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India since independence
ISBNs moved from this editionThe story of the forging of contemporary India, the world's largest democracy, is a rich and inspiring one. This volume analyses the challenges India has faced and the successes it has achieved over the last five decades, in the light of its colonial legacy and century-long struggle for freedom. In doing so, it shows how unique the Indian experience is in the Third World combining development with democracy and civil liberties. seeking the widest possible consensus, as also how the Nehruvian political and economic agenda and basics of foreign policy were evolved and developed. Essential to the quest for consolidation of the nation was the integration of the princely states, the linguistic reorganization of the states, the integration of the tribals into the mainstream and the countering of regional imbalances. Among the other contentious issues considered here, with all their implications for the present situation, are India's foreign policy, party politics in the Centre and the states, the Punjab problem, the growth of communalism, and anticaste politics and untouchability. There are detailed analyses of the Indian economy, including the reforms since 1991, the wide-ranging land reforms and the Green Revolution. These, along with the objective assessments of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi, Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Atal Behari Vajpayee constitute a remarkable overview of a nation on the move.
IAS prepsrstion books
Ramachandra Guha's India after Gandhi is a magisterial account of the pains, struggles, humiliations and glories of the world's largest and least likely democracy. A riveting chronicle of the often brutal conflicts that have rocked a giant nation, and of the extraordinary individuals and institutions who held it together, it established itself as a classic when it was first published in 2007. In the last decade, India has witnessed, among other things, two general elections; the fall of the Congress and the rise of Narendra Modi; a major anti-corruption movement; more violence against women, Dalits, and religious minorities; a wave of prosperity for some but the persistence of poverty for others; comparative peace in Nagaland but greater discontent in Kashmir than ever before. This tenth anniversary edition, updated and expanded, brings the narrative up to the present. Published to coincide with seventy years of the country's independence, this definitive history of modern India is the work of one of the world's finest scholars at the height of his powers.
Birbal The Clever Courtier, Author: Anupa Lal, Condition: Good
The cleverness of Birbal, the most famous minister in the Mughal emporer Akbar's court, is legendary. Whenever Emporer Akbar had a problem to solve, or a philosophic question to ask, it was Birbal he turned to. And Birbal would provide him with thought-provoking or bizzarre answers, which resolved the monarch's dilemma. So whether it was why the palms of people's hands are hairless, or if a mango tree could stand witness in court, or whether all sons-in-law should be hanged, Birbal could suggest an intelligent and funny solution to these problems. This made him Akbar's favourite, which in turn earned Birbal the envy of the other courtiers. This collection of twenty-one fabulously funny stories contains all the wit and wisdom that make the stories of Birbal so widely read and loved.
Byline by M.J. Akbar
Byline anthologises M.J. Akbar’s finest writings over the last decade, bringing together essays that reflect the author’s versatility and range. The book is divided into five seamless sections, each with its own identity, woven together by M.J. Akbar’s delectably informal prose.‘Travel’ is the first section in which the author shares his passion for history and the occasional fable, the obscure detail, the glorious and the ludicrous. This is followed by ‘Politics and History’ in which the reader is provided a view of some events and people in the recent past with all the quirks and whims that characterise the great as well as the mundane. The reader then moves on to ‘Sidelines’ (those delightfully off-centre pieces). M.J. Akbar says in an essay in this section: ‘The train of thought has moved. But that is the way with trains. They must travel.’‘Memories’ is the most personal and autobiographical part of the entire selection, mixing regret, nostalgia and deeply felt sorrow for the friends and times gone forever.Byline ends with a short section entitled ‘On a Personal Note’ in which James Bond must live to die another day, The Telegraph has to learn to live beyond the age of twenty and Dev Anand remains young forever.
Azad the invincible by Babu Krishnamurthy, Translated by Manjula Tekal
AZAD : THE INVINCIBLE is a BIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL (based on letters, autobiographies written by the revolutionaries of their times like Ram Prasad Bismil). Besides, there are other sources -- articles and news published in those times etc. The form is anecdotal -- that is told in the form of a story.Chandrasekhar Azad was the brightest among luminaries who fought for India’s independence. Born in a small no-name village to poverty-stricken parents, Azad ran away from home when he was very young boy and became a coolie in Mumbai, living on the streets. He then went to Varanasi to learn Sanskrit, participated in the non-cooperation movement and suffered flogging as a punishment. He then became a revolutionary and commanded a revolutionary movement in North India for the next decade. He would become the bosom friend of many families, inspiring thousands more, leading and guiding a band of revolutionaries like a brother. He struck terror in the hearts of his enemies but was a darling of his leaders and elders. A relatively uneducated man, he spread the message of patriotism everywhere he went. One day, he created history when he fought an unprecedented battle that had no parallel, and he left this earth one day in Allahabad’s Alfred Park. Azad was that tall leader who worked from underground to stitch together the remnants of a fractured revolutionary movement that had broken up after Ramprasad Bismil and other notables were imprisoned after the Kakori raid. Bismil was eventually given the death penalty. Azad was chosen to be the commander of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) by his peer revolutionaries. He achieved some amazing feats of valour in the short time he was on this earth. Azad was responsible for the political assassination of Saunders as retribution for killing Lala Lajpat Rai. He was also responsible for orchestrating the bombing in the legislative assembly to protest the introduction of two highly oppressive and unpopular bills designed to increase the dictatorial powers of the British
India that is Bharat by J. Sai Deepak
India, That Is Bharat, the first book of a comprehensive trilogy, explores the influence of European 'colonial consciousness' (or 'coloniality'), in particular its religious and racial roots, on Bharat as the successor state to the Indic civilisation and the origins of the Indian Constitution. It lays the foundation for its sequels by covering the period between the Age of Discovery, marked by Christopher Columbus' expedition in 1492, and the reshaping of Bharat through a British-made constitution-the Government of India Act of 1919. This includes international developments leading to the founding of the League of Nations by Western powers that tangibly impacted this journey.Further, this work also traces the origins of seemingly universal constructs such as 'toleration', 'secularism' and 'humanism' to Christian political theology. Their subsequent role in subverting the indigenous Indic consciousness through a secularised and universalised Reformation, that is, constitutionalism, is examined. It also puts forth the concept of Middle Eastern coloniality, which preceded its European variant and allies with it in the context of Bharat to advance their shared antipathy towards the Indic worldview. In order to liberate Bharat's distinctive indigeneity, 'decoloniality' is presented as a civilisational imperative in the spheres of nature, religion, culture, history, education, language and, crucially, in the realm of constitutionalism.
The diary of a young girl
Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank's remarkable diary has since become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the "Secret Annexe" of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death.In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.
Shivaji: India's Great Warrior King
"Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the legendary seventeenth-century Maratha warrior who audaciously took on the Mughal empire at the height of its powers under Emperor Aurangzeb, and became a beacon of inspiration well after his death for those fighting for Indian independence, is one of the most compelling figures of early modern India. This is his definitive biography, relying on a vast variety of Marathi language sources overlooked in standard English works and enriched by author Vaibhav Purandare’s deep knowledge of the rugged terrain and culture of the region. With a wealth of evocative detail, it charts the dizzying story of this self-made military hero who started out as a teenage rebel of great precocity and daring, and ended up crowning himself king of an independent Maratha state after changing the political map of his native Deccan.Especially relevant for our times is Purandare’s erudite and insightful exploration of whether Shivaji was a Hindu icon, as many have labelled him, or a secular figure, as others have chosen to call him, or something altogether more complex and thought-provoking. This biography corrects many falsities and myths, and it is the only book you need to read about one of India’s greatest heroes.
The Legacy Of Shivaji The Great
In 1707, the last effective Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, died in Maharashtra, a frustrated man. Even after nearly twenty-two years of war, he failed to conquer the Marathas. With his death began the fall of the Mughal Empire that was to be replaced by the Marathas in Central India and parts of North India. In the early nineteenth century the British took over India not from the Mughals but from the Marathas. Under Shivaji the Great, with the heady aim of Hindavi Swarajya (Indian Self-Rule), the British saw the Marathas as the principal threat to their colonial project. The story of Maratha resistance to the British was therefore systematically swept under the carpet by the British. This book attempts to tell the untold story of that important period of Indian history.
after 1947
A magisterial account of the pains, the struggles, the humiliations, and the glories of the world's largest and least likely democracy, Ramachandra Guha's India After Gandhi is a breathtaking chronicle of the brutal conflicts that have rocked a giant nation and the extraordinary factors that have held it together. An intricately researched and elegantly written epic history peopled with larger-than-life characters, it is the work of a major scholar at the peak of his abilities. Ramachandra Guha's "India After Gandhi" was translated in Hindi in two volumes, "Bharat Gandhi Ke Baad" and "Bharat Nehru Ke Baad", by Sushant Jha.
Knowledge Encyclopedia: Inventions and Discoveries (Knowledge Encyclop
Amy has always wanted a cat, but Mom and Dad think she's too young to have a pet of her own. So she is thrilled when she sees a tiny kitten roaming around her yard one misty morning. The kitten is very thin and doesn't have a collar, so Amy assumes that the kitten-whom she has named Misty-doesn't have a home. Misty is shy at first, but gradually, she begins to trust Amy, who feeds her and gives her the attention she so desperately wants. But how long can Amy keep Misty a secret from her parents?
An Autobiography Or The Story of My Experiments with Truth
It is not my purpose to attempt a real autobiography. I simply want to tell the story of my numerous experiments with truth, and as my life consists of nothing but those experiments, it is true that the story will take the shape of an autobiography....Identification with everything that lives is impossible without self-purification; without self-purification, the observance of the law of Ahimsa must remain an empty dream; God can never be realised by one who is not pure of heart. Self-purification, therefore, must remain purification in all walks of life. And purification being highly infectious, purification of oneself necessarily leads to the purification of one's surroundings.But the path to self-purification is hard and steep. To attain perfect purity, one has to become absolutely passion-free in thought, speech and action; to rise above the opposing currents of love and hatred, attachment and repulsion. I know that I have not in me as yet the triple purity, in spite of constant ceaseless striving for it. That is why the world's praise fails to move me; indeed it very often stings me. To conquer the subtle passions seems to me far harder than the physical conquest of the world by the force of arms. Ever since my return to India, I have had experiences of the dormant passions lying hidden within me. The knowledge of them has made me feel humiliated though not defeated. The experiences and experiments have sustained me and given me great joy. But I know I still have before me a difficult path to traverse. I must reduce myself to zero. So long as a man does not of his own free will put himself last among his fellow creatures, there is no salvation for him. Ahimsa is the farthest limit of humility.Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi,26 November, 1925.
The Better Angels of Our Nature
We've all asked, "What is the world coming to?" But we seldom ask, "How bad was the world in the past?" In this startling new book, the bestselling cognitive scientist Steven Pinker shows that the world of the past was much worse. In fact, we may be living in the most peaceable era yet. Evidence of a bloody history has always been around us: the genocides in the Old Testament and crucifixions in the New; the gory mutilations in Shakespeare and Grimm; the British monarchs who beheaded their relatives and the American founders who dueled with their rivals. Now the decline in these brutal practices can be quantified. Tribal warfare was nine times as deadly as war and genocide in the 20th century. The murder rate in medieval Europe was more than thirty times what it is today. Slavery, sadistic punishments, and frivolous executions were unexceptionable features of life for millennia, then were suddenly abolished. Wars between developed countries have vanished, and even in the developing world, wars kill a fraction of the numbers they did a few decades ago. Rape, hate crimes, deadly riots, child abuse - all substantially down.How could this have happened, if human nature has not changed? Pinker argues that the key to explaining the decline of violence is to understand the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away. Thanks to the spread of government, literacy, trade, and cosmopolitanism, we increasingly control our impulses, empathize with others, debunk toxic ideologies, and deploy our powers of reason to reduce the temptations of violence. Pinker will force you to rethink your deepest beliefs about progress, modernity, and human nature. This gripping book is sure to be among the most debated of the century so far.
The world util yesterday
Over the past 500 years, the West achieved global dominance, but do Westerners necessarily have better ideas about how to raise children, care for the elderly, or simply live well? In this epic journey into our past, Jared Diamond reveals that traditional societies around the world offer an extraordinary window into how our ancestors lived for the majority of human history - until virtually yesterday, in evolutionary terms. Drawing on decades of his own fieldwork, Diamond explores how tribal people approach essential human problems, from health and diet to conflict resolution and language, and discovers they have much to teach us. The World Until Yesterday is a mesmerizing sweep through all humanity that offers profound lessons for how to live today.