“ India after Gandhi” is the history of the world’s largest democracy, by Ramachandra Guha. Born against a background of privation & civil war, divided along lines of caste, class, language & religion, independent India emerged, somehow, as a united & democratic country. This remarkable book tells the full story
- the pain & the struggle, the humiliations & the glories
- of the world’s largest & least likely democracy. While India is sometimes the most exasperating country in the world, it is also the most interesting. Ramachandra Guha writes compellingly of the myriad protests & conflicts that have peppered the history of free India. But he writes also of the factors & processes that have kept a country together, defying numerous prophets of doom who believed that its poverty would force India to break up or come under autocratic rule. Once, the Western world looked upon India with a mixture of pity & contempt; now, it looks upon India with fear & admiration. Moving between history & biography, the story of modern India is peopled with extraordinary characters. Guha gives fresh insights on the lives & public careers of India’s major leaders. Massively researched & elegantly written, “ India after Gandhi” is a superior account of India’s rebirth, & the work of a major scholar at the height of his powers. Guha was born in India in 1958 & after a broad-ranging academic career, he settled to become a full-time writer, based in Bangalore.

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Born against a background of privation & civil war, divided along lines of caste, class, language & religion, independent India emerged, somehow, as a united & democratic country. Ramachandra Guha`s hugely acclaimed book tells the full story
- the pain & the struggle, the humiliations & the glories
- of the world`s largest & least likely democracy. While India is sometimes the most exasperating country in the world, it is also the most interesting. Ramachandra Guha writes compellingly of the myriad protests & conflicts that have peppered the history of free India. Moving between history & biography, the story of modern India is peopled with extraordinary characters. Guha gives fresh insights into the lives & public careers of those long-serving Prime Ministers, Jawaharlal Nehru & Indira Gandhi. But the book also writes with feeling & sensitivity about lesser-known (though not necessarily less important) Indians
- peasants, tribals, women, workers & musicians. Massively researched & elegantly written, India After Gandhi is a remarkable account of India`s rebirth, & a work already hailed as a masterpiece of single volume history. This tenth anniversary edition, published to coincide with seventy years of India`s independence, is revised & expanded to bring the narrative up to the present.


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Beginning in 1947, when ` India & Pakistan were born to conflict, ` renowned India scholar Stanley Wolpert provides an authoritative, accessible primer on what is potentially the world`s most dangerous crisis. He concisely distills sixty-three years of complex history, tracing the roots of the relationship between these two antagonists, explaining the many attempts to resolve their disputes, & assessing the dominant political leaders. While the tragic Partition left many urgent problems, none has been more difficult than the problem over Kashmir, claimed by both India & Pakistan. This intensely divisive issue has triggered two conventional wars, killed some 100, 000 Kashmiris, & almost ignited two nuclear wars since 1998, when both India & Pakistan openly emerged as nuclear-weapon states. In addition to providing a comprehensive perspective on the origin & nature of this urgent conflict, Wolpert examines all the proposed solutions & concludes with a road map for a brighter future for South Asia. ...

Combining factual information with a critical approach which probes the nature of culture & identity, this concise yet authoritative account paints a graphic picture of an area stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Himalayan mountains. With coverage not only of India, but also of Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, & Sri Lanka, this book surveys nearly 5000 years, from the early settlers of prehistory to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi & the Tamil Tiger conflicts. Particular emphasis is placed on the last 200 years, while the key theme of shifting regional identities underpins the author`s insights in to the social, economic & spiritual past of the region. In the world of globalization that we now inhabit, no world region is understood as being composed simply of enclosed national territories of politics, economy, society, & culture. South Asia is a global phenomenon, & working that idea into our understanding of South Asian history is a challenge that this new edition fully embraces. ...

A cloth-backed map of India “ Constructed with great care & research from all the latest authorities & intended more particularly to facilitate a reference to the Civil & Military Stations. Dedicated to Sir James Rivett Carnac Bart, Chairman of the Court of Directors of the Honourable The East India Company, Arranged under the direction of Captain R.M. Grindlay” & published in 1838 by James Wyld, geographer to the Queen. The map shows the individual states in different colours, with names of towns underlined to indicate stations of the Bengal, Bombay & Madras Armies, all listed in separate tables cross-referenced to the map. The table also list, where appropriate, collectorates & zillahs, as well as civil stations in the North Western & Bengal provinces. A separate table lists British territories, British allies & tributaries, & the independent states of Hindoostan. Another interesting feature is an extensive distance table, Agra to Bangalore 1324 miles! This reproduction was taken from what used to be called a “cloth-dissected” map, made when the map itself was cut into sections & each section then individually pasted onto an overall cloth backing for the whole map. In this version the whole map is backed onto cloth in one piece but the gaps between the sections have been reproduced in the printing to preserve the style & the feeling of the original. Each individual map is presented folded in a colourful case covered with a unique design marbled paper – no two cases are identical. To see the list of all the titles in this series from the Old Folding Maps please click on the series link. ...

` The product of many years of detailed archival research, Wilson`s book is without question the best one-volume history of the Raj currently in print.`
- William Dalrymple, The Guardian` The core of the book is a virtuoso takedown of cherished shibboleths of Raj mythology` Financial Times `A forceful reminder that Britain has its own messy past to come to terms with` Guardian In the nineteenth century, imperial India was at the centre of Britain`s global power. But since its partition between India & Pakistan in 1947, the Raj has divided opinion: some celebrate its supposed role in creating much that is good in the modern world; others condemn it as the cause of continuing poverty. Today, the Raj lives on in faded images of Britain`s former glory, a notion used now to sell goods in India as well as Europe. But its real character has been poorly understood. India Conquered is the first general history of British India for over twenty years, getting under the skin of empire to show how British rule really worked. Oscillating between paranoid paralysis & moments of extreme violence, it was beset by chaos & chronic weakness. Jon Wilson argues that this contradictory character was a consequence of the Raj`s failure to create long-term relationships with Indian society & claims that these systemic problems still affect the world`s largest democracy as it navigates the twenty-first century.` This is a brave & long overdue riposte to Raj romanticists` John Keay
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India today is much more than the exotic East of traditional crafts. This book is an intimate exploration of the private homes of those at the forefront of the new approach to decoration & design. Here are interiors by Indians for Indians, by Indians for foreigners, by foreigners for foreigners, & by foreigners for Indians
- radically modern, allusively traditional, distinctively stylish. Henry Wilson, whose perceptive photographs have done so much to bring the variety of India to the attention of the West, shows how the exotic combines with the international through a uniquely Indian sensibility.
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India in Marshall Cavendish's Culture Shock! Series; comprising a range of guides that inform visitors of the finer points & details relating to social etiquette, traditions & customs; bringing visitors to a sensitive yet substantial understanding of the country or city in question. The series targets those who are planning long stays in the destination or extended periods of residence. The guides are written by authors who have experienced the joys & pitfalls of cultural adaptation, & so are ideally placed to provide informative & relevant advice. Each title contains insights into local culture & traditions, guidance on adapting to the local environment, linguistic help & lots of general advice about local culture & idiosyncrasies to help prepare readers for their visit. Each title is structured similarly, beginning with the first impressions a visitor might expect to have. The guides aim to help readers understand the local culture through first appreciating the motivations, beliefs & attitudes of the local people. Practical advice on settling in is provided, with focused sections on accommodation, utilities, health, education & telecommunications. There is also extensive information on the destination ...

India in Marshall Cavendish`s Culture Shock! Series; comprising a range of guides that inform visitors of the finer points & details relating to social etiquette, traditions & customs; bringing visitors to a sensitive yet substantial understanding of the country or city in question. The series targets those who are planning long stays in the destination or extended periods of residence. The guides are written by authors who have experienced the joys & pitfalls of cultural adaptation, & so are ideally placed to provide informative & relevant advice. Each title contains insights into local culture & traditions, guidance on adapting to the local environment, linguistic help & lots of general advice about local culture & idiosyncrasies to help prepare readers for their visit. Each title is structured similarly, beginning with the first impressions a visitor might expect to have. The guides aim to help readers understand the local culture through first appreciating the motivations, beliefs & attitudes of the local people. Practical advice on settling in is provided, with focused sections on accommodation, utilities, health, education & telecommunications. There is also extensive information on the destination’s culture, food & leisure, in addition to a specific section addressing the concerns of those travelling on business. ...

Italy in the Discover series from Lonely Planet; covering a range of countries worldwide & practically designed to allow travellers to find the most iconic sites & attractions at a glance. Uniquely designed, each title in the series

Includes:: a series of lists of the best things to do & see, with highlights, thematic

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