In Pakistan at the Crossroads, top international scholars assess Pakistan’s politics, economics and the challenges faced by its civil and military leaders domestically and diplomatically. Contributors examine the state’s handling of internal threats, tensions between civilians and the military, strategies of political parties, police and law enforcement reform, trends in judicial activism, the rise of border conflicts, economic challenges, financial entanglements with foreign powers, and diplomatic relations with India, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and the United States.
In addition to ethnic strife in Baluchistan and Karachi, terrorist violence in Pakistan in response to the American-led military intervention in Afghanistan and in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas by means of drones, has reached an unprecedented level. Growing consensus among state leaders predicts that the nation’s main security threats may come not from India but from its spiraling internal conflicts, though this realization may not sufficiently dissuade the Pakistani army from targeting the country’s largest neighbor.
This volume is critical to grasping the sophisticated interplay of internal and external forces complicating the country’s recent trajectory.
Archives: Books
The Secret’s in the Spice Mix
Do you buy overpriced spice mixes off the shelves?
Do you wish to make your own but don’t know how?
Does the alchemy of spices interest you?
People across the length and breadth of the country have their own special blends that they use to add flavour to food.The right combination of spices is crucial to Indian cooking and is the reason why some dishes are so hard to resist. But why buy spice mixes when you can make them yourself!
From traditional blends like veri-the tikki masala from Kashmir-and East Indian bottle masala-the specialty from Mumbai-to more commercial mixes like garam masala, kadhai masala and sambhar powder, India’s first MasterChef Pankaj Bhadouria identifies fifty spice mixes from India and around the world in this one-of-a-kind book, putting the secret to great flavours within any cook’s reach.
Ruckus on the Road
WANTED
A runaway girl, a donkey and a snarky boy travelling together
DO NOT APPROACH THEM. HIGHLY TALKATIVE!
They are said to be in possession of lethal fruit and wily schemes.
If you spot them, call the lawmakers of Put-Put immediately!
(Issued in the interest of the citizens, goats, chicken and other fauna.)
When ten-year-old Inara meets Kian, an overconfident trickster, she knows that they are NOT going to be best friends for life. But with a diabolical villainess close on her heels and an impossible rescue mission to plan, she has no choice but to be part of his motley crew.
Jump aboard if you’re in the mood for a whole lot of mayhem!
India’s Legal System
India has the second-largest legal profession in the world, but the systemic delays and chronic impediments of its judicial system inspire little confidence in the common person. In India’s Legal System, renowned constitutional expert and senior Supreme Court lawyer Fali S. Nariman explores possible reasons. While realistically appraising the criminal justice system and the performance of legal practitioners, he elaborates the different aspects of contemporary practice, such as public interest litigation, judicial review and activism. In lucid, accessible language, Nariman discusses key social issues such as inequality and affirmative action, providing real cases as illustrations of the on-ground situation.
This frank and thought-provoking book offers valuable insights into India’s judicial system and maps a possible road ahead to make justice available to all.
Anna
On 6 March 1967; fifty-eight-year-old Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai became chief minister of Madras state; when his party; the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK); swept to power for the first time. Marking the pinnacle of his public life; it reflected his popularity among ordinary people who revered him as Anna; or elder brother. This rich biography illuminates his many lives-as a charismatic leader of modern India; as a stalwart of the Dravidian movement; as the founder of the DMK; as spokesman for the South-besides documenting his abilities as an acclaimed orator and littérateur in Tamil and English; and as a stage actor.
Born into a weaving caste family in Kanchipuram; Anna was exposed to the non-Brahmin politics of the Justice Party during his college years and this interest led him to become a protégé of the radical thinker Periyar E.V. Ramasamy in 1935. Anna promoted his mentor’s ideas of Self-Respect and Tamil identity but not his atheism. Like him; he attacked Brahminism and ‘Aryan’ values as the cause of Tamil political and cultural decadence and opposed the imposition of Hindi as the official language. In 1962 Anna took his independent Dravida Nadu demand to the Rajya Sabha; threatening the nation’s unity. Importantly; he used public speaking; journalism; theatre; cinema and agit-prop to broaden the base of the party; which drew renowned film actors into its fold; a bond that endures to this day.
The book does not shy away from the controversies that surrounded the Dravidian movement and candidly examines Anna’s complex relationship with Periyar. It records Anna’s move to form the DMK in 1949; his split with Sampath in 1961 over the party’s strategy and course; and his disillusionment with the corruption and power politics he witnessed as chief minister.
Kannan draws on Anna’s considerable body of writing; the memoirs of other leaders and authors in Tamil; including critics like the poet Kannadasan; Jayakanthan and P. Ramamurti; apart from secondary sources. Featuring luminaries like Rajagopalachari and Kamaraj; Kalaignar Karunanidhi and MGR; among many others; Anna offers a warm and rounded portrait of a man who showed the way for the democratic expression of regional aspirations within a united India.
Battles in the Mind
Battles in the Mind provides a unique insight into the human spirit, the beauty of trials and tribulations, and the subsequent emergence of a positive self. In the book, author Anna Chandy, co-founder of the Live, Love, Laugh Foundation along with actress Deepika Padukone, shares her deeply moving personal story sprinkled with highs and lows, and how she found a way out of it. She also shares techniques of transactional analysis, and how mental health issues can be dealt with to bring about a difference in people’s lives. Battles in the Mind is a book about hope and a way to transition from pain to happiness and success.
Mgr
Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran, or MGR-founder of the AIADMK founder and three-time chief minister, Bharat Ratna recipient-dominated Tamil Nadu’s stratosphere for four decades.
In this richly detailed biography of the man often called vathiyar or teacher, R. Kannan traces MGR’s life from his early poverty-ridden years-a Class Three dropout-to his rise as a matinee idol, before becoming a politician of repute. He examines MGR’s lifelong association with mentor Annadurai and other Dravidian cultural icons, and his tumultuous political friendship with Kalaignar Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa, his cine heroine and political protégé.
The book dissects MGR’s years in power: His early administration, the legendary midday meal scheme launched in 1982 that fed 92 lakh schoolchildren, his well-intentioned farm subsidies and freebies that strained the exchequer, his largesse to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as well as his unabashed sponsorship of liquor barons and private medical and engineering colleges that aided the transformation of the state, but also fuelled corruption.
Honest and insightful, MGR provides a portrait of a warm larger-than-life figure, whose legacy has left an indelible stamp on Dravidian politics.
Hack into Your Creativity
If you’re new to writing prompts, indulge in all the different ways you can kick-start the creator inside of you. If you’re a veteran of writing prompts from the Internet or newspapers, you will find comfort in familiar formats, but also challenge yourself with ones you’ve never seen before and discover interests and abilities that you didn’t even know you had.
From casual flash fiction authors and scriptwriters to non-fictioneers and branding executives, this book will set your creativity on fire. Be a story alchemist. Transform your writing. And above all else, have fun doing it!
Remembering Partition
The dawn of India’s freedom was stained by the Partition and its accompanying violence which rent the subcontinent. Seventy years later, the nations that came into being are yet to fully overcome a persistent sense of anger and loss. The five iconic books in this collection look at the different faces of Partition, from the larger political and historical view to the very personal tales of hatred, grief, courage and friendship. Together, they commemorate one of the most defining moments of our history whose reverberations are felt to this day.
The Bones of Grace
On the eve of her departure to discover evidence of the near mythological walking whale Ambulocetus Natans, Zubaida Haque falls in love with a stranger she meets at a piano concert. But after a tragedy sends her back to her hometown of Dhaka, she seeks solace in the figure of an old friend, and makes a rash decision with disastrous consequences.
In a bid to escape familial constraints, she moves to a southern port city to help a charity working on the infamous shipbreaking beaches. Here she meets Anwar, a shipbreaker whose story holds a key that unlocks for Zubaida not only the mysteries of her past, but the possibilities of a new life. The third instalment of the Bengal trilogy, The Bones of Grace brings the arc of Bangladesh’s tumultuous recent history full circle in an epic of loss and love.