It became one of the largest empires on the planet with an army of almost one million men at arms and an economy that was stronger than any other at the time. The Mughal Empire developed new art and architecture, and some of the things created during this empire are still regarded as iconic representations of India.Although most of its conquests were achieved through the application of military power, this was also a relatively liberal, pluralist empire which successfully assimilated people from varied cultural and religious background into a total population of over one hundred and fifty million. Perhaps that is surprising given that this empire originated with an invasion by nomadic Mongols from the north; the very first Mughal emperor was a direct descendent of both Genghis Khan and Tamerlane.Then, just when the Mughal Empire seemed to have become invincible, it disintegrated in an astonishingly short space of time. This book tells the story of how the Mughal Empire was able to achieve almost unimaginable power and wealth and how within the nature of that success were the elements which eventually tore the empire apart. This is the complex, exciting story of the rapid rise and even more rapid collapse of the mighty, colorful, vibrant, and complex Mughal Empire.

    In Khaki Files, Neeraj Kumar, a former Delhi Police Commissioner revisits many such high profile police cases of his career -from investigation of one of the biggest lottery frauds in the country to foiled ISI attempt to kill Tarun Tejpal and Anirudh Behal of Tehalka-bringing to light numerous achievements of the country's police force, otherwise largely reviled and ridiculed.

    Novel set in 3rd and 4th century India

    It speaks of those who loved and betrayed him; of charming ladies and brilliant men around him; of his greatness and of the crafty stupidity of his contemporaries; os the wit and folly of his times; and of the struggle of men and ideas when faced with the march of history. Based on extensive research and original sources, The Sword of Tipu Sultan is an original contribution to historical literature which gives insights into the character of its hero, and the period in which he lived.Tipu, maligned by historians as a cruel and bigoted ruler, emerges here as a humane, enlightened ruler who believes that God is not confined to any one religion and that all religions therefore require equal respect. He was opposed to colonialism; welcomed the American Declaration of Independence and applauded the spirit of the French Revolution. The author establishes him as the first among modern Indian nationalists who knew also that India was weakened not by outside powers but by sickness, decadence and disunity within.The novel vividly portrays the drama of Tipu's times and recaptures the amazing spirit of the man who in the midst of disaster lost neither his dignity nor his love nor his faith in the values he cherished. He chose to court death when he could have saved himself, for he firmly believed that his sacrifice would serve as an example for the future generations of India.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    But there were restrictions too, that come with growing up in an orthodox Tamil Brahmin family, as well as the rarely spoken about dangers of predatory male relatives. Ruskin College, Oxford, gave her her first taste of freedom in 1955, at the age of 22. Oxford brought her a degree in philosophy and economics—as well as hardship, as she washed dishes in a cafe to pay her fees. It was here, too, that she had her early encounters with the sensual life. With rare candour, she writes of her romantic liaisons in Oxford and Harvard, and falling in love with her ‘unsuitable boy’—her husband, Lakshmi Jain, whom she married against her beloved father’s wishes.Devaki’s professional life saw her becoming deeply involved with the cause of ‘poor’ women—workers in the informal economy, for whom she strove to get a better deal. In the international arena, she joined cause with the concerns of the colonized nations of the south, as they fought to make their voices heard against the rich and powerful nations of the former colonizers. Her work brought her into contact with world leaders and thinkers, amongst them, Vinoba Bhave, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Henry Kissinger, Amartya Sen, Doris Lessing and Iris Murdoch, her tutor at St Anne’s College, Oxford, who became a lifelong friend.In all these encounters and anecdotes, what shines through is Devaki Jain’s honesty in telling it like it was—with a message for women across generations, that one can experience the good, the bad and the ugly, and remain standing to tell the story.

    She begins to rebuild her life by focusing on a career. She is hired by Sharma Industries to avert the company’s collapse. Aditya, heir to Sharma Industries returns to India from the United States and moves right into Kirthi’s lonely and depressed heart, offering her a life she only dreamed about. Constrained by the oppressive taboo preventing all widows from remarrying, Kirthi struggles with the haunting question: would Aditya love her if he knew? Brought together by work, drawn closer through friendship, pulled apart by cultural taboos, their love shatters prejudice and offers hope.

    

    The Christians have broken the truce and the Fifth Crusade has begun, the irate Saracens are expelling Christians and Jews from their lands, and desperate refugees are pouring into Jerusalem's port city of Acre which is expected to fall. There are coins to be earned carrying those most favoured by God to safety, meaning those with the most coins to pay for a place on one of the company's galleys. And the French governor of Acre wants to leave his young wife behind and flee with the chests of coins he collected from the city's Saracen merchants before he expelled them despite the bribes they paid him. It is a rollicking good story and a very good read.

     A secret cargo is headed for Japan. The Japanese High Command has entrusted it to a veteran destroyer captain - the best in the Imperial Navy - and he will stop at nothing to see that it reaches its final destination... Carrier-based dive bombers could not stop it, nor could the guerilla-commandos of the Philippine Islands. Now, the submarine Wolffish is the last ditch hope of the Allied Command. Still shaken by a recent tragedy, and desperately low on fuel, torpedoes, and morale, the war-weary submarine and her eighty-man crew must pull together to track down and destroy the cargo before it reaches Japan, and changes the course of the war...

    

    It captures the dominance of a colonial power over the region that began with the entry of the Portuguese about four hundred years ago. The novel is a graphic description of the displacement of this strongly-rooted community which saw its resurrection in a new area. In the course of its narrative, the novel traces the gradual changes in the structure of the family that moved from a closely knit joint family of the bygone era to the nuclear family. It also deals with the factors that are responsible for the change in value systems of individuals in the wake of such paradigm shifts. With its vast canvas, it remarkably weaves fiction with myth and history, peppered with cultural details and linguistic nuances. The narration in Swapna Saraswatha progresses in the form of an epic detailing the story of nine generations spread over a period of two hundred and fifty years from 1510 to about 1760. It encompasses more than a hundred and fifty characters which include Hindus, Muslims, Christians, chieftains, traders, farmers, priests and black magicians, and covers a range of themes spread across folk tales, legends, armies, myths and a sprinkling of history.

    Of the wider issue of global politics, he reasons, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism has been a side effect. And religious intolerance places the minority communities of the country in a precarious position.They have to come to terms with a rapidly changing situation. A White Trail is an ethnographic study of these communities and the changes they are having to face. At a time when almost all accounts of religious minorities in the country focus on the persecution and discrimination they experience, A White Trail delves deeper into their lives, using the occasion of religious festivals to gain a deeper insight into the psyche of Pakistani Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Zoroastrians and Bahais. It seeks to understand, through the oral testimonies of the members of these communities, larger socio-political issues arising from the situation.A White Trail originally began as a series of newspaper articles written by Lahore - based Haroon Khalid for Pakistans widely - circulated weekly, The Friday Times.

    Walter Crocker, the Australian high commissioner to India, admired Nehru the man—his grace, style, intelligence and energy—and was deeply critical of many of his political decisions—the invasion of Goa, India’s Kashmir policy, the Five Year Plans. This book, written shortly after Nehru’s death, is full of invaluable first hand observations about the man and his politics. Many of Crocker’s points, too—especially the implications of the Five Year Plans and of the introduction of democracy to India—are particularly relevant today.

    With a timeline that moves from seven years before to a decade after 1984, the book strives to answer critical questions that continue to linger till today.The narrative moves from Punjab to Canada, the US, Europe and Delhi, looking to sift the truth from the political obfuscation and opportunism, examining the role that the ruling party allegedly played, and the heart-rending violence that devoured thousands of innocent lives in its aftermath.