Born against a background of privation and civil war, divided along lines of caste, class, language and religion, independent India emerged, somehow, as a united and democratic country. This remarkable book tells the full story—the pain and the struggle, the humiliations and the glories—of the world's largest and least likely democracy.
Ramachandra Guha writes compellingly of the myriad protests and conflicts that have peppered the history of free India. But he writes als... (show more)
Born against a background of privation and civil war, divided along lines of caste, class, language and religion, independent India emerged, somehow, as a united and democratic country. This remarkable book tells the full story—the pain and the struggle, the humiliations and the glories—of the world's largest and least likely democracy.
Ramachandra Guha writes compellingly of the myriad protests and conflicts that have peppered the history of free India. But he writes also of the factors and processes that have kept the country together (and kept it democratic), defying numerous prophets of doom who believed that its poverty and heterogeneity would force India to break up or come under autocratic rule. Once the Western world looked upon India with a mixture of pity and contempt; now it looks upon India with fear and admiration.
Moving between history and biography, this story of modern India is peopled with extraordinary characters. Guha gives fresh insights on the lives and public careers of those long-serving prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. There are vivid sketches of the major "provincial" leaders whose province was as large as a European country: the Kashmiri rebel turned ruler Sheikh Abdullah; the Tamil film actor turned politician M. G. Rama-chandran; the Naga secessionist leader Angami Zapu Phizo; the socialist activist Jayaprakash Narayan. But the book also writes with feeling and sensitivity about lesser known (though not necessarily less important) Indians—peasants, tribals, women, workers and musicians.
Massively researched and elegantly written, India After Gandhi is at once a magisterial account of India's rebirth and the work of a major scholar at the height of his powers.
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superb..if you were to read one book about post colonial India - this is it. (also because there are so few of contemporary history books on India)... (show more)
superb..if you were to read one book about post colonial India - this is it. (also because there are so few of contemporary history books on India). Beautifully written (has a pace of a good fiction book !), well researched, comprehensive and addresses what is unique about India - which as a concept was 'destined for failure' being 'too multicultural/ diverse' to succeed as a working democratic country - but somehow survived ! As unbiased a view as is possible of such recent trail of events..It is quite a tome so not easy to lug around but well worth the effort. Will await anything that Mr Guha writes now with much anticipation. (show less)
A much needed contribution to history of India after independence. It seamlessly blends readability and scholarship. Its in-depth coverage of the s... (show more)
A much needed contribution to history of India after independence. It seamlessly blends readability and scholarship. Its in-depth coverage of the self-determination movements in Kashmir and Nagalim is indeed very impressive. (show less)
There's no question that this book is a historical, cultural, and literary accomplishment. Guha makes a concerted effort to provide detail and specifics while covering some 60 years of history for a country of a billion people - not a light task. Still, he seeks out the minority experience and at times delves into it, but not deeply enough for a reader who has the minority experience in her own country (me). I'm glad I read this book before venturing to the country itself as it will provid... (show more)
There's no question that this book is a historical, cultural, and literary accomplishment. Guha makes a concerted effort to provide detail and specifics while covering some 60 years of history for a country of a billion people - not a light task. Still, he seeks out the minority experience and at times delves into it, but not deeply enough for a reader who has the minority experience in her own country (me). I'm glad I read this book before venturing to the country itself as it will provide a deepened perspective of what I will see and learn. Also, the African American experience has more parallels with the Dalit experience than even I would have thought - from lynching v. physical abuse, to the dependence on a middle class lifestyle from affirmative action government jobs to the concept of a "leading Dalit elite" that one would compare to DuBois proposition of a "talented tenth." The crowning find was learning that the Dalit Panthers purposely adopted the name in respect of the Black Panthers goals and aims within their own country. Still, this is far from a detailed account of untouchables or any other caste. Guha presents more of a buffet on Indian society with all aspects requiring further study. Of course he does a somewhat biased but honest contrast between India, America, Europe, China, Pakistan, and decolonized Africa. His final analysis comparing India's democracy with America's is insightful yet typical, as he takes the standard view of America strictly as a nation of racial immigrants but neglects the complication of one race being practically annihilated by colonists with another forcefully introduced (not immigrated) and the unique meaning of both (as India doesn't have a comparable experience). Still, the similarities of the founders' idealism eroding into corruption and family/wealth influence (Bush 1 and 2) is recognized (though the founders themselves in both cases instituted all this). Finally, Guha does his best to show an awareness of India's poverty but does not pay it full due - as he believes most other works do this to accuracy and excess. This is a full story of India's progress and an overview of its stagnation. The book far exceeds any textbook of India's history but stops short of being comparable to A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. Of course that's kind of the point. Guha didn't write this for comparison but to stand alone. And it surely does. (show less)
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It’s not easy to condense 60 volatile years of Indian (and sub-continental) history into a single book, but Guha rises to the occasion. The most objective history of the country that I have read thus far, it’s remarkable that it doesn’t lean toward either the Leftist view or the Sangh-parivar’s vision. An easy read, Guha paces the book well. While I’d have liked greater detailing of some critical points and issues, I appreciate Guha’s wisdom in choosing to maintain his distance to provide a m... (show more)
It’s not easy to condense 60 volatile years of Indian (and sub-continental) history into a single book, but Guha rises to the occasion. The most objective history of the country that I have read thus far, it’s remarkable that it doesn’t lean toward either the Leftist view or the Sangh-parivar’s vision. An easy read, Guha paces the book well. While I’d have liked greater detailing of some critical points and issues, I appreciate Guha’s wisdom in choosing to maintain his distance to provide a masterful perspective. The extensive bibliography contains many nuggets of information as well. This ought to be prescribed reading for all Indians. Want to know the circumstances in which the Kashmir imbroglio came close to being solved and how politicians with limited vision messed it up each time? Or why linguistic division of states is likely the master-stroke to preserve the unity of the country? Read this book. (show less)
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