The House of Scindias: A Saga of Power, Politics and Intrigue


Book Description

RASHEED KIDWAI is a journalist, author, columnist and political analyst. He is Visiting Fellow with the Observer Research Foundation, Delhi. Formerly Associate Editor at The Telegraph, Kidwai is a keen observer of government, politics, community affairs and Hindi cinema.




The House of Scindias


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Zero Dial


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Three informers. Murky bylanes that hold the key to deadly terror plots. The chase for India’s most wanted terrorist. The lives of three of Mumbai Police’s best informers collide in this shady underworld. It’s a bad, bad world. A world of crime, sex, drugs, murder and betrayal. He who lies, lives to see the light of another day... a day replete with even greater risks. From shady underworld dealings to switching gang loyalties, the men graduate to selling information on terrorism. Then begins the chase… to catch India’s most wanted terrorist: Riyaz Bhatkal, the man with an ominous track record of masterminding twentytwo blasts across the country since 2005. The search takes them to the most unassuming yet dangerous terror hubs across India. With trust in short supply, time ticking away and the sword of Damocles over their heads, the men can only hope that they are not on a wild goose chase.




Ballot


Book Description

543 Lok Sabha seats. More than 4,000 state constituencies. Over 800 million voters. The world's largest democracy . . . From the time of its inception, democracy in India has been dubbed 'miraculous' by the world's media, and its elections as a spectacular exercise in human management. In Ballot, Rasheed Kidwai takes us through his pick of seminal elections that have shaped Indian democracy both at the centre and in select states. Highlighting the unique challenges faced by a country that adopted universal adult franchise at the very outset, profiling personalities who have triggered ground-shifts, and analysing the causes and consequences of key electoral episodes, he traces the very evolution of India's democratic process. Combining insightful commentary and colourful anecdotes, Ballot provides a brief, incisive examination of India's most momentous elections.




Royal To Public Life


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I felt that to remain in politics and keep fighting for the principles was my calling. So; I thought that working with the people of similar ideology might be more fruitful. I felt affinity with those parties which were neither corrupt nor power-drunk…. Ideologically; I found myself close to Jana Sangh and Swatantra Party. I was in a dilemma to choose between the two. So; I decided to contest the election on the ticket of both these parties. I became candidate of Jana Sangh from Karera constituency of Madhya Pradesh Assembly. Tihar is not a jail; it is hell on earth. And those people were pushed in this hell whose penance threatened to dethrone Indiraji. There were piles of filth at different places in Tihar jail. It would make the inside air polluted which was stifling. While eating one had to constantly drive away the flies with one’s hands. The ears would be abuzz with the sounds of insects. In the darkness the brooch would glow and crickets would speak. Life was difficult. But despite that we would have sound sleep. Ayodhya is not a city made of bricks and mortars. It is a symbol of India’s soul and national identity. That’s why when the Rath Yatra was taken out; Hindus and Muslims participated in it alike. This national integration caused heart burns to those vested interests that were in the habit of taking the advantage of social division. Royal to Public Life by Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia with Mridula Sinha: This book likely offers a memoir or autobiography of Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia, a prominent Indian political figure and member of the Scindia royal family. Co-authored with Mridula Sinha, the book may provide insights into Rajmata Scindia's life journey, her transition from royalty to public life, and her contributions to Indian politics. Key Aspects of the Book "Royal to Public Life": Personal Memoir: Offers a firsthand account of Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia's life, experiences, and political career. Political Legacy: Explores her role in shaping Indian politics and her commitment to public service. Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia and Mridula Sinha likely share a personal and political journey in "Royal to Public Life." This book sheds light on the life of a remarkable Indian leader.




Leaders, Politicians, Citizens


Book Description

BALASAHEB THACKERAY. SHEILA DIKSHIT. A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM. NAMDEO DHASAL. S. JAIPAL REDDY. These are just some of the 50 dynamos whose lives and times are captured in this collection of profiles of some of the most prominent actors in independent India's political theatre. Game-changers Pranab Mukherjee, P.V. Narasimha Rao and Jyoti Basu; crowd-pulling swashbucklers Sheikh Abdullah and Laldenga; crusaders such as Kanshi Ram and Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani; mavericks Chandraswami, Amar Singh and Ajit Kumar Jogi; charismatic leaders like Madhavrao Scindia and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed; possessors of star power, including Jayalalithaa, Vinod Khanna and M. Karunanidhi; and skilful navigators like Ahmed Patel and V.C. Shukla - all find place in this incontestable list. Traversing ideologies and bringing into focus the human facet of governments, Leaders, Politicians, Citizens presents a compelling history of Indian democracy and provides riveting insights into the evolution of its political culture.




Metronama: Scenes from the Delhi Metro


Book Description

Rashmi Sadana is Associate Professor of Anthropology at George Mason University and author of English Heart, Hindi Heartland: The Political Life of Literature in India.




Indian Innovation, Not Jugaad - 100 Ideas that Transformed India


Book Description

Dinesh C. Sharma is a New Delhi-based award-winning journalist and author with over thirty-five years’ of professional experience. He has written extensively on science and technology, climate change, health, environment and innovation for national and international media, including The Lancet and Wired. He has been Science Editor at Mail Today, and Managing Editor at India Science Wire and is currently the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow (2020-2021). His book The Outsourcer: The Story of India’s IT Revolution was awarded the Computer History Museum Book Prize in 2016. He has also been a visiting faculty at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Ateneo de Manila University, Manila. Dinesh Sharma tweets at @dineshcsharma




Joan Robinson in Princely India


Book Description

This book explores the early work and activities of Joan Robinson that focused on economic development within underdeveloped countries, in particular India before independence. By analysing the style of Robinson’s thinking and economic analysis, and based on the works of Indian contemporaries, parts of The British Crown and the Indian States previously unattributed to her are seen to exhibit her preoccupation with poverty, backwardness, unemployment, the population problem, international trade, and the role of the state. Through keeping in mind Robinson’s later work, the development of her ideas can be reflected upon, alongside critical perspectives. It also reveals the beginnings of her role as a public intellectual. This book aims to shed new light on Joan Robinson’s work on development and to provide insight to an overlooked part of her research. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in the history of economic thought, development economics and economic history.




565


Book Description

Only two months to freedom. A jigsaw of around 565* princely states. At the stroke of midnight on 15 August 1947, India could emerge as a united nation. Or disintegrate into several pieces. On 3 June 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, makes a historic announcement. After two centuries of being a colony, India would finally become an independent nation on 15 August 1947. Yet there is no India as we know it today, only a patchwork of territories forming British India, and kingdoms ruled by maharajas and nawabs who had pledged their allegiance to the British Crown. The rulers are given three choices: accede to India, join Pakistan, or remain free. While many of the nearly 600 rulers unite with India, some with larger kingdoms decide to either wait for a better bargain, negotiate terms for joining Pakistan, or use the opportunity to give flight to their lofty ambitions. As the sun is poised to set on the British Empire, the future of India hangs in the balance. What unfolds in those nerve-racking last days of the Raj? In a gripping account, highlighting the key events and personalities of the time, this thoroughly researched book introduces young adults and older readers to the dramatic saga of how a great nation was forged. *For why 565, see page i