Book picks similar to
Muslim Politics in Secular India by Hamid Dalwai
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The Akbarnama
Abu al-Fazal ibn Mubarak
Beginning with a history of the Timur Dynasty, the three-volume history goes on to chronicle in vivid detail the events of Akbar's reign, including an overview of Hindu culture, religion, and philosophy for the edification of his Muslim readers. Henry Beveridge's English translation was completed in 1921, more than two decade after he began.
The Wonder That Was India: A Survey of the History and Culture of the Indian Sub-Continent from the Coming of the Muslims to the British Conquest 1200-1700 Volume-2.
S.A.A. Rizvi - 1996
This work, along with A. L. Basham's book, The Wonder That Was India, provides a comprehensive and riveting outlook of the pre-colonial times in the history of India. While the first volume by Basham covers the period between ancient India and the arrival of the Muslims, Rizvi's second volume covers the period between 1200 and 1700 AD.
India Moving: A History of Migration
Chinmay Tumbe - 2018
To understand how millions of people have moved-from, to and within India-the book embarks on a journey laced with evidence, argument and wit, providing insights into topics like the slave trade and migration of workers, travelling business communities such as the Marwaris, Gujaratis and Chettiars, refugee crises and the roots of contemporary mass migration from Bihar and Kerala, covering terrain that often includes diverse items such as mangoes, dosas and pressure cookers.India Moving shows the scale and variety of Indian migration and argues that greater mobility is a prerequisite for maintaining the country's pluralistic traditions.
India: What it Can Teach Us
F. Max Müller - 1882
This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
पानिपत
Vishwas Patil - 1988
It presents the historical battle that progressed between the Maratha army and the army of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the founder of the Afghan Empire.The book initially follows the battle that takes place between the army of Najib-ud-Daulah, an ethnic Pashtun, and the Scindias. It then proceeds to cover the northward progress of the massive Maratha forces to counter the threat of Najib-ud-Daulah. Eventually, the Maratha infantry and cavalry succeed in entering the Mughal stronghold of Panipat. Here, they are surrounded by a huge force of Shia Muslim and Afghan soldiers who block their source of ration. The resulting frustration and malnutrition takes its toll on the Maratha army.The book speaks of the valiant efforts of men like Jankoji Shinde, Nanasaheb Peshwa, and many other Maratha compatriots. The author has also countered the common negative portrayal of Sadashivrao Bhau, one of the Maratha leaders, with strong appreciation of his war tactics.The book highlights the myriad experiences that cast their shadows on the battleground, including bloodshed, depression, disease, desolation, martyrdom, betrayal, death, fear, victory, loss, hatred, ignorance, and vengeance.It also focuses on certain key points pertaining to India as a federal nation. Some of these points include the role of religion, the battle for supremacy between the North and the South, the detrimental influence of regional politics, the role of language, and the importance of unity. At the end of the book, the author has provided insights into his research efforts, which included several trips to Panipat. Panipat was originally written in Marathi and first published on October 20, 1988. Since then, it been translated to English and several other Indian languages, including Hindi. Panipat has received thirty-eight awards since its release in 1988, and sold more than 200,000 copies.
All Quiet in Vikaspuri
Sarnath Banerjee - 2015
It is a dystopian landscape where neighbourhoods fight brutal battles against each other and even victory must end in defeat.
Amar Bari Tomar Bari Naxalbari
Sumit Kumar
In the newly independent India - food production is at an all time low, Zamindars control the farms, Nehru is dead, the coalation bengal government is headed for the wall and a tiny village in West Bengal plays host to an uprising. From the tiny village of Naxalbari the story travels back and forth in time, as it takes you to pre-independence Hyderabad, post independence Andhra Pradesh and finally to the jungles of Dandkaranya (Bastar and surrounding regions) where the sparks of Naxalbari finally grew into the fire that today impacts India and its people.
Behind Bars: Prison Tales of India's Most Famous
Sunetra Choudhury - 2017
If you steal 55,000 crores then you get to stay in a 40-foot cell which has four split units, internet, fax, mobile phones and a staff of 10 to clean your shoes and cook your food (in case it is not being delivered from Hyatt that particular day).’They say that prison can be a great leveler – but does this apply if you are a VIP inmate in an Indian prison? Maybe not.Based on extensive first-hand interviews with some of India’s most well-known inmates, award-winning journalist Sunetra Choudhury gives you a peek into the VIP prison life. It includes some interesting anecdotes about the lives of the rich and powerful prisoners: What does Peter Mukherjea do all day in his 4 x 4 cell in Arthur Road Jail? How does a 70-year-old Doon school alumnus who has spent more than 7 years in jail find a will to continue petitioning the state and fight his cases? Who came to visit Amar Singh during those 4 fateful days and why this scarred him and his wife for life, determining his future friends and allies?Apart from certain depictions in popular culture or the occasional news reports, there is little information about how rules are bent and law takes a backseat when it comes to people like Sanjeev Nanda, Vikas and Vishal Yadav, Anca Varma and Manu Sharma, who were given special benefits and often sent out on parole and furlough for their good behaviour.For the first time, India’s most famous prisoners share their own stories – from terror tales of ‘bladebaaz’ to torture chambers, from air conditioners in cells to food from five-star hotels, from cushy beds to private parties – and how they negotiate life in prison or the so-called ‘jail-ashram’.With unbelievable details of the life inside prison and the sorry state of hundreds of undertrials languishing in jails, this book questions the primary purpose of imprisonment – is it actually reform, punishment or just misusing the system we are a part of?
Aadhaar: A Biometric History of India's 12-Digit Revolution
Shankkar Aiyar - 2017
The biometric-based unique identification system, built by tech czar Nandan Nilekani and his team of innovators, was designed to enable subsidies and social spends reach their true destination, plug institutional corruption and save trillions of tax-rupees. In July 2017, Aadhaar is 1.15 billion identities and growing.In Aadhaar: A Biometric History of India’s 12-digit Revolution, senior journalist Shankkar Aiyar traces the history of this ambitious, controversial undertaking. He speaks with President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram, Yashwant Sinha, Rahul Gandhi and others to document how politicians with diametrically opposed ideologies were equally determined to propel Aadhaar.Aiyar maps how Aadhaar’s application expanded beyond its original intent. He researches its ups, downs and turnarounds; discusses the concerns of activists and bureaucrats on potential misuse of the database for state surveillance; raises the urgent need for a data-protection and privacy law and spells out the solutions.An unusual contemporary dramatization, this book is a breathless ride through recent changes in India’s political and economic landscape.
Working a Democratic Constitution: A History of the Indian Experience
Granville Austin - 2000
Austin's magnum opus tells the very human story of how the social, political, and day-to-day realities of the Indian people have been reflected in and directed the course of constitutional reforms since 1950.
The Ascetic of Desire: A Novel of the Kama Sutra
Sudhir Kakar - 2000
In The Ascetic of Desire, called a literary achievement of the highest order, by The Times (India), acclaimed author Sudhir Kakar tells the story of the man who is believed to be the author of the Kama Sutra, Vatsyayana, and the time in which he lived-the fourth century A.D., considered the golden age of Indian history. In The Ascetic of Desire, the elusive sage Vatsyayana recounts his youth to a young pupil. The young man, planning to write Vatsyayana's biography, listens dutifully as Vatsyayana shares stories of a childhood spent largely in the brothel where his favorite aunt worked. As Vatsyayana's story unfolds, the pupil finds, to his consternation, that his own life has begun to reflect and parallel the ascetic's narrative. At the point where their stories intersect, the unexpected happens. Like Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha, Sudhir Kakar's novel is a startling combination of psychological insight and historical detail. With rights sold in eleven countries, this is a story of universal appeal imbued with a distant world's charm and exotic allure. The best novel on sex and sensuality I have ever read. (Khushwant Singh, author of Train to Pakistan)
The Himalayan Summer: The heartbreaking story of a missing child and a true love
Louise Brown - 2017
You will laugh, cry and you will want a sequel", Lovereading.comEllie Jeffreys arrives in Darjeeling with her British husband, en route to Kathmandu. They have ten-month-old, golden-haired twins, and despite appearing to be a happy family, Ellie's relationship with the overbearing, philandering Francis is disintegrating. At a cocktail party, Ellie meets Hugh Douglas, a maverick explorer and botanist. Despite the rumours surrounding Hugh, Ellie is drawn to him. A year later, Nepal is devastated by a catastrophic earthquake and in a falling building, Ellie is forced to make an instant, and terrible, decision: she has time to save only one of her children. When she returns for her son's body the next day, it has gone. Ellie knows he cannot have disappeared; someone, somewhere has her child, and it is to Hugh that she turns for help.
India's China Challenge: A Journey through China's Rise and What It Means for India
Ananth Krishnan - 2020
In the years that followed, he had a ringside view of the country's remarkable transformation. He reported from Beijing for a decade, for the India Today and The Hindu. This gave him a privileged opportunity that few Indians have had - to travel the length and breadth of the country, beyond the glitzy skyscrapers of Shanghai and the grand avenues of Beijing that greet most tourists, to the heart of China's rise. This book is Krishnan's attempt at unpacking India's China challenge, which is four-fold: the political challenge of dealing with a one-party state that is looking to increasingly shape global institutions; the military challenge of managing an unresolved border; the economic challenge of both learning from China's remarkable and unique growth story and building a closer relationship; and the conceptual challenge of changing how we think about and engage with our most important neighbour. India's China Challenge tells the story of a complex political relationship, and how China - and its leading opinion-makers - view India. It looks at the economic dimensions and cultural connect, and the internal political and social transformations in China that continue to shape both the country's future and its relations with India.
The Mughal Empire
John F. Richards - 1993
Richards stresses the dynamic quality of Mughal territorial expansion, their institutional innovations in land revenue, coinage and military organization, ideological change and the relationship between the emperors and Islam. He also analyzes institutions particular to the Mughal empire, such as the jagir system, and explores Mughal India's links with the early modern world.
Chanakya's New Manifesto to Resolve the Crisis within India
Pavan K. Varma - 2013
270-380 BCE) was classical India's greatest thinker and teacher. Through his unparalleled ability to devise result-oriented military, political, and administrative strategy, he overthrew one king, crowned another and paved the way for the establishment of India's first great empire. His seminal work, the Arthashashtra, arguably the world's first comprehensive treatise on statecraft and governance, was written approximately two thousand years before Machiavelli's The Prince.What would Chanakya do if confronted with the various crises that beset contemporary India? Using this question as the starting point for his new book, celebrated writer and thinker Pavan K. Varma has drawn up a practical and detailed plan, modelled on the Arthashashtra, to bring about reform and change in five key areas that require urgent attention governance, democracy, corruption, security, and the building of an inclusive society. Whether it is laying the foundation for an independent and effective Lokpal, or decriminalizing politics and successfully weeding out the corrupt, the solutions he proposes are substantive, well within the constitutional framework, and can make all the difference between intent and action.Chanakya's New Manifesto is both a call to action as well as a deeply insightful account of the challenges facing the country today. It is a book that should be attentively read by everybody with a stake in India's future.