings together, for the first time, a remarkable set of stories, poems, first-person narratives, and visuals that showcase the breadth of Naga women’s creative and literary expression. The essays are written in English, a language the Nagas—who had no tradition of written literature—made their own after the arrival of Christianity in the region during the nineteenth century. In The Many That I Am, each writer speaks of the many journeys women undertake to reclaim their pasts and understand their complex present.

    Into that heaven, let my country awake”Ashraf Zain, an outsider and popular leader who breaks into Bihar politics after parting ways with the Bharatiya National Congress (BNC), is killed in a road accident in Begusarai. BNC blames the ruling party, SDP, over the death of Ashraf, an inspirational & visionary “minority” leader.Enter Yohan Tytler, a recently promoted CBI lead investigator, along with his associates - the analytical Sukumar Azhagu, and the “I always play by the books” investigator Ila Qureshi. Before the investigation even begins, and while the state is still trying to grasp what just happened, Ashraf’s PA, Piyali Sharma, is found dead in a hotel room at Begusarai - under mysterious circumstances.Before he knows it, Yohan is thrown into a quagmire of political power play, intellectual mafias, media pressure, religious leaders, increasing suspects, and other powerful people.Under the radar of the media, the young CBI team manoeuvres through the case facts, only to find that the deaths are linked to major events in the modern history of not just Begusarai but of the whole of Bihar.As the events unfold, the entire nation is shocked to see the underlying motive behind the actual motive that reveals a lesser-spoken reality in India.

    …a must for anyone who is interested in exploring different paths to fulfilment and to the Creator.” —Jane Goodall    “Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati is a great teacher of spirituality and consciousness. Her inspiring wisdom illuminates the path to healing, happiness, and inner peace.” —Deepak Chopra   “For so many of us, the road to the Divine sometimes begins with deep trauma. And, then Grace is bestowed upon us and we blossom in the holiness of love. Hollywood to the Himalayas is filled with wisdom and truth about the powerful revelations that unfold on the path to a deeper relationship to the divine. This is a beautiful book.” —Rev. Iyanla Vanzant, executive producer, Iyanla, Fix My Life Hollywood to the Himalayas is the enlightening memoir of a reluctant spiritual seeker who finds much more than she bargained for when she travels to India.As a Stanford grad, in the midst of getting a PhD in psychology, Sadhvi Saraswati was comfortable with her life. Despite years of grappling with an eating disorder and trauma from her early childhood, she felt as if she was successfully navigating her way through early adulthood. When she agreed to travel to India to appease her husband—and because she loved the food—Sadhvi would have never imagined that she would be embarking on a journey of healing and awakening.   Hollywood to the Himalayas describes Sadhvi’s odyssey towards divine enlightenment and inspiration through her extraordinary connection with her guru and renewed confidence in the pleasure and joy that life can bring. Now one of the preeminent female spiritual teachers in the world, Sadhvi recounts her journey with wit, honesty, and clarity and, along the way, offers teachings to help us all step onto our own path of awakening and discover the truth of who we really are—embodiments of the Divine.

    What if they are both victims of the same deception, of the same multigenerational fraud?In 2016, the British Hindu community was rocked when it became the target of demonisation and dehumanisation by anti-Hindu Anglican Evangelists. Allegations were made that caste discrimination was not a relic of history but was present and not only present but rife amongst the British Indian community. The difficulty was that there was no experience of it at the grass roots level, and there was no evidence of it being either systemic nor endemic, so what was afoot? The author Pt Satish K Sharma, a Dharmic Scholar and Theologian and a long serving community worker under took the task of determining, once and for all, the real history of Caste and of establishing and quantifying its presence or absence in the Britain of the 21st Century. There were mountains of academic accounts of the theory, allegations and anecdotes abounded and yet the reality at ground level was remarkably different.The revelations contained in this work were the revelations which incinerated the false claims which had been levelled, revealed the hidden hand behind the anti-Hindu media campaign but also provided the context and framework with which this long running civilisational wound could heal.The contents of this book include actual communications which took place, the information which was presented to Parliamentarians. Legislators and Community leaders as well as eye witness accounts of meetings and "consultations", as well as the authors research, research which led eventually to the senior leaders of the Church of England requesting that Parliament review the whole issue once more.We have the strange situation that Parliament passed legislation without adequate consultation and the Government chose not to enact the legislation, a phenomenon never before arisen in British History, this book provides the answers as to why. The Caste issue remains a colonialist force for harm, and the tropes which underly it cause suffering to the Hindu community in every corner of the world even today, as Isabel Wilkersons recent tragically uninfomed book prove. This book will go a long way to to reversing this harm and should be compulsory reading for every Hindu, Christian and activist working to reverse the civilisational trauma of European Colonialism"I find it extraordinary that there are issues here of which until now I have had absolutely no knowledge. My feeling is that the majority of native Britons will share this reaction. The Church, Christianity, which had perverted the simple message of its founder, believed it could justify imposing its version on a "primitive" people with a concept of original sin and the claim that it alone possessed the means to personal salvation. Between them, they were able to devise an extraordinarily successful divide-and-rule format which did immense damage to that country... Please forgive us now, so that we can move forward together."M Purton BBC Producer (Retd)

    It is the story of the avaricious rich merchant Dhona, the poor lad Dukhey, and his mother; it is also the story of Dokkhin Rai, a mighty spirit who appears to humans as a tiger, of Bon Bibi, the benign goddess of the forest, and her warrior brother Shah Jongoli.The original print version of this legend, dating back to the nineteenth century, is composed in a Bengali verse meter known as dwipodi poyar. Jungle Nama is a free adaptation of the legend, told entirely in a poyar-like meter of twenty-four syllable couplets that replicate the cadence of the original.The first-ever book in verse by Amitav Ghosh, Jungle Nama evokes the wonder of the Sundarban through its poetry, accompanied by stunning artwork by the renowned artist Salman Toor. This is an illuminated edition of a fabulous folk tale that every book lover will want to possess.

    Two Indian sisters, Priya and Ari, experience what it's like to be adopted into a multi-cultural, interracial family. Walk alongside these two charming, dynamic girls as they journey through the adoption transition to a new country full of new experiences! "Finding Family in a Far-Away Land" is a pensive and sometimes comical book that demonstrates how children can experience the same journey quite differently. A glossary of cultural terms is included so that all can learn and enjoy what Ari and Priya cherish about their Indian roots. This story is meant to be a resource to those hoping to learn about one family's adoption experience— and may even help a child process their own adoption story. The intended audience for this book is children ages 4-10.

    Annamalai. With a career spanning a decade in the state of Karnataka, he earned the respect of the people with his humanistic action and his style of leadership focusing on empowering subordinates. Further, Annamalai pitches significant questions that rarely get discussed-are politicians bad? And is politics a place where good people fear to tread?By stepping away from the spotlight and bringing out the real heroes whom he had encountered in his policing journey, this is unlike any other policing memoir. Truthfully told with a dash of idealism, it also prescribes changes that are much needed in politics, policing and in our daily governance mechanisms. It brings out the inherent goodness of the common man and the role the general public play in keeping this democracy functioning.

    But she will have none of that. Shivalika has her life mapped out. She does not believe in love at all and is only focused on her career the reason for which is a secret she has nursed since she was a teenager.But when billionaire Vikramarya Kumar aka VK aka “the most eligible bachelor in the country” enters her company as the new boss, sparks fly and she finds all her beliefs getting shattered, one by one.Shivalika’s secret has already created havoc once in her life. Will she be able to overcome it to find her happily-ever-after with VK or will the pain of it destroy every chance of finding true love and healing?If You Let Me Go is a standalone sweet romance novel in the First Love Billionaire Romance series.

    

    The changes and challenges which came with this admission and the actions that followed not only impacted who she became as a person but also everything around her-from her interpersonal relationships, both familial and romantic, to the way she walked among her friends and peers and the manner in which she connected with art, literature, popular culture, they all became new and unknown. Through these deeply honest essays that move between personal narratives, anecdotes from conversations and research-driven storytelling, Bahuguna traverses the opportunities and roadblocks that come her way with the tools she has available to her. From a writer of astonishing talents, No Straight Thing Was Ever Made bravely discusses the many facets of living with mental illness.

    

    This book fills a dire need to chronicle the great educational heritage of India. It describes a unique ecosystem which ensured that Gurus and Acharyas handed the lamp of learning to generations of students. As the author puts it, “When swords quenched their thirst and famine ravaged the lands, Indians still held on to their truth that there was nothing more purifying than knowledge.” She has collated information from oral history, local lore, travelogues, surviving literature, inscriptions, salvaged manuscripts and accounts of scholars and laity. Historically, the book covers a vast time span from ancient India’s traditions to the deliberate destruction of its heritage. It also outlines steps that can be taken today to incorporate the most relevant aspects of ancient learning systems into the current structure of school and university education.

    Sean Doyle gave his daughter India. It’s a jewel of a book.’- Steve Biddulph, Raising Girls & Raising BoysTravel writer and editor Sean Doyle has loved India for decades, so when his first-born, Anna, finishes high school, they set off on a two-month trip. She wants an adventure; he wants a holiday. But India is no cakewalk, especially for women: he’s nervous. Night Train to Varanasi showcases Sean’s ability to reflect on his lived experience, shape it into a compelling narrative, and write in such a way that the particulars of his life become universals we can all relate to. He speaks for all of us when he describes the emotional rollercoaster rides that comprise parenting, ageing, the challenges of India and life in general, and his hopes for his child.Blending erudition, humour and paternal angst, this is a beautifully nuanced exploration of a father–daughter relationship set against the backdrop of one of the world’s most intense cultural experiences. A compelling and insightful reading experience.

    He lives and works contentedly with his wife, Shobha, their young daughter, Rani, the hostel priests, his hapless but winning assistant Mohan, and the constant flow of families with their dying kin. But one day the past arrives in the form of a body pulled from the river—a man with an uncanny resemblance to Pramesh.Called “twins” in their childhood village, he and his cousin Sagar are inseparable until Pramesh leaves to see the outside world and Sagar stays to tend the land. After Pramesh marries Shobha, defying his family’s wishes, a rift opens between the cousins that he has willed himself to forget. Yet for Shobha, Sagar’s reemergence casts a shadow over the life she’s built for her family. Soon, an unwelcome guest takes up residence in the death hostel, the dying mysteriously continue to live, and Pramesh is forced to confront his own ideas about death, rebirth, and redemption.Told in lush, vivid detail and with an unforgettable cast of characters, The City of Good Death is a remarkable debut novel of family and love, memory and ritual, and the ways in which we honor the living and the dead.

    This inaugurated a new phase not just in US-China relations but in contemporary history. That visit and the subsequent US-China relationship, including the US decision to invest in China's economic rise and admit it into the WTO, combined to firm up the foundations of China's rise as a world power. For more than four decades, the leadership of the two countries had a secretive pact, which worked well to each other's benefit. The US helped power China's economic growth in the hope that Beijing would turn a new political leaf and adopt Western practices (e.g. democracy). China grew economically and militarily, used its financial prowess to spread its influence across continents, as four generations of Chinese leaders built their nation at the expense of the US. Half a century after Kissinger's historic visit, the US and China are today engaged in a trade war bordering on a new Cold War. Washington is not openly talking about 'de-coupling' from China, which has begun to challenge its global dominance, but it might very well be. China has already established itself as a dominant power across Eurasia. More worryingly, China is militarily and economically threatening its neighbours, including Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Australia, Philippines, Indonesia and India.This collection of critical essays examines the impact, consequences and legacy of Kissinger's first, door-opening visit to China and how it has shaped world order.

    Yet, many believe that India's economic troubles at home are far more pressing and that foreign policy aspirations can wait. But is a proactive foreign policy really a 'luxury' for India, to be postponed until the economy develops; or is it, in fact, a prerequisite for economic growth in a globalized world? Why should the average Indian citizen care about foreign policy - and how can a proactive foreign policy help Indians become more prosperous? Scanning our ever-changing world from East to West, and defining India's national interests and needs, Mohamed Zeeshan passionately argues that India needs a more coherent strategy for its relations with the outside world. Through travels and debates across continents, Zeeshan lays out a vision for how India can champion the cause of global good.

    Jaya is bound by tradition to take care of her late husband’s family, and she takes this responsibility seriously. An engineer and a businesswoman in contemporary India, she is also the mother of a ten-year-old girl. To Jaya’s sorrow, no one in her family has room in their lives for her shy daughter, who has cocooned herself in her grief.A series of events shakes up not only their lives but also Jaya’s long-held assumption that when a woman marries a man, she also marries his family. And that this marriage doesn’t end when the husband dies. In a moment of truth, she realises that she's spent so much time focussed on being the Perfect Indian Woman, she’s lost her voice. She fears that if she doesn’t learn to speak up—even at the risk of being ostracized by the community—silence will be her daughter’s inheritance as well.

    

    

    The world is in stress. The situation worsens by the day. Sanatan Dharma: Vaidik Gateway to the Next Century attempts to offer a solution to all our problems.Hinduism is a way of life-with nature, in nature, by nature. Author Manoj Singh elaborates on the practical aspects of one of the oldest cultural civilisations, analysing how it's more relevant in today's troubled age. He narrates the evolution of Vaidik civilisation, elaborating the basics of Vaidik Sanatan dharma. He discusses life in Hinduism, its culture, festivals, rituals, customs, yoga, Vedas and mantras, outlining a broad perspective of why and how these are significant.This comprehensive work touches upon all aspects of Sanatan life philosophy for spiritual enlightenment. A heritable past, which has been otherwise forgotten, is revealed here, hoping to make the human journey viable in the present dynamic complexity. This is for anyone who desires to understand the real meaning of living rather than just existing.

    Battling depression and uncertainty, he is seeking a ‘sanatorium’ amidst the sal trees and the temperate climes of home—just like the British soldiers and Bengali settlers and visitors before him.Rejuvenated by the fresh air and lush landscape of his childhood, he spends the next three years exploring local landmarks and their fascinating history, and the deep, wondrous escarpments, the secret waterfalls and serpentine rivers of the plateau. Travelling partly on foot and partly in his trusted Alto, he encounters trees destined for death and waterfalls ravaged by mining; passes through Surajkund—the country’s hottest geological wonder—and Karanpura Valley— home to prehistoric humans ten millennia ago; and takes selfies with emus.In between, he wonders what makes a landscape beautiful and how language shapes such notions; muses on the arbitrary boundaries of administration and government which, try as they might, cannot tame rivers and hills; and plumbs the archives of previous residents of the plateau and his own memory to understand his love of home. With empathy and in unhurried prose, Tales of Hazaribagh combines the best of nature, life, history and travel writing into an unforgettable portrait of a place and a journey back to one’s self.

    Krishna, Aanchal Malhotra, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Suketu Mehta, Perumal Murugan, Karthika Nair, Snigdha Poonam, Gyan Prakash, Vivek Shanbhag, Aatish Taseer, Romila Thapar, Salil Tripathi, Annie ZaidiAs India faces some of its greatest challenges, the country’s most brilliant voices write about what freedom means to them. Inspiring, searching and full of ideas – this is the book of our times.

    Hareesh’s Adam explores the more difficult of human emotions—lust, anger, jealousy, vengeance and greed. Translated from the Malayalam, the collection presents nine unusual stories about ordinary people, their passions and their diverse destinies in a world where humans, animals and nature collide. Hareesh’s unique style of storytelling, which mixes astute social observation with an irreverent and sarcastic tone, makes these stories invigorating, and pushes the craft of the short story to new and refreshing realms.

    Secret rendezvous in matadors, campus corridors and at the city’s historical sites help them to get to know each other better. But will their love survive the unending curfews and their families’ opposing political allegiances?Sheikh Mubarak, Samar’s neighbour, is a famed metal craftsman stuck in a loveless marriage. He is further distanced from his unsympathetic wife, Naziya, when he loses his cherished pregnant cow on a curfewed night. Will their marriage survive the arrival of Rosaline, a tourist from New York?Sana, Mubarak and Naziya’s five-year-old daughter, is best friends with Pintoji, the neighbourhood simpleton. Both chase their little dreams together with a wide-eyed curiosity, ignoring the adults who frequently indulge in the stone throwing game. But what happens when Pintoji ventures out without a care during a curfew?Delicate and sensitive, Life in the Clock Tower Valley is an unusual debut novel that travels between Kashmir’s pristine past, its grievous present and always uncertain future, giving us an insider’s view to everyday life and emotions in the conflict-ridden valley.

    This book uses the principles of Nudge Theory to show how to fulfil these needs better. The book takes a storytelling approach, rather than an academic one, and is packed with examples from India and around the world.

    

    At the same time, Marathwada - a historically backward part of the state adjoining the distressed Vidarbha region - has seen a surge in farmer suicides.At the heart of the crisis is a cyclical drought that has persisted for almost a decade. Relief packages and loan waivers have not reversed the trend. On the contrary, the stories of dystopia grow more tragic every year as thousands of farmer families flee to the big cities, while those who stay back are plagued by bad credit and crop loss.Landscapes of Loss tells the story of Marathwada through the accounts of its people: marginal farmers, Dalits, landless labourers, farm widows and children. It lays bare the complex factors that have brought the region to this pass - a story representative, in many ways, of the agrarian unrest in large parts of rural India.

     For centuries,Indians have been asking all kinds of questions - about the meaning of life, our place in the cosmos , why we have so many gods, and other such vital things. In the last hundred-odd years, marketing anda dvertising has given us none of those answesr. What it has given us, nonetheless, is life-altering stuff. It has attempted to make men Fair and Handsome. It has battled to make women 18 Again. And to both men and women it has given Tinder loving care.It has made us realize that we like pizza as much as the next Italian - as long as Dominos puts keema dopyaaza on it and tempts us with, 'Hungry kya?'It has made us re-evaluate our life choices and ask thought-provoking questions like 'Kitna deti hai?' of our cars and 'Kya aap Close-Up karte hain?' of our toothpaste. In short, it has enriched our lives with quirky quips and clever (at times outrageous) turns of phrase, unforgettable mascots, all-out Battles of the Brands, eye-popping insights and lump-in-the-throat moments, while feeding our addiction to controversies and virtual worlds.In this must-read book, you’ll find unbusiness-like stories from Indian advertising through the ages – and everything you didn’t want to know about the hits, the misses, the also-rans and the banned.

    

    A new home. A new life. Things seem perfect ... for a while. A pregnant Anahita moves in to an apartment in Malabar Hill with her husband, eager to begin a new phase in her life. Unfortunately, nothing goes as expected and Anahita witnesses things she cannot explain.. After sunset, a presence makes itself known in a manner that leaves Anahita terrified–but determined to find answers. Her search leads to Parizaad: a woman who haunted by phenomena she believed to be linked to a tower of silence, or Dakhma, that is deeply affected by environmental changes. As Anahita wades further into the mystery around the life and death of Parizaad, she uncovers a devastating secret that threatens many lives.A spine-chilling psychological thriller that takes horror from the isolated haunted mansion in the woods to the heart of a big city!

    Perhaps the biggest human tragedy of the twentieth century, it was marked by unparalleled violence that was suppressed by interested parties for their own political and ideological reasons. In the analysis of the real factors that led to Partition lies the lesson to protect India’s unity and integrity, as exemplified by the relentless but unsuccessful attempt by Veer Savarkar to prevent the birth of Pakistan.Arguably the greatest symbol of India’s national integration, Savarkar’s warnings on the threats to India’s security have come true in the past seven decades. Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition uncovers Savarkar, the thinker and the father of India’s national security who has shown the best possible pathway towards one nation that rises above religious, caste and regional feelings. It also proves the falsity of charges levelled against Savarkar from time to time and exposes the motives behind them. It reveals, for the first time, the manner in which the Narendra Modi-led government has implemented Savarkar’s national security and diplomatic vision.

    For whom was it carved, and what happened to it as family fortunes and dynasties rose and fell?Ten-year-old Madhav comes to Dilli after his world is torn apart by the battle in which Prithviraj Chauhan loses his throne and his life, paving the way for the Delhi Sultanate. In the teeming city, Madhav starts a career as a stone carver, and the craft becomes a manifestation of his very being. It eventually inspires him to create his masterpiece, a stone frieze that he calls the Garden of Heaven. Running parallel to Madhav’s story is that of another family of stone carvers— Nandu, his arrogant daughter Gayatri, and Gayatri’s daughter, Jayshree, who befriends an unusual, headstrong young woman who wears the clothes of a man. A gentle courtier named Amir Khusro also plays a part in this grand drama, as does Ibrahim, whose forbidden love for Chhoti brings two families together. And then there is poor and lonely Shagufta, who rescues Nasiruddin, a wounded Timurid soldier, and to distract him from his agony, tells the story of her city and. herself. A richly human, layered and dramatic narrative about Delhi on the threshold of a new phase in its long and eventful history, The Garden of Heaven holds the reader in thrall till the end.

    

    'Poriborton!' screamed the morning papers, echoing Trinamool Congress's catchphrase for bringing in change. A decade later, amidst allegations against the TMC of political violence, syndicate rule and institutional corruption, the Bharatiya Janata Party has sent out a new war cry. Ahead of what promises to be a historic state Legislative Assembly election, Deep Halder met and spoke to Bengal's biggest stars-turned-politicians, refugees who want to become permanent citizens, and travelled as far as the Bangladesh border to gauge the mood of the people. Bengal 2021 looks at an electrifying election, unfolding in the times of Covid-19.

    “A modern woman thinks differently. She’s not just going to do housework, she won’t get married until she’s pursued her own desires. She’s fashionable, she enjoys going to parties, and she likes to look beautiful. But it’s not easy to be modern.”The images she conjures up are astonishing, in the light of the limited sphere of her own life. Sangita, with little formal schooling, was married into a labouring family when she was very young. She lives in Rajasthan, in a very traditional patriarchal set-up, where her role as a young daughter-in-law is strict and restrained. And yet she snatches time to draw whenever she can, her confident lines dreaming up endless possibilities—where desire, play and exploration make up enchanted alternative worlds that are as alive to her as her own.

    Even as he searches for his 'roots' in Goa, Cajetan yearns for his childhood home in Tanzania, pouring that longing into the project of living near a boabab tree on soil that is his only for historical reasons. Into this strange idyll walks Sylvia, a young woman in search of a story. As they discover a past connection and explore ways to build that relationship, the two bonds over the common violence that shaped their trajectories, and an uncanny friendship with their one time aspiring film star neighbour.Over the course of the novel, Sylvia comes into kaleidoscope focus. She is colleague and friend, wife and prospective lover, and she is herself, living her many lives in many places.

    Offering a unique expression of thought reflecting feeling more than meaning, Grains of Stardust is a synesthetic stream of consciousness that does not distinguish between journey and destination, but meanders unchecked upon the river of human emotion.

    

    Finalist for Four Way Books Levis Award in Poetry. THERE IS NO GOOD TIME FOR BAD NEWS opens in a country ravaged by prolonged political conflict. Told in the voices of survivors, it introduces the reader to a wide array of characters: the local police precinct summons a woman after three decades to identify the body of her insurgent son among recovered dead bodies; a soldier lives through nightmares about the war he fought forty years ago; a woman writes a letter to her insurgent lover; and an ordinary citizen, through an open letter, challenges the child-killing insurgents to kill her. At once vignettes and urgent pleas, these are stories as much as they are poems. Zooming through wars, protest marches, and conflicts, they show what it means to live under the duress of prolonged violence.

    The metal heel of a shoe is found wedged in the young woman’s neck. Chupplejeep investigates but is hastily taken off the case and pushed out of the force, leaving his last case unsolved. Chupplejeep’s Private Investigation business is launched and an incident concerning a missing woman is brought to his attention. It isn’t long before he discovers that the case is linked to the brutal death of Lalita Malhotra.Meanwhile, his other half, Christabel, is eager for them to start a family, and his newfound mother needs help on a matter close to his heart, giving him no choice but to face the demons of his past. As the rain lashes down on the coastal state, Chupplejeep has to solve both mysteries in order to get to the truth. In doing so, he needs help from his trusted friend and ex-colleague Police Officer Pankaj who, left in charge of the station, is floundering. The two have to work together quickly and discreetly to catch a killer before it is too late.

    Hope, people across the country understand what actually "Khela Habe" means on ground in West Bengal. Dr. Anirban Ganguly Director, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, New Delhi“I have been on the ground in Bengal for the past several months. People should travel to Bengal to see how dangerous is the exercise of democratic will here. Read this report to understand how democracy and rule of law have been endangered in the state.” Pradeep BhandariPsephologist, Founder, Jan Ki BaatThe families of Rajesh Sarkar and Tapas Burman, instead of cremating their dead, have buried their bodies hoping for justice at some point in future. In Anup Kumar Roy’s case, the courts ordered a third post-mortem, which is yet to be carried out.Political violence in the State of West Bengal has been an unfortunate element of its public life. This has carried over from when the State was being ruled by the Left Front. Allegations of the State machinery being used against the political opposition by the ruling dispensation abound. The authors of this book take a detailed look at the violence during the current ruling dispensation of Mamata Banerjee’s TMC. They find that the criminal justice system has virtually been dismantled in the State in so far as political killings are concerned. The book enumerates a total of 126 cases, the information for which is available in public domain.

    Who is a Muslim? destabilizes traditional constructions of postcolonial literary histories through the specific example of Urdu by suggesting that this North-India vernacular, far from secular or progressive, has been shaped as the authority designate around the intertwined questions of piety, national identity, and citizenship.

    But he miraculously survived.In Ramrao, rural journalist Jaideep Hardikar attempts to put a face to India’s unending farm crisis with his story. He takes the reader on a journey of the everyday life of an Indian farmer, his daily struggles, his desperation to come out of his situation, his inability and many failings, the quagmire of issues he faces, and how he comes to a pass where he chooses to put an end to it all.The result of years of committed reportage, this is an evocative read that rescues an ordinary life from obscurity and turns it into an essential biography for our times.

    Steering through the many (mis)adventures that come from learning a new language, imbibing new cultural etiquette, and asking difficult questions about race, Aiyar explores why Japan and India find it hard to work together despite sharing a long civilizational history. Part travelogue, part reportage, Orienting answers questions that have long confounded the rest of the world with Aiyar’s trademark humour. Tackling both the significant and the trivial, the quirky and the quotidian, here is an Indian’s account of Japan that is as thought-provoking as it is charming.

    In the 19th century, the British East India Company operated a triangle of trade that straddled the globe, running from India to China to Britain. From India to China, they took opium. From China to Britain, they took tea. From Britain to India, they brought empire. It was a machine that consumed cheap Indian land and labor and spat out money. The British had two problems, though. They were importing enormous amounts of tea from China, but the Celestial Empire looked down on British goods and only wanted silver in return. Simultaneously, the expanding colony in India was proving far too expensive to maintain. The British solved both problems with opium, which became the source of income on which they built their empire. For more than a century, the British knew that the drug was dangerous and continued to trade in it anyway. Its legacy in India, whether the poverty of Bihar or the wealth of Bombay, is still not acknowledged. Like many colonial institutions in India, the story of opium is one of immense pain for many and huge privileges for a few.

    A former Indian foreign secretary and national security adviser, Shivshankar Menon traces India's approach to the shifting regional landscape since its independence in 1947. From its leading role in the "nonaligned" movement during the cold war to its current status as a perceived counterweight to China, India often has been an after-thought for global leaders--until they realize how much they needed it.Examining India's own policy choices throughout its history, Menon focuses in particular on India's responses to the rise of China, as well as other regional powers. Menon also looks to the future and analyzes how India's policies are likely to evolve in response to current and new challenges.As India grows economically and gains new stature across the globe, both its domestic preoccupations and international choices become more significant. India itself will become more affected by what happens in the world around it. Menon makes a powerful geopolitical case for an India increasingly and positively engaged in Asia and the broader world in pursuit of a pluralistic, open, and inclusive world order.

    His parents who are NRIs - non-resident Indians – leave him with his grandmother when he is two. Vimal grows up in Jaipur, happy and secure in the loving care of his grandmother. His parents are a blurred memory made up from short visits. When Vimal is eight, a phone call in the night turns his world topsy-turvy. His grandmother leaves him with relatives and goes to London.Once again, Vimal is left behind – this time with a secret that is too big for a young boy.

    The process intersected with the already existing parallel mechanisms of citizenship determination in the state. The final list, published on 31 August 2019, left out around 1.9 million applicants who risk being rendered stateless after their appeals are heard by the state's Foreigners' Tribunals.The NRC's narrative is expansive and complex - a blend of history, politics, law, human rights, and administrative red tape. No Land's People documents the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Assam's citizenship tangle, juxtaposes it with the complications of the NRC process while exploring technical, social and legal aspects of the exercise.

    

    

    This book documents the missing narratives of these ‘other’ Bengalis, the largely invisible majority beyond the bhadralok that the rest of India knows.Moving between the personal and the political, and between travelogue, journal and memoir, Field Notes from a Waterborne Land takes the reader on a journey across a fascinating land peopled with unforgettable characters.

    A safer, better future for our children. Yet, the agents of change often appear distant and removed. The politicians and bureaucrats seem to live in a world away from the concerns of the common man, the working professional, the farmer, the daily wage earner. Their actions and statements do not quite seem to mirror the lives, opinions or needs of all their constituents. However, such a perception is flawed. To understand the workings of the world of the public servant, its perspectives and challenges, we must necessarily break free of our own comfort zone and cocoon of conditioned ideas. Through the Looking Glass, written from the unique perspective of an outsider who became an insider, gives the reader a ringside view into the corridors of power – the pulls and pressures, the challenges and excitement, the power and constraints. Narrated with clear-eyed logic, the author, a banking professional inducted into a bureaucrat world, traverses the challenge strewn path from bemused bewilderment to holistic understanding of the workings of a vast nation in the throes of change. Understanding the System is the first step to executing change. And the System is vast, complex, and set in its own momentum. Change requires tremendous power. Yet that power lies in our hands – to build pathways and play active roles in the making of India. To be the change you wish to see."

    It is marked by great antiquity, substantial—even unprecedented—refinements, audacity of thought, and achievements both in the spiritual and secular realms. This does not mean it is unblemished, and objectivity demands that the blemishes too must be taken into account. Nor does it mean that it evolved in an insular silo or untouched by outside influences. On the contrary. And yet, this intermingling has not diluted or erased its essential identity as a verifiable civilisation. Unlike many other great civilisations of the past, the Hindu civilisation has not become a historical relic, an antiquary of the past, but has survived as an unbroken continuum to the present.‘It is important to know more about this civilisation, most of all for Hindus themselves. The civilisation faces a rather unfortunate paradox. On the one hand, it is notable for its resilience and continuity, and its spillover into every aspect of a Hindu’s life; and, on the other, Hindus themselves show little real curiosity or interest in knowing more about it. This indifference is a matter of concern, not least because, if Hindus do not know about their own civilisational legacy, their authenticity as Hindus—based on knowledge—is stunted and reduced to ritualistic tokenism.’ —from the Introduction

    But then one day she is told not to wear her sister’s frilly frock that she loves, but her "own" boy’s clothes. And things erupt. “Why do you keep saying I’m a boy when I’m a girl?” she asks her mother. In that simple question lies all the bewilderment that children like Guthli feel, who don’t seem to others what they know they are. The gentle story about gender identity tells it like it is, reality echoed in the flatness of the vibrant cutout illustrations.

    Like Akka Mahadevi and Lal Ded before her, she chooses to live naked, and sometimes delivers prophecies, but what shines through is her humour and crazily one-pointed devotion to her path.Soon after her tenth birthday, Balarishi Vishwashirasini was predicting futures—in no time she was transformed into a guru. Now in her thirties, this gifted teacher of nada yoga admits to sometimes feeling she’s missed out on a real childhood.Lata Mani, a respected academician in the US, was plunged into the path of tantra after a major accident left her with a brain injury. Today, she talks of how the spiritual life is deeply anchored in the wisdom of the body—not unlike the soaring yet rooted redwood trees of her adopted home.Maa Karpoori, a feisty young woman, found her calling when she joined a local yoga class. Through a rollercoaster ride that catapulted her from marriage to monkhood, she retains her fierce independence and contagious joy of living.In this extraordinary book, poet and seeker Arundhathi Subramaniam gives us a glimpse into the lives of four self-contained, unapologetic female spiritual travellers. Sensitive, insightful and spare, Women Who Wear Only Themselves is a revelation and a celebration.

    It is a story that everyone in India must know, from young to old. This rigorously researched book lays out the fascinating political and historical circumstances of the birth of India's states and union territories.

    You will delight in wondrous tales of heroes and heroines, of ordinary men and women, of wicked mothers-in-law and foolish sons-in-law, of love lost and won, of a tree who loved a girl, of seers and wise men, of chudails, werewolves, and wizards, of a Potter girl and the divine cow, of demoiselle cranes and humans transforming into elephants, of how the Woodpecker got its Crest, and much, much more. Startlingly original, brilliant, wise, and often funny, these stories will delight readers of all ages.

    Told through the eyes of women from three succeeding generations of the same family, the stories recount how Naga people remained determined to hold on to normalcy even in the face of occupation, state torture, the tearing apart of families and racism.In ‘New Tales from an Old World’, everyday events in the mountains are infused with an element of the supernatural. Naga myths and folk legends slip effortlessly into tales of hard farm life, childhood terrors and adventures in the countryside, love and mourning. In these stories, hunters, predators, Tekhumevi (weretigers), secret potions, shadowy-demons called Kamvüpfhi, strange spirits and enchanted forests, find a place in contemporary Nagaland with remarkable ease.This volume, both a political declaration and a personal love-note to her land, establishes Avinuo Kire as a writer of formidable skill. The Last Light of Glory Days is an exquisite unravelling of the tired tropes that cast Nagaland as another undistinguishable piece in the ‘Northeast’.

    

    It arrived in India by multiple routes—in the south, in the eighth and ninth centuries CE, with traders from Arabia, and in the north, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, with invaders, rulers, and mystics, largely from Central Asia. Once it was established in India, it morphed and evolved through the centuries until it took on the distinctive contours of the religion that is practised here at present. The author takes a clear-eyed look at every aspect of Islam in India today. She examines the factors that have stalled the socio-economic and intellectual growth of Indian Muslims and attributes both internal factors—such as a disproportionate reliance on the ulema—as well as external ones that have contributed to the backwardness of the community. She shows at length, and with great empathy and understanding, what it is like to live as a Muslim in India and offers suggestions on how their lot might be improved. Weaving together personal memoir, history, reportage, scholarship, and interviews with a wide variety of people, the author highlights how an apathetic and sometimes hostile government attitude and prejudice at all levels of society have contributed to Muslim vulnerability and insecurity.Born a Muslim goes beyond stereotypes and news headlines to present an extraordinarily compelling and illuminating portrait of one of the largest and most diverse communities in India.

    

    Chandru, former judge of the Madras High Court, heard many cases in his illustrious career and passed landmark judgments on them – over 54,000 in fact. Among these are rulings on common burial grounds irrespective of caste, community-based reservation in noon meal centres, women becoming priests in temples, dispensing with police permission to stage plays, and more.In twenty short accounts of such cases, Justice Chandru recounts how bold and courageous women, by approaching the law for redressal of wrongs done to them, have not only contributed to the fight for social justice, but have broadened and enriched the very meaning of justice.Justice K. Chandru is a retired judge of the Madras High Court, famous for his moral rectitude. Among other things, he was one of the first judges to declare his assets to the Chief Justice; he refused to have a red beacon on his official car or a sub-inspector ranked personal security guard; he refused to be addressed as 'My Lord' in court; and surrendered his official car on the morning of his retirement, going home by public transport that evening. He passed many landmark judgements, many in favour of the underprivileged or marginalised sections of society.‘This is a book about brave women. Brave – because the process of going to court is hard; even harder when the woman is without financial or emotional support from family, custom, or the present reading of the law. It speaks powerfully to every woman, and everyone who abhors gender-based discrimination.’ – Githa Hariharan, novelist

    Now, powered by years of unrelenting research, Chandrachur Ghose and Anuj Dhar bring you the cold truth. The man who freed India was alive long after his reported death, a victim of cruel circumstances. Here are the heartbreaking facts Government would not like you to know.

    Many vulnerable women and girls were targeted by sex trafficker who used the situation to their advantage. The comic book is written by Ruchira Gupta and illustrated by Melanconnie.

    From meticulous details of the day-to-day happenings inside the fort-palace and the royal protocols, to the celebration of festivals such as Eid, Navroz, Diwali, and even Rakshabandhan, this gives us a glimpse into the Delhi of the early nineteenth century.‘Bazm-i Aakhir gives a brief but lively detail of day-to-day life in the royal court of Bahadur Shah Zafar.’ – Shamsur Rahman Faruqi‘People of the ruling and rich classes keep their lives insulated from those of the ordinary people. Not only while living, but even after their deaths, they did not want to mix with others. Since this was the leftover of the dish of Shah Jahan (1592–1666), it is hardly surprising that its nature had to be unique. Ignorant young persons of the new generation will ask: “What were the things that were devoured by time, and which are no longer a part of our everyday lives?” May God have mercy on late Munshi Faizuddin. If he had not written this booklet, Bazm-i Aakhir, we would have no answer to give to the young of today.’ - From the preface by Ashraf Subuhi Dehlavi, published in the fourth edition of Bazm-i Aakhir, 1945

    Home to many different tribes and scores of languages and dialects, once known as a ‘frontier’ state, Arunachal Pradesh began to see major change after it opened up to tourism and once the Indian State introduced Hindi as its official language. In this volume, Mamang Dai, one of Arunachal’s best known writers, brings together new and established voices on subjects as varied as identity, home, belonging, language, Shamanism, folk culture, orality and more. Much of what has been handed down orally, through festivals, epic narratives, the performance of rituals by Shamans and rhapsodists, revered as guardians of collective and tribal memory, is captured here in the words of young poets and writers, as well as artists and illustrators, as they trace their heritage, listen to stories and render them in newer forms of expression.Contributors: Ayinam Ering | Bhanu Tatak | Chasoom Bosai | Doirangsi Kri | Gedak Angu | Gyati T. M. Ampi | Ing Perme | Jamuna Bini | Karry Padu | Kolpi Dai | Leki Thungon | Mamang Dai | Millo Ankha| Mishimbu Miri | Nellie N. Manpoong | Ngurang Reena | Nomi Maga Gumro | Omili Borang | Ponung Ering Angu | Rebom Belo | Rinchin Choden | Ronnie Nido | Samy Moyong | Stuti Mamen Lowang | Subi Taba | Takhe Moni | Tine Mena | Toko Anu | Tolum Chumchum | Tongam Rina | Tunung Tabing | Yaniam Chukhu | Yater Nyokir

    A new decade has started. Maine Pyar Kiya has just been released. Young boys are having wet dreams after imagining what Salman Khan saw when Bhagyashree undraped herself for him on that windy night. The three brothers have just moved to their new, first and last home, which they name, Chuhedani. The Anger of Saintly Men explores how little boys are made menin Indian households. A story of sexual awakening, heartbreak and growing up under the shadow of India's first wave of liberalisation. Told with compassion, the book delves deep into issues of masculinity, caste, class, homophobia and shame. The Anger of Saintly Men questions systems which have crushed men's expectations, desires and hopes for centuries. One of the first novels that compels us to think on how we raise men and patriarchy's deep grip on men's life.

    

    The stories are drawn from lived experiences.

    

    In dialogue format, the discussion covers the on-field action and spans topics from Mandela and Gandhi to BLM to socio-political intricacies of post-apartheid South Africa and 1990s India.

    a stunning achievement.'- Kiran Desai, Booker Prize-winning author of The Inheritance of Loss'If you read one book about India, read this one.'- Geeta Anand, Pulitzer Prize-winner and author of The CureAll of Mumbai's memories and castaway possessions come to die at the Deonar garbage mountains. And among these vast, teetering piles of discarded things - medical waste, rotten food, old clothes, broken glass and twisted metal - a small, forgotten community lives and works.Scouring the dump for whatever can be resold or recycled, waste pickers also mark the familiar milestones of babies born, love found, illnesses suffered and recovered from. Like a mirror image, their stories are shaped by the influx of unwanted things from the world outside.But now, as Deonar's toxic halo becomes undeniable, a change is coming. And as officials try to close it, the lives that the pickers have built on the Mountain seem more fragile than ever.