To best understand and address the inequality in India today, Arundhati Roy insists we must examine both the political development and influence of M.K. Gandhi and why B.R. Ambedkar’s brilliant challenge to his near-divine status was suppressed by India’s elite. In Roy’s analysis, we see that Ambedkar’s fight for justice was systematically sidelined in favor of policies that reinforced caste, resulting in the current nation of India: independent of British rule, globally powerful, and marked to this day by the caste system.
This book situates Ambedkar’s arguments in their vital historical context-namely, as an extended public political debate with Mohandas Gandhi. ‘For more than half a century-throughout his adult life-[Gandhi’s] pronouncements on the inherent qualities of black Africans, untouchables and the laboring classes remained consistently insulting,’ writes Roy. ‘His refusal to allow working-class people and untouchables to create their own political organizations and elect their own representatives remained consistent too.’
In The Doctor and the Saint, Roy exposes some uncomfortable, controversial, and even surprising truths about the political thought and career of India’s most famous and most revered figure. In doing so she makes the case for why Ambedkar’s revolutionary intellectual achievements must be resurrected, not only in India but throughout the world.
On Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary in October 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared his vision for an Open-Defecation-Free India.
This book talks about the journey of an IAS officer who understood and leveraged the potential of
the government, community and citizens through cleanliness. The true meaning of Swachh Bharat was seen as village after village transformed into a cleaner hub. Citizens took ownership to keep their village Open Defecation Free (ODF) through activities such as ‘Triggering’ and ‘Gandhigiri’. The struggles and triumphs in fulfilling the dream of ODF Gujarat are passionately narrated here. The book relates the tale of a renewed satyagraha through Swachhagraha.
As we see a mother leading her toddler to squat on the toilet, we are sure the ‘luxury’ of toilet will
become a ‘necessity’.
There was one partition of the land in 1947. Harsh Mander believes that another partition is underway in our hearts and minds.
How much of this culpability lies with ordinary people? What are the responsibilities of a secular government, of a civil society, and of a progressive majority? In Partitions of the Heart: Unmaking the Idea of India, human rights and peace worker Harsh Mander takes stock of whether the republic has upheld the values it set out to achieve and offers painful, unsparing insight into the contours of hate violence. Through vivid stories from his own work, Mander shows that hate speech, communal propaganda and vigilante violence are mounting a fearsome climate of dread, that targeted crime is systematically fracturing our community, and that the damage to the country’s social fabric may be irreparable. At the same time, he argues that hate can indeed be fought, but only with solidarity, reconciliation and love, and when all of these are founded on fairness.
Ultimately, this meticulously researched social critique is a rallying cry for public compassion, conscience and justice, and a paean to the resilience of humanity.
Bhupen Patel has conducted many undercover operations over the course of his career. He’s exposed all sorts of rackets, from mental asylums admitting patients without proper medical examinations to discovering an illegal network of agents that arrange ‘temporary’ wives for Arab men looking to have a short fling. This book recounts in detail some of his most dramatic and hard-hitting stings.
Patel takes us through the entire process of a sting and reveals the amount of hard work it takes to not just uncover a story that requires further discreet investigation but also gather enough evidence to bring it to the notice of the public and authorities concerned. Each account will keep you on the edge of your seat and allow a glimpse into the life of an investigative journalist.
Besharam is a book on young Indian women and how to be one, written from the author’s personal experience in several countries. It dissects the many things that were never explained to us and the immense expectations placed on us. It breaks down the taboos around sex and love and dating in a world that’s changing with extraordinary rapidity. It tackles everything, from identity questions like what should our culture mean to us? to who are we supposed to be on social media? Are we entitled to loiter in public spaces like men do? Why do we have so many euphemisms for menstruation? Like an encyclopedia, or a really good big sister, Besharam teaches young Indian women something that they almost never hear: it’s okay to put ourselves first and not feel guilty for it.
Part memoir, part manual, Besharam serves up ambitious feminism for the modern Indian woman.
Jaipur Nama is the story of one of India’s most fascinating cities, as seen through the eyes of both its residents and its visitors, who witnessed and recorded different moments in Jaipur’s history between the 18th and 20th centuries.
The triumph, follies and foibles of its rulers, the passions and drama of palace intrigues, the splendor of royal rites and entertainments, and the bustle and energy of tis bazaars and ateliers, all come to life through the vivid and detailed accounts of chroniclers as diverse as an Austrian Jesuit, a French naturalist, a court priest, a city merchant and a pilgrim from Banaras. Many of these accounts are here translated into English for the first time. Each reflects a different aspect of Jaipur, together creating a captivating, kaleidoscopic portrait of the Pink City.
Linking these narratives are the observations, experiences and perceptions of the author, Giles Tillotson, who skillfully weaves the past into the present as he writes about the personalities who shaped the character of the city, the wonders of its architectures, and the development of its superb arts and crafts.
Entertaining as well as scholarly, Jaipur Nama will appeal to a wide readership. For those who know Jaipur or plan to go there, this book will sharpen and enrich their experience of the city, while armchair travelers will find it a delightfully witty and knowledgeable companion.
Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi’s stunning debut tells the story of four extraordinary lives. Anuradha Gandharva, gifted with astonishing beauty and magical songs; her husband, Vardhmaan, struggling with secret losses; Nandini, a deviously alluring artist with a penchant for panthers and walking on water; and Shloka, the Gandharvas’ delicate, disturbingly silent child. As their fates unravel in an old villa in 1920s’ Bombay, they learn to navigate the ever-changing landscape of love. Told with tenderness and dazzling wit, The Last Song of Dusk will haunt you long after you have turned the final page.
To achieve what you want to, to do what you truly believe in, you’ve got to be unreasonable!
How many of us dream about changing the world when we grow up?
How many of us actually have the courage to take the path less trodden?
The Unreasonable Fellows chronicles the journeys of ten social and environmental entrepreneurs who, with their go-getting attitude and passionate ventures, are doing their bit to make the world a better place. It is an inspiring account of how, despite the initial setbacks, these fiery men and women refused to give up. Instead, they learnt from each of their failures and turned it into success.
This book teaches you to do the same and to never ever give up!
Personal favourites of Asia’s no. 1 quizmaster Derek O’Brien, recognized as India’s leading quizmaster. From his vast repertoire of questions that span the informative and educational, thought-provoking facts and trivia, he has gleaned hundreds of his favourites for this unputdownable volume. The questions cover subjects as diverse as the Chinese New Year, coffee, crocodiles and Cleopatra to the Grammy Awards, Gujarat, Mars, swans, tsunamis and West Asia. There are also sets of questions on famous personalities like Asha Bhonsle, Isaac Newton, Lady Diana, Pablo Picasso, Shakespeare and Winnie the Pooh. Each set tests both the extent and depth of the readers’ knowledge on the subject. Among the questions readers will find answers to in this book are:
Millions of years ago, which super-continent did Antarctica originally form a part of?
What were the two styles of shading which Leonardo used to great effects in his paintings?
What special feature of a camel’s eyelids protects it from dust and sun?
What is the study of fishes called?
Whether you are a student, teacher, professional, quiz aficionado, or just a casual reader, this book will keep you engrossed for days.
Ever suffered the collective flatulence of eighty co-passengers while sailing on a serene Asian river? Or called out for rescue in true Bollywood style while locked up in a minaret in Persia? Or had to cross a pack of hyenas en route to the loo?
Dreaming of glorious sunrises and architectural marvels in exotic places, Sudha often landed up in situations that were uproariously bizarre or downright dangerous. Tongue firmly in cheek, she recounts her journeys through the raw wildernesses of Borneo and the African savannah, into the deserts of Iran and Uzbekistan, and up the Annapurna and the Pamirs, revealing the quirky side of solo travel to side-splitting effect. Punctuating her droll stories with breathtaking descriptions and stunning photographs, Sudha invites readers on an unexpected and altogether memorable tour around the world!
