The Rediscovery Of India

The Book Considers The Partition Of India In 1947 To Have Been The Most Disastrous Of Political Solutions For The Subcontinent. Tracing Past History, It Shows How The Indian Leaders Were Manipulated By The British Into Seeing Partition As The Only Solution. The Author Does Not Accept The Official Reasons For Hurrying The Negotiation, Nor The Claim That Partition Had Become Inevitable. The Records Of The Transfer Of Power And Earlier Talks Do Not Show The Real Spring That Thrust Partition Upon The Subcontinent. The Book Sets Out To Find Precisely That. A Provocative Book On Historical Problems Which Have Acquired A New Dimension In The Contemporary Political Scene.

"What makes India a nation? What has held its many disparate societies with their diverse, sometimes conflicting, narratives together for more than sixty years? What has allowed India to sustain its commitment to the democratic process, given its location in a region that is largely undemocratic? In this magisterial analysis of the last five hundred years of Indian history, Meghnad Desai looks at India's colonial past, its struggle for independence and its many contemporary conundrums, to discover answers to the questions that have confronted India-watchers for decades. Meghnad Desai draws on a wealth of sources to illuminate India's journey to the twenty-first century. Whether it is an examination of British parliamentary debates on the question of India's independence, or the liberalization of the economy after decades of licence-permit Raj, or the state's complicity in the Gujarat riots, Meghnad Desai's original, occasionally iconoclastic, approach to seemingly settled arguments makes The Rediscovery of India a ground-breaking and comprehensive account of India's past and present."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

What makes India a nation? What has held its many disparate societies with their diverse, sometimes conflicting, narratives together for more than sixty years? What has allowed India to sustain its commitment to the democratic process, given its location in a region that is largely undemocratic? In this magisterial analysis of the last five hundred years of Indian history, Meghnad Desai looks at India’s colonial past, its struggle for independence and its many contemporary conundrums, to discover answers to the questions that have confronted India-watchers for decades. Rejecting much received wisdom, including narratives fashioned by India’s ruling establishment, Meghnad Desai goes back to the beginnings of the East–West encounter at the end of the fifteenth century and tracks its impact on the cultures and politics of the present day. Through a series of ‘Counterfactual Boxes’ Meghnad Desai analyses the accepted defining moments of India’s past and suggests alternative courses that history could so easily have taken. Meghnad Desai draws on a wealth of sources to illuminate India’s journey to the twenty-first century. Whether it is an examination of British parliamentary debates on the question of India’s independence, or the liberalization of the economy after decades of licence-permit raj, or the state’s complicity in the Gujarat riots, Meghnad Desai’s original, occasionally iconoclastic, approach to seemingly settled arguments makes The Rediscovery of India a path-breaking and comprehensive account of India’s past and present.

We are constantly surrounded by objects, by 'things' that channel and dictate our everyday life, 'things' that we take for granted. But these objects speak to us, and speak about us. They have a story to tell that reflects our values and aspirations, our achievements and dreams, and reveal more about us than we realize! This richly illustrated book focuses on 100 objects to tell a story of India that unravels in a series of thematic sections that allow the objects to take center-stage. The stories that some objects tell will be new to readers; at other times, the objects themselves may be familiar but the story they tell may not be obvious. The 100 objects shed light on the varying priorities and the differing strands of achievement that arose over time to create the rich multi-cultural medley that is today's India.

The Book Considers The Partition Of India In 1947 To Have Been The Most Disastrous Of Political Solutions For The Subcontinent. Tracing Past History, It Shows How The Indian Leaders Were Manipulated By The British Into Seeing Partition As The Only Solution. The Author Does Not Accept The Official Reasons For Hurrying The Negotiation, Nor The Claim That Partition Had Become Inevitable. The Records Of The Transfer Of Power And Earlier Talks Do Not Show The Real Spring That Thrust Partition Upon The Subcontinent. The Book Sets Out To Find Precisely That. A Provocative Book On Historical Problems Which Have Acquired A New Dimension In The Contemporary Political Scene.