Welcome to this edition of The Hindu on Books Newsletter. Two new books that have grabbed our attention as the year comes to a close is Pratinav Anil’s Another India: The Making of the World’s Largest Muslim Minority, 1947-77 (Penguin Viking) and The Oxford Handbook of Caste (OUP), edited by Surinder S. Jodhka and Jules Naudet. In the Introduction, Anil says his book is a “first cut at writing a postcolonial history of Muslim India. Part One chronicles the “ascendancy, meridian, and decline of the ‘nationalist Muslim’ from the beginning of the Khilafat movement to the end of the Emergency. The theme here is the diminution of the Indian Muslim elite.” Part II looks at the 1950s onwards and how the community was divided between good (nationalists) and bad (communalists) to put it simply; and Part III considers the custodians of Muslim endowments and explores if the elite “mobilised in the name of the entire community, but ultimately attended to a select few.” In other words, Anil argues that the Muslims have had to contend with discrimination and an unresponsive leadership since 1947. As for the Handbook of Caste, it leans on emerging research to present a diverse range of essays, reflecting the realities of caste on the ground across regions. Divided into seven sections, it goes into subjects like caste and the law (Gautam Bhatia), caste and tribe (Jai Prasad), denotified communities (Kalpana Kannabiran, the Mahars and Dalit Movement of Maharashtra (Harish Wankhede), changing dynamics of untouchability (Suryakant Waghmore) and so on.
In reviews, we read a memoir about growing up in Aligarh, Kailash Satyarthi’s book on child rescue. We also talk to former RBI Governor and academic Raghuram Rajan about his new book on India’s economic future.
Books of the week
Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan who has returned to teaching after his stint in India, makes a case for a fresh approach to crafting India’s economic future in his new book, Breaking the Mould: Reimagining India’s Economic Future (Penguin), authored with fellow academic Rohit Lamba. In an interview to The Hindu’s Vikas Dhoot, Rajan says that for India to reach the upper income country bracket by 2047, it has to focus on a host of things. “We need to be open and inclusive, because we need to interact much more with the world,” he says. “We have the chance to, in a sense, displace China, so we need to build those relationships. It is extremely important that we are able to tell an India story where we welcome all. We keep saying Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -- the world is one family. Let’s make India our own one family first, and show that to the world. Let’s not say: this person doesn’t belong. Everybody is a first class citizen and there are no second class citizens here. Let’s do that and show the world as an example we can be proud of. We start with that and then build on it.”
In City on Fire: A Boyhood in Aligarh (HarperCollins), Zeyad Masroor Khan tries to understand the undercurrents of violence between Hindus and Muslims in his hometown of Aligarh where he grew up in the ghetto of Upar Kot, where people would bay for each other’s blood during a riot. In his review, Saleem Rashid writes that it’s the stories of kindness, the search for small joys amid the chaos, the self-deprecating touch that make the autobiography so heartfelt. “Through lucid storytelling and an immersive narrative style, the book skilfully navigates the highs and lows of life in a place where communal tensions frequently escalate into devastating conflicts. In the final chapters, Zeyad poses poignant questions that resonate deeply. Do Hindus universally harbour animosity towards Muslims? Are their experiences comparable to those of Muslims? Do they share in the spectrum of human emotions, laughing and crying, experiencing depression, and caring for loved ones? Through introspection, he arrives at a singular answer—’Yes’. Men and women from both communities grapple with these questions, seeking understanding in a world fraught with turmoil.”
Kailash Satyarthi’s Why Didn’t You Come Sooner? Compassion in Action – Stories of Children Rescued from Slavery (Speaking Tiger Books) is the story of 12 of the 1,50,000 children he and his organisation, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, have rescued from child labour since 1981. Despite numerous laws within the country and internationally, will child labour and child abuse ever end in this country? Almost every other day there are stories of children trafficked for sex, to work as domestic labour in cities and in sweat shops and factories for embroidery work, making bangles and working in brick kilns. In her review, Usha Rai says Satyarthi’s book is a story of stark poverty but it is also a beacon of hope, showcasing the resilience of children who have been rescued and provided love, care and education. Many of the children rescued by BBA have become activists themselves and joined the band of rescuers.
Spotlight
From a volume dedicated to the sari to a tome on love, Swati Daftuar has curated the 11 best coffee table books of 2023, including art historian B.N. Goswamy’s last book, an ode to an intriguing animal, the Indian cat. Red Lilies, Water Birds, published by The Registry of Sarees, was born from the eponymous exhibition curated by textile designer Mayank Mansingh Kaul and designed by Reha Sodhi, that showcased 108 sarees spread over a century and covering nine themes. In the book, the exhibition finds a lasting life with stories from the journey of the draped garment. The list includes Matthew Biggs’ A Home for Every Plant (Phaidon Press), illustrated by Lucila Perini, Sadak: Hand Painted Signs in India (Humboldt Books) by Indian filmmaker, artist and photographer Aradhana Seth who spent decades photographing one of the staples of India’s urban landscape – handpainted signs and posters on doors and windows, shop shutters, and Edward Brooke-Hitching’s Love: A Curious History in 50 Objects (Simon and Schuster).
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- Shooting the Sun: Why Manipur was Engulfed by Violence and the Government Remained Silent (Speaking Tiger Books) by human rights lawyer Nandita Haksar explores a complex geopolitical problem. She argues that there is a bankruptcy of identity politics in the State, as she writes about the people who are suffering in the conflict.
- Gaurav Sood’s Fake News: Stop It, Stop It (Penguin) analyses the impact of fake news both on products and personalities. Foregrounded in research, it examines how fake news is used by companies, political parties, and leaders to create, amplify and sometimes even tarnish a brand’s image and equity.
- The Year of the Locust (Penguin) by Terry Hayes has CIA operative Kane travelling to the borders of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan – a place where violence appears to be the only way to survive. He is trying to exfiltrate a man with vital information for the safety of the West, but meets an adversary who plans to take the world to the brink of extinction.
- Bulbul Sharma has spent a long time exploring the gardens, parks and forest areas in and around Delhi. In Sunbirds in the Morning, Grey Hornbills at Dusk (Speaking Tiger), she recounts her observations of all the birds and animals she has encountered at Lodi Gardens or Tughlakabad Fort.
