Lal Singh Dil is a legend in Punjab, famed as much for his rousing poetry as for the brew of his tea stall. Born into the ‘untouchable’ Dalit community in the years before Partition, he bravely challenged deep-rooted social prejudices through his crisp and stirring verses. His struggle led him to join the Naxalite movement-an experience that culminated in three horrifying years of torture at the hands of the police. In his later years, much to the dismay of his comrades, he converted to Islam because he believed that its tenets could be reconciled with the egalitarian and inclusive principles of communism. A powerful indictment of caste violence and discrimination, Poet of the Revolution describes Dil’s most turbulent years in his clear, fiery voice. Translated into English for the first time, this book also includes a selection of his most memorable poems.
Archives: Books
The Siege
THE ULTIMATE ACCOUNT OF 26/11 FROM TWO ACCLAIMED INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS
On 26 November 2008, four terrorists entered the Taj, Mumbai, and took over the hotel. What followed were nearly three days of terror as the world watched the great hotel go up in flames. Now comes the ultimate account of that attack. Telling the stories of guests, staff, police and the National Security Guard, and piecing together transcripts of calls between the terrorists and their handlers, The Siege takes you right into the warzone, showing you what it was like to be in the Taj on those fateful days.
Here are heart-stopping stories of guests and staff—of a couple about to celebrate their wedding, a British-Cypriot shipping magnate whose state-of-the-art yacht is docked in front of the hotel, and a young Taj employee who survives because of a stranger’s phone call. Here too are revelations about the training of the terrorists, Headley’s double game and the shocking incompetence of the Indian security forces. Terrifying, gripping and deeply moving, The Siege is unputdownable.
The Siege
THE ULTIMATE ACCOUNT OF 26/11 FROM TWO ACCLAIMED INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS
On 26 November 2008, four terrorists entered the Taj, Mumbai, and took over the hotel. What followed were nearly three days of terror as the world watched the great hotel go up in flames. Now comes the ultimate account of that attack. Telling the stories of guests, staff, police and the National Security Guard, and piecing together transcripts of calls between the terrorists and their handlers, The Siege takes you right into the warzone, showing you what it was like to be in the Taj on those fateful days.
Here are heart-stopping stories of guests and staff-of a couple about to celebrate their wedding, a British-Cypriot shipping magnate whose state-of-the-art yacht is docked in front of the hotel, and a young Taj employee who survives because of a stranger’s phone call. Here too are revelations about the training of the terrorists, Headley’s double game and the shocking incompetence of the Indian security forces. Terrifying, gripping and deeply moving, The Siege is unputdownable.
A Life in Diplomacy
Former foreign secretary, Maharajakrishna Rasgotra joined India’s external affairs ministry when Jawaharlal Nehru, Girija Shankar Bajpai, Sardar Patel were-with a mix of pragmatism and hope-creating the foreign policy of the newly independent nation. This was taking place as the Cold War slid into the subcontinent and complex relationships with India’s neighbours-China, Pakistan and Nepal-were taking shape. Looking back on those crucial years with a discerning eye for the interplay of personalities-Nehru, Krishna Menon, or S. Radhakrishnan, for instance-Rasgotra assesses their influence on events and their impact on the evolution of Indian diplomacy.
For over three decades Rasgotra’s assignments took him to Nepal, Britain and France, among other countries, as well as twice to the United States. His account of Nixon and Kissinger, and the mix of truculence and persuasion in their dealings with Mrs Gandhi in the run up to the 1971 Bangladesh war, sheds new light on the events of that time. His tenure as foreign secretary covered a period of great change and A Life in Diplomacy provides a ringside view of the beginnings of ethnic violence in Sri Lanka, the last years of the Cold War, the negotiations on the formation of SAARC, Mrs Gandhi’s assassination and the Bhopal gas disaster.
This is a compelling, authoritative account of a personal and professional journey; a reflective look at the leaders, events and forces that formed relations between India and the world over fifty years.
Make It Or Break It
The corporate world can be ruthless with its unwritten rules and hidden pitfalls. To succeed, it is crucial to learn the tricks of survival quickly. Make It or Break It is an indispensible guide to imbibing these skills early on in one’s career. Packed with important life lessons, it shows you how to get started on the right foot and emerge a winner.
The Black Economy In India
India’s white economy is inextricably linked with its black economy. Where in 1991 the black economy constituted about 35 per cent of the national economy, it had increased to 62 per cent by 2013. Both legal (industry, services, real estate, the share market) and illegal (havala, smuggling, narcotics) activities, as well as instances of corruption, contributed to this situation. But the cash, or ‘black money’, circulating in the country is merely around 3 per cent of the total domestic black economy. In this scenario, how effective has the central government’s move to demonetize 500- and 1000-rupee notes in November 2016 been?
In the only such book on the subject, written especially for the general reader, Arun Kumar critically examines the causes and consequences of black income generation and the possible ways to curb it. Backed by empirical data, his incisive analysis lays bare the pernicious effects of black income on the macroeconomy and the resultant inefficiency in society. It also focuses on the nexus of businessmen, politicians and the executive in perpetuating the black economy.
A groundbreaking book, The Black Economy in India shows how demonetization is not the way to end black economy, since what India must do is empower citizens and make leaders accountable.
The Discovery Of India
The Discovery of India has acquired the status of a classic since it was first published in 1946. Nehru’s brilliant intellect, deep humanity, and lucid style make ‘The Discovery of India’ essential reading for anyone interested in India, both its past and its present.
Written over five months when Jawaharlal Nehru was imprisoned in the Ahmadnagar Fort, The Discovery of India has acquired the status of a classic since it was first published in 1946.
In this work of prodigious scope and scholarship, one of the greatest figures of Indian history unfolds the panorama of the country’s rich and complex past, from prehistory to the last years of British colonial rule. Analysing texts like the Vedas and the Arthashastra, and personalities like the Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru brings alive an ancient culture that has seen the flowering of the world’s great traditions of philosophy, science and art, and almost al its major religions.
Nehru’s brilliant intellect, deep humanity and lucid style make The Discovery of India essential reading for anyone interested in India, both its past and its present.
Non-Stop India
Today, India is likely to become one of the major economies of the twenty-first century. But many unresolved questions remain about the sustainability of such growth and its effect on the stability of the nation. Veteran journalist Mark Tully draws on thirty years of reporting India and travels the length and breadth of the country to find the answers. Have the changes had any impact on the poor and marginalised? How can the development of the country’s creaking infrastructure be speeded up to match its huge advances in technology and industry? With a gift for finding the human stories behind the headlines, he looks at the pressing concerns in different areas of life such as governance, business, spirituality and ecology.
In revealing interviews with captains of industry and subsistence farmers, politicians and Dalits, spiritual leaders and bandits, Mark Tully captures the voices of the nation.
From the survival of India’s languages and the protection of wildlife, to the nation’s thriving industries and colourful public affairs, Non-Stop India is a testament to India’s vibrant history and incredible potential, offering an unforgettable portrait of this emerging superpower at a pivotal moment of its history.
Nehru
Elegant, perceptive, and startlingly prophetic, Nehru: A Contemporary’s Estimate is one of the finest accounts of Nehru ever written. 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. Out of print for many years, this classic biography has been reissued with an authoritative foreword by Ramachandra Guha.
Macaulay
Thomas Macaulay is most famous for having introduced the English language as a medium for learning in India, creating a class of westernized Indians who are sometimes derisively referred to as ‘Macaulay’s children’. Was this an act of cultural imperialism or a modernizing move far before its time?
Macaulay has always inspired both admiration and hostility in India. Ever since he served on the Supreme Council of India in the 1830s, his thinking and policies have had a profound, transformative impact on the subcontinent. Today, some Dalit activists even celebrate him as their liberator from caste tyranny.
Macaulay is the first biography of this vastly influential figure for the general reader, giving a vivid sense of a brilliant, eccentric, contradictory man and his complex times. In a portrait that is as elegant as it is intriguing, Zareer Masani traces Macaulay’s fascinating journey from child prodigy, historian and parliamentary orator in London to imperial administrator in India, and then a revered elder statesman back in Britain. The reader is allowed a glimpse into what it felt like to be at the centre of power in a global empire, ruling over hundreds of millions of Indian subjects and shaping the destiny of a subcontinent.