The Wonder That Was India: A Survey of the History and Culture of the Indian Sub-Continent before the coming of the Muslims by A.L. Basham | Goodreads

The Wonder That Was India: A Survey of the History and Culture of the Indian Sub-Continent before the coming of the Muslims by A.L. Basham | Goodreads


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Kushal Srivastava
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October 2, 2011
Women in ancient India roamed the streets with naked breasts. Take that, modern world!

One cannot refrain from considering any work on Indian culture and history under the scanner of famed "Orientalism" as told to us by Edward Said, if the work is from an Western author. AL Basham though seems doesn't quite fill the bill of an orientalist. This is a work of very high quality and very deep research for which the author learned nearly all the ancient Indian languages and all of its ancient literature. The work is polymathic in it's outlook and covers nearly all known aspects of the Indian civilization from its geography, its literature, governance, religion, philosophy to science and even coinage.

Indian culture and its civilization are amongst the oldest in the world and perhaps one of few which are still intact in pretty much the same form as when they were created. This continuity is surprising and in the book Basham has tried to find out the reasons behind it.

We are given a quick tour of the Harappa culture and possible reasons for its decline (attack? Natural decline?) according to the author Harappans may have settled down in the South India and could have been the Dasas referred to in literature, the Brahmi script is also probably a derivative of the Harappan script but nothing can be claimed with certainty.

The Indian society as it stands today is certainly the amalgamation of Aryans who probably came from somewhere near the modern day Iran and the natives. It is this culture of the Aryans which has been transferred almost undiluted through centuries. Slowly the Aryans dominated the entire sub continent and every inch of India soon had their footprints.

There is a lot of information on the Indian religions though not necessarily structured. We come to know that the Aryan religion was in the beginning a sacrificial cult which was later transformed into a devotional cult or the modern day hinduism. All the religions in India have been influenced by each other upto the coming of Muslims. The coming of Buddhism and Jainism brought the non violence and vegetarian aspect into the Indian religions. Almost all of the Indian literature has been religious and even if some were secular like Mahabharata or Ramayana they have been transformed into religious works by later writers. Basham is clearly not much impressed by the ideas expressed in literature of the period, according to him, the literature is mostly either religious or gnomic. What has impressed him is the amazingly and almost supernatural grasp of the language ancient Indian poets have shown.

Where else in the world would you find a beauty like this

Dadado dudda-dud-dadi
Dadado duda-di-da-doh
Dud-dadam dadade dudde
Dad'-adada-dado 'da-dah

Translation: The giver of gifts, the giver of grief to his foes, the bestower of purity, whose arm destroys the giver of grief, the destroyer of demons, bestower of bounty on generous and miser alike, raised his weapon against the foe.

This work is essential for anyone who is interested in knowing the Indian history. It is a brilliant reference material, even if some sections feel dated.

Appendices at the end give information on Indian science and maths but is hardly of the same detail as religion or governance. But the importance of mathematics is highlighted in the fact that author calls the unknown mathematician who gave the world the zero as the second most important son of India after Buddha.

Oh and according to Basham, the gypsies are of Indian origin, so next time you see Brad Pitt in Snatch remember he is just Rajnikant in disguise.
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Dmitri
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October 24, 2022
This is a clearly written introduction to ancient India before the Muslim conquest of the 13th century. Arthur Llewellyn Basham's father was a British journalist who served in the Indian Army during WWI. His son became a scholar of Indian history and religion, teaching at the School of Oriental and African Studies, and mentoring R. S. Sharma and Romila Thapar. Published in 1954, Basham avoided much of the esoteric density of contemporary European indologists such as Zimmer and Kramrisch.

As others have noted, this is essentially an undergraduate level textbook. Basham's literary inclination allows it at times to transcend the usual tedium implied. The reader is first taken through a quick chronology of the Indus Valley civilization, Aryan/Vedic period, advent of Buddhism, Greek invasion, Mauryan and Gupta empires, and the Chalukya and Chola dynasties. The larger remainder of the book is arranged thematically into the political, social, religious, technological and artistic spheres.

I appreciated the fast paced historical narrative but wanted more detail in this section, which comprises less than a fifth of the 500 page text. The topical chapters are by contrast a bit drawn out, but they can be digested separately according to your personal interests. It is a typical dilemma in history surveys whether to integrate this material by time period or to extract it by subject matter. The latter approach errs on the side of brevity which works well with the book's introductory nature.

Unfortunately the book suffers from dubious racial theories that were prevalent in the mid 20th century. Aryan invasion or migration theories are still debated on the merits of linguistic or DNA evidence, but Basham's analysis of skin color, lip, nose and head morphology at times smacks of phrenology, or worse. Basham was a student of Sanskrit, so his observations from the Vedas and Brahmanas do not come second hand. Nevertheless they are seen through the lens of conquest and colony.

Inevitably this is a dated work since so much has been discovered in the past 65 years. The generalized approach of the book doesn't exacerbate this fault however. For a more specialized and updated focus, Thapar's "Early India" and Sharma's "Ancient Past" may be both good options. The relatively small selection of recent English books on ancient Indian history is peculiar. There are many other academic monographs available but good material for the general reader is hard to come by.
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Arun Divakar
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October 20, 2016
While getting down from a train recently, a small post-it on the wall of the coach caught my attention. It was a quote from Stephen Covey – There are three constants in life…change, choice and principles. I do not know about principles but change and choice are always prevalent when you pause to think about life and also about history. If you were to take only a sample of Indian history (prior to the arrival of the Mughals) and examine it, the sheer number of dynasties and empires that passed through the Indian stage are mindboggling. No single person or enterprise escaped the stamp of change and as cliché would have it, time continued its inexorable march. A. L Basham’s work is a consolidation of the data and writings available at the time of its first publication on how rich a history India had prior to the arrival of the Muslim invaders. The timeline we are talking about is from the rise of the Indus valley civilization to the first arrival of the Mughals.

Reading the book was like a trip down memory lane. This feeling was not because I am fully well versed with Indian history but more because this is written in a style that reminded me of high school history classes. I harboured no special liking for this subject in school and to this day I have no idea how I managed to clear that paper. The dry and factual descriptions in the book brought me back to those soporific afternoon classes…sigh !

But I digress and so getting back – change is the most common factor in this book. The first big chapter in the book is a brief history on the dynasties that rose and fell across the length and breadth of the subcontinent in the eras gone by. In hindsight it all seems so fickle and tiny. The power plays, the decades of warfare, blood and glory, the opulence of the royal households are all now recorded for posterity only on files hosted on some database with the Government of India. There are still standing testimonies scattered across the vastness of this landscape with a personal favourite of mine being Hampi in Karnataka. The grandeur of the constructions and the sheer scale of it all made me marvel at the effort that would have gone in to create such a place. Then again a stroll to the magnificent Vijaya Vittala temple or gazing at the Narasimhamoorthy statue tells you how that glorious kingdom was ravaged by the invaders following the Battle of Talikota in 1565. This gets a mention of two lines in the book but having walked those streets, the past glory was still fresh on my mind. The most famous early empire of India of Ashoka has been all but forgotten now even though his is a very popular name in India. Thereby you get a rough picture of the scale of changes that the landscape has been witness to.

Don’t let this review make you believe that this is a depressing work about the seemingly momentary nature of history. On the contrary the writing style is purely dispassionate and dry. Basham is a competent chronicler who relies heavily on the available literature of his time as the base for his work. The chapters are broadly divided into art, politics, religion and theology, culture and social structure. Summed together they give an in depth understanding of the Indian subcontinent when the Mughals arrived on the scene. A lot of criticism is levelled against Basham for the glaring omissions and errors in the book but having being first published in 1954, this would have been pretty much obvious.

Recommended for its breadth and scope (and also for the unintentional nostalgia !).

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Tom
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June 17, 2013
A fine survey of Indian culture up to 15th century or so. It's rare that a semi-academic book 50 years old holds up at all, but this one seems quite useful. It gives the broad outlines of Indian history, politics, society, daily life, religions, arts, and literature in a mere 500 pages. The author knew perhaps a half dozen early Indian languages, and translates from them all, comfortably discuss numismatics and prosody, astronomy and sculpture. Very impressive.

I'm sure scholars of classical India could note hundreds of advances in the field since this book's publication. One could also criticize some of the author's assumptions (i.e., that Indian culture "went into decline" with the growing political dominance of Islamic groups in the 16th century, or that history is generalizable at all), but these would be cheap shots. For a 20th century British historian, Basham is remarkably anti-imperialist, avoiding the dominant "they need overlords" narrative of many of his English colleagues, and taking pains to point out the great achievements coming from all aspects of Indian society.

In short, this book is recommended to anyone who is generally curious about early and medieval Indian history, a relatively brief introduction for the intelligent non-expert.
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Maitrey
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January 21, 2013
Focuses mainly on Indian pre-islamic cultural and religious history (Basham's specialty I think is Buddhism). No good for a correct balanced view now as the book is outdated, but has nice snippets.

Recommended if you like Buddhism, the Vedas and Sanskrit. I personally liked it as you can be reasonably certain Basham is not bigoted. One drawback I see is Basham's over reliance on only written records which handicaps him in this period, quite a bit of the book reads like an English translation of the Arthashastra (he's not ready to speculate even when he himself repeatedly states that the Arthashastra maybe unreliable for actual "history on the ground").
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Shekar Subramanian
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August 26, 2019
First of all in this day and age, I don't see any value to this book because this book has been completely based on the premise the Aryan Invasion Theory and the Aryan-Dravidian Myth which have been completely falsified and debunked.

Through out this book you will find certain repetitive themes as follows:

1. Any possible achievement or positive development in India or Hinduism would be put off saying..."they say this happened but It is highly unlikely it could have happened"

2. Any major breakthrough or discoveries would be put off by saying..."It is highly unlike that the Aryans could have done it by themselves then surely they must have taken inspiration from the Greeks or Roman or Arabic or Persians"

3. Wherever possible Hinduism is frowned upon as the most orthodox, backward and downtrodden & how influences of Islam and Christianity were necessary for its revival into its present day form.

4. It becomes hilarious at one point where Basham tries to suggest how Muslim and British invasions did more good to India and Indians than harm.

5. Any school of thought or idea of the Hindus or Brahmans or Aryans will be termed as pessimistic asceticism and weird mysticism.

The only positives about the book is that basham has done a decent job in compiling the entire history in 500 odd pages.

There is typical british condescending and cold tone to the book and when I read book I can hear the master AL Basham saying to me, "O Come here! Let me introduce you to my sweet little India, Well there are some good things about her! But in the end she is not capable of doing anything on her own and see how I have improved her life considerably"

It is preposterous when I see how such people have been the given the titles of "notable historian and Indologist". This is what happens when the authority to write the history is given to those very forces which have plundered and looted you for centuries or their mouthpieces.

I have grown up listening to the old adage "History is always written by the winners", India always comes out as an anomaly.



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Kevan
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September 14, 2007
I've wanted to buy this book for the better part of 3 years and I finally got my hands on it. Haven't finished it yet, but from what I've read it thoroughly deserves its reputation as a classic, holding up well after 53 years.

In my experience with histories of India, you generally have two extremes: Ones written by Indian authors that so aggressively seek to discount earlier volumes' Western slant it comes across as "one-upsmanship", and the volumes written by Western authors that seek to apologize for earlier transgressions. A.L. Basham achieves a happy medium. Some of his language can be excused as indicative of the time in which he wrote the book, 7 years after the Partition, but otherwise he does a great job of covering Indian history up to the High Middle Ages with thoroughness and equanimity. His writing is also very engaging.

As the foreward in this new edition points out, the book stops "before the coming of the Muslims" because Basham didn't have any background in Persian, not as any sort of "statement" about that part of Indian history.

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Ashok Krishna
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September 19, 2017
Breathtakingly brilliant! ❤️

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Sumir Sharma
Author 20 books2 followers

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July 25, 2018
Basham's book is recommended for students and aspirants who prepare for Civil Services in India. It is presumed that those who work on that line, they might have read this book.

Secondly, he was the guide for PhD of Romila Thapar another renowned historian of Ancient India.

The book definitely gives a fresh look to Ancient India. Generally, you find very few books nicely written on the period of Ancient India. Some of the other books contain too many references to the facts and figures written in Sanskrit that it is not useful for every one. Secondly, the chapter making is different from other books. The contents fulfil the need of the students about whom it is referred above. On the whole, it is one of the popular books till this day.

On the other hand, the author had failed to suspend his racial bias while writing about Ancient India. Some of the commentators and reviewers have already raised some issues. A historian is not expected to be judgemental which interpreting. Alas, Basham made many judgemental remarks. While discussing Yogasutra, he sarcastically commented on the existence of Sushma Nadi. Similarly, while talking about Soma, one can guess that what can be a remark of a Western scholar. Therefore, while calling it one of the best books on ancient India for the students, I have given only three stars. It is best because one can find reference to answers to numerous Multiple Choice questions which appears in the examination in a single book. One can prepare a good note on Ancient literature on Buddhism from the contents provided in this book. That is the importance and value of the book. One can gather many references to numerous terms related to the society and those terms are not fully understood at present. However, this book is not a good source on the political history of India. For that, one needs to take help of other books.

One should not wonder if some of the reviewers and especially the Indian reviewers criticise it. From Kapil, to Gautam, to Patanjali, to Panini, to Aryabhata, to Sankaracharya to later times the people like Satyendra Bose, J Bose, Meghanath Jha, C. V. Raman, or for that purpose, Narain, a twenty nine year old young man whom the Western World knew as Vivekananda, the disciple of Ramakrishna on whom even Max Muller wrote a biography, to the present day intellectually awake Indians who fully understand the Western Philosophy, Basham made some amusing judgemental remarks. If someone gives him one star, I will not be surprised. But, I will like to respect the intellectual mind of any race, as it the heritage and culture of Indians like Varamahir who was ready to respect Romanav chart to correct the Solar chart, Basham definitely deserve the respect.

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Matt
673 reviews

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March 26, 2018
Even though Indian civilization has interacted with other civilizations over the millennia, there is still a mystery and allure about its history, culture, and religions that still fascinates. The Wonder That Was India by A.L. Basham is a classic interpretation of Indian culture that for over 60 years has been an introduction to the unique culture that covered a subcontinent up until the arrival of the Muslims.

Basham ordered the book by discipline first with history—both pre-recorded and recorded—followed by government, society, everyday life, religion, the arts, and finally language and literature. This allowed for a generally reader friendly book as Basham covered the history of the subcontinent and then used that background to show the societal and cultural developments. Throughout the book are numerous illustrations, drawings, and maps that showed the richness of the civilization. However, being over 60 years old some of the information is out of date and that is not all of the imperfections that future readers should know about. Basham’s writing style is somewhat dry in places and reading becomes as slog. And the illustrations while being spread throughout the book are not easy to find when referenced in the text.

However, even with this downside The Wonder That Was India is still a great introduction into Indian history. A.L. Basham’s enthusiasm is very evident as well as his expertise on the subject. I definitely recommend this book for dedicated history readers, but issue a word of warning to general readers.
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Presenting the grand sweep of Indian history from antiquity to the present, A History of India is a detailed and authoritative account of the major political, economic, social and cultural forces that have shaped the history of the Indian subcontinent.

Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund provide a comprehensive overview of the structural pattern of Indian history, covering each historical period in equal depth. Fully revised throughout, the sixth edition of this highly accessible book has been brought up to date with analysis of recent events such as the 2014 election and its consequences, and includes more discussion of subjects such as caste and gender, Islam, foreign relations, partition, and the press and television.

This new edition contains an updated chronology of key events and a useful glossary of Indian terms, and is highly illustrated with maps and photographs. Supplemented by a companion website (www.routledge.com/cw/kulke), it is a valuable resource for students of Indian history.

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India after Gandhi

Cover of 10th anniversary edition
Author	Ramachandra Guha
Translator	Sushant Jha (Hindi)
Country	India
Language	English
Subject	History of India
Genre	Non-fiction
Publisher	Ecco Press (HarperCollins) in the US, Picador in India
Publication date	24 July 2007
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	898 pp (First Edition), 919 pp (Revised and Updated Edition)
ISBN	978-0-330-50554-3

India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy is a non-fiction book by Indian historian Ramachandra Guha. First published by HarperCollins in August 2007.^[1][2]

The book covers the history of the India after it gained independence from the British in 1947.^[1] A revised and expanded edition was published in 2017.^[3]

Background[edit]

In November 1997, Peter Straus, then head of Picador, met Ramachandra Guha and suggested that he write a history of independent India. Straus had read an article by Guha in the Oxford journal Past and Present. He suggested that since Indian historians typically stopped their narratives with Indian independence in 1947, a scholarly analysis of modern Indian history post-independence would be of interest. Guha signed a contract in March 1998, with a delivery date for the book specified for March 2002.^[4]

In writing the book, Guha consulted the private papers of several important Indian personalities, as well as newspaper records, housed at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. The private papers of Indian independence activist and politician C Rajagopalachari and P N Haksar, Indira Gandhi's principal secretary 1967 and 1973, were especially useful to Guha's research. Guha sent across his final draft to Straus in 2006, and the book was published in 2007.^[4]

Expanded edition[edit]

Guha re-organized Part Five chronologically (in the earlier edition this section followed a thematic approach), removed a chapter (A People's Entertainments), added two chapters based entirely on new material (Progress and its Discontents & The Rise of the BJP Systems), and rewrote the epilogue (A 50–50 Democracy) for the 10th anniversary edition.

Contents[edit]

• Prologue: Unnatural Nation
• Part One: Picking up the Pieces

Freedom and Parricide—The Logic of Division—Apples in the Basket—A Valley Bloody and Beautiful—Refugees and the Republic—Ideas of India

• Part Two: Nehru's India

The Biggest Gamble in History—Home and the World—Redrawing the Map—The Conquest of Nature—The Law and the Prophets—Securing Kashmir—Tribal Trouble

• Part Three: Shaking the Centre

The Southern Challenge—The Experience of Defeat—Peace in Our Time—Minding the Minorities

• Part Four: The Rise of Populism

War and Succession—Leftward Turns—The Elixir of Victory—The Rivals—Autumn of the Matriarch—Life Without the Congress—Democracy in Disarray—This Son also Rises

• Part Five: A History of Events

Rights and Riots—A Multi-polar Polity—Rulers and Riches—Progress and its Discontents—The Rise of the BJP Systems

• Epilogue: A 50–50 Democracy

Publication history[edit]

• First edition – 2007/2008
• 10th anniversary edition (2016/2017) – revised, expanded and updated (first updated edition)

Translations[edit]

India After Gandhi was translated into Hindi as Bharat Gandhi Ke Baad by India Today journalist Sushant Jha New Delhi.^[5] This book has been translated into Hindi in two volumes as Bharat: Gandhi Ke Baad and Bharat: Nehru Ke Baad and published by Penguin. The Tamil version of the book is published in the name Indhiya varalaaru Gandhikku pin - Part 1 & 2 by Kizhakku and translated by R. P. Sarathy. The Bengali version of the book is published in the name "গাঁধী-উত্তর ভারতবর্ষ" by Ananda Publishers Private Limited and translated by Ashish Lahiri.

Reception[edit]

India after Gandhi was chosen Book of the Year by The Economist, The Wall Street Journal and Outlook Magazine, among others.^[6] The book was one of the best non-fiction books of the decade (2010–2019) as per The Hindu.^[7]

The book won the 2011 Sahitya Akademi Award for English.^[6]

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to:^a b Chaudhuri, Amit (21 April 2007). "Review: India After Gandhi". The Guardian.
2. ^ Chotiner, Isaac (26 August 2007). "All in the Family". New York Times. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
3. ^ Ramachandra Guha and Barkha Dutt - INDIA AFTER GANDHI, Delhi launch on YouTube
4. ^ Jump up to:^a b Guha, Ramachandra (18 June 2017). "How Ramachandra Guha came to write 'India After Gandhi', the first popular post-1947 history". Scroll.in. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
5. ^ "Bharat Gandhi Ke Baad". Penguin India. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
6. ^ Jump up to:^a b "Poets Dominate Sahitya Akademi Awards 2011" (PDF) (Press release). Sahitya Akademi. 21 December 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
7. ^ "Best non-fiction books of the decade". The Hindu. 28 December 2018.

v t e Sahitya Akademi Award for English
1960–1970	The Guide by R. K. Narayan (1960) The Serpent and the Rope by Raja Rao (1964) The Tribal World of Verrier Elwin by Verrier Elwin (1965) Shadow From Ladakh by Bhabani Bhattacharya (1967) An Artist in Life by Niharranjan Ray (1969)
1971–1980	Morning Face by Mulk Raj Anand (1971) Scholar Extraordinary by Nirad C. Chaudhuri (1975) Jawaharlal Nehru by Sarvepalli Gopal (1976) Azadi by Chaman Nahal (1977) Fire on the Mountain by Anita Desai (1978) Inside the Haveli by Rama Mehta (1979) On the Mother by K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar (1980)
1981–1990	Relationship by Jayanta Mahapatra (1981) The Last Labyrinth by Arun Joshi (1982) Latter-Day Psalms by Nissim Ezekiel (1983) The Keeper of the Dead by Keki N. Daruwalla (1984) Collected Poems by Kamala Das (1985) Rich Like Us by Nayantara Sahgal (1986) Trapfalls In the Sky by Shiv K. Kumar (1987) The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth (1988) The Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh (1989) That Long Silence by Shashi Deshpande (1990)
1991–2000	The Trotter-Nama by Allan Sealy (1991) Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra by Ruskin Bond (1992) After Amnesia by G. N. Devy (1993) Serendip by Dom Moraes (1994) Memories of Rain by Sunetra Gupta (1996) Final Solutions and Other Plays by Mahesh Dattani (1998) The Collected Poems by A. K. Ramanujan (1999) Cuckold by Kiran Nagarkar (2000)
2001–2010	Rajaji: A Life by Rajmohan Gandhi (2001) A New World by Amit Chaudhuri (2002) The Perishable Empire by Meenakshi Mukherjee (2003) The Mammaries of the Welfare State by Upamanyu Chatterjee (2004) The Algebra of Infinite Justice by Arundhati Roy (2005) The Sari Shop by Rupa Bajwa (2006) Disorderly Women by Malathi Rao (2007) Mahabharata: An Inquiry into the Human Condition by Chaturvedi Badrinath (2009) The Book of Rachel by Esther David (2010)
2011–2020	India after Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha (2011) These Errors are Correct by Jeet Thayil (2012) Laburnum For My Head by Temsula Ao (2013) Trying to Say Goodbye by Adil Jussawalla (2014) Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry (2015) Em and the Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto (2016) The Black Hill by Mamang Dai (2017) The Blind Lady's Descendants by Anees Salim (2018) An Era of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor (2019) When God is a Traveller by Arundhathi Subramaniam (2020)
2021–present	Things to Leave Behind by Namita Gokhale (2021) All The Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy (2022)

Categories: History books about India
Sahitya Akademi Award-winning works
Indian non-fiction books
2007 non-fiction books
HarperCollins books
21st-century Indian books





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India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy Paperback – 12 August 2008
by Ramachandra Guha (Author)
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From one of the subcontinent’s most important and controversial writers comes this definitive history of post-Partition India, published on the 60th anniversary of Independence

Told in lucid and beautiful prose, the story of India’s wild ride toward and since Independence is a riveting one. Taking full advantage of the dramatic details of the protests and conflicts that helped shape the nation, politically, socially, and economically, Guha writes of the factors and processes that have kept the country together, and kept it democratic, defying the numerous prophets of doom.

Moving between history and biography, this story provides fresh insights into the lives and public careers of those legendary and long-serving Prime Ministers, Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter, Indira Gandhi. Guha includes vivid sketches of the major “provincial” leaders, but also writes with feeling and sensitivity about lesser-known Indians—peasants, tribals, women, workers, and Untouchables.

Massively researched and elegantly written, this is the work of a major scholar at the height of his powers, a brilliant and definitive history of what is possibly the most important, occasionally the most exasperating, and certainly the most interesting country in the world.
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2008

August 12

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15.2 x 5.1 x 22.9

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This date was selected by the Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, as it was the second anniversary of the Japanese surrender to the Allied Forces in the Second World War.
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The task of partitioning Bengal and the Punjab was entrusted to a British judge named Sir Cyril Radcliffe.
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Like their foreign counterparts, they have come to believe that this place is far too diverse to persist as a nation, and much too poor to endure as a democracy.
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Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ecco; Reprint edition (12 August 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 944 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060958588
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 5.08 x 22.86 cmCustomer Reviews:
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Top review from Australia


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5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in Australia on 16 October 2015
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Good objective and detailed history of post independence period. Highly recommended!



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KK
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read on India after independenceReviewed in the United States on 26 December 2023
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Very readable, accurate, unbiased, expansive narrative of post independence India. Its complexities, triumphs, and failures are captured in a heartfelt yet unbiased manner. A must read for anyone who wishes to understand India. A must read for Indians to understand their own nation
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TM
5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best history book I have readReviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2024
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Probably the best history book I have read.

I am of Indian origin but I have never lived in India (I moved to the UK at a young age). While I have visited India for business reasons many times in the past, I am now frequent tourist/traveller to India. As I traveled more to India, and became more in touch with my ancestral origins, I wanted to get a better understanding of contemporary Indian history. This book achieved that perfectly.

Superbly researched, appropriately detailed coverage of the key episodes of India's recent past and written in a such an engaging style that it was hard to put down. The book has given me a good understanding of the key individuals that shaped/are shaping India and the (almost existential) crises that India has faced since Independence. Now that I have a feel of contemporary Indian history, so much of what I see/read/hear when in India makes more sense.

The author is excellent at giving a balanced view during (almost) the entire book, drawing on testimony form various viewpoints so that the reader has a broad appreciation of all of the perspectives at the time. This makes his coverage of Kashmir, Emergency Rule, China's invasion, war with Pakistan, market reforms in the 1990s, rise of the BJP etc. etc. so much more interesting and informative. If I have one criticism it is that the author goes too much into editorial mode towards the end of the book when he covers Modi (spoiler - he is not a Modi fan!).
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rafique ali
5.0 out of 5 stars superbeReviewed in France on 13 July 2021
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manish bhusal
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome ReadReviewed in Canada on 4 June 2020
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At a time when opinions are formed by majority of people by reading facebook posts and whatsapp forwards or short articles in few cases, it was refreshing and soothing to study the indian history (after independence) in detail. Ramchandra Guha does an amazing job of staying neutral amd does not show any bias in his writing. Awesome book. Despite the length, there is never a moment when it feels slow or boring.

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Debjit Sengupta
5.0 out of 5 stars Superlative narrationReviewed in India on 3 June 2019
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The Indian history taught in schools has been biased, irrelevant and incomplete. For the children, the history ends with partition and independence. After this period, the history seems to be devoid of contents. The events after that may appear in popular cinema and television but Indian history book never formally covers it, at school. In order to glorify India’s past; there have been mixed myths and half-truths. For e.g., it can be United Nations declaring India’s national anthem as world’s best or India’s victory over China in 1962 war. There have been many such instances, including bizarre achievements of ancient Indians. There are many reasons why Indian students finds history so boring. I am always on the lookout for an authentic account of Indian history. This book attempts to narrate and analyze major characters, controversies, themes and processes of independent India. The West had lovingly devalued India’s attempt for democracy. The doomsayers had predicted a disastrous India with death of every prime minister. Many went to the extent of calling India as a dystopia, which anytime could be replaced by a military rule. Whatever be the earlier debate on forlorn democracy, the fact remains that after seven decades of independence, India still is a single nation driven by democracy. Let us pick up few subjects randomly from the book and discuss.

After the newfound independence, partition, communal riots and refugee issues already crippled India. To add to the woes, the integration of five hundred princely states posed a major challenge to the new government. The shape and powers of the princely states were due to the British. The British considered these princely states as strategic allies. However, in real sense the British were the lord. As per the Indian Independence Act of 1947, each of the princely state rulers had the option to either accede to the newly born nation of India or Pakistan, or continue as independent sovereign states. After decades of exploitation, the departure of the British provided them with an excellent opportunity to declare autonomy. One of the first prince, who voluntarily choose to align with India, was Maharaja of Bikaner. He then appealed to dozen of more states to join and many Rajput princes listened to him. In fact, they realized that forces of nationalism were irresistible and compromising is the sensible thing to do. However, there were stiff resistance from some of the princely states. On this regard, we are well aware of the much-documented issue of Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagarh. Apart from this, Travancore was the first state which questioned Congress right to succeed the British as paramount power. They wanted to remain independent. Bhopal had a Muslim ruler and a large Hindu population. The ruler was more close to Muslim League than the Congress. Jodhpur was a curious case which had a both Hindu ruler and a large Hindu population. Still the ruler thought that if he joins Pakistan, he is going to get better deals. The nation owes its gratitude to Sardar Vallabhai Patel for his vision, tactfulness and pragmatic approach. V.P.Menon, who was constitutional advisor to Lord Mountbatten, ably assisted him. They had used both force and friendly advice to achieve their objective. It was a tireless effort on their part to cajole princes.

Two of the biggest stalwarts of the Indian politics were Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhai Patel. They had unquestionable integrity and were fiercely patriotic. They had their own vision of setting things right in independent India and leading her to a bright future. The similarity ends here. There was stark differences in their character, personality, ideology and outlook. While Nehru was an upper caste Brahmin, Patel hailed from farming caste. Nehru loved good foods and wine, appreciated fine art and literature and had travelled widely abroad. Patel on the other hand was a teetotaler and a vegetarian, who was a hard taskmaster with little time to engage in anything else. There was a deep-rooted differences and it is only after Gandhi’s death that they reconciled and kept aside their difference for the nation. Still the differences surfaced after that though, in a mute tone. Nehru believed in state control of the economy while Patel was friendly to the capitalist. The chasm between them became more public during their support for different candidates as Congress President. Still Patel would advise his supporters to listen to Nehru because he felt destruction of their party meant destruction of India. Nehru on the other hand felt that Patel was an unmatched warrior in the cause of freedom and a great servant of the people.

After the death of Patel, the days of two power centers within the party cease to exist. Nehru had a free hand and there was not much resistance to him in the party. After becoming the first Indian Prime Minister, he was re-elected in 1952, 1957 and 1962. Back in 1952, outside the party, he faced huge ideological challenges primarily from two parties- Jana Sangh and Socialists. Later the party were in disarray because their charismatic leader S.P. Mookherjee had died and J.P. Narayan abandoned politics for social services. In the next elections thereafter, the Congress was unchallenged. He tried to create a classless society with equal opportunity for all. He also implemented plans to build roads, dams and power plants. He was more appealed to the Soviet economic system. He thought that state ownership and state planning were more efficient as compared to private property and market economy. In his book- “Glimpses of World History”, he had admired Soviet five-year plan. His foreign policies were based on non-alignment to the power blocks. However, there was big question mark on India’s foreign policies after Soviet invasion of Hungary. The west alleged that he can condemn them but preferred to remain silent during this invasion. His attempt to improve relationship with China failed miserably. The Indo-Chinese war exposed India’s weakness and unpreparedness in defending its northern border. India’s self-esteem and prestige suffered and it was a severe loss of face for Nehru in the international arena and undermined his superior position at home.

Indira Gandhi is considered as one of the strongest Prime Minister India ever had. She was known for cold assessment and shrewd timing. She not only faced stiff resistance from opposition but from her own party as well. After becoming the Prime Minister, her political career coincided with breakdown of parent Congress party, Indo-Pak war, Emergency, first non-Congress government at the Centre and finally Operation Blue Star and its painful consequence; a very eventful and controversial period. Despite being the Prime Minister, she was not strong enough to defy the organization and yet sensible enough not to quit. She proposed nationalization of banks and relieved known opponent of nationalization- Moraji Desai of the Finance Ministry. She issued an ordinance announcing that State had taken over fourteen privately owned banks. A bank was not only supposed to disburse loans to big business houses but to farmers and artisans as well. Next she turned her attention towards abolition of privileges given to the princes. After their state merger with the Union, the princes were given a constitutional guarantee that they could retain their titles, palaces and assets and get and annual privy purse. The constitutional guarantee stands null and void. She was gaining confidence and was becoming increasingly assertive. The schism in the Congress party became evident during election of new President of India. She asked her party men to vote for Independent candidate- V.V Giri instead of Congress official candidate- Sanjiva Reddy, which most of them did. The Congress President Nijalingappa accused Indira Gandhi of promoting a cult of personality over her party and the nation. She was expelled for indiscipline. There were now two factions of the Congress- Congress(O) and Congress( R); the latter was later renamed as Congress(I). After her landslide victory in 1971 elections, Indira’s Congress was confirmed as the real Congress, requiring no qualifying suffix. In 1971 only, India tasted its first military victory over any nation. This victory over Pakistan allowed Indians to savour smell of military success after a humiliating defeat at the hands of China. Indira Gandhi stake and standing increased both in India as well as in international arena. She moved away from Nehru and Shastri incremental and continuous approach. She has the knack of fighting to finish, even bringing eighty-four-year party to rupture.

In 1974, there was a student led movement in Gujarat that demanded fall of Congress led State government, which was notorious for corruption. These inspired students in Bihar to lead a similar movement in their own State where corruption was rife and there was deep discontent and feeling of chagrined in the countryside. The different bellicose student wings created a united front called as Chatra Sangarsh Samiti(CSS). Campus life came to a halt. The students burnt down government offices, buildings and warehouses. There were frequent clashes with police. CSS approached revered Jaya Prakash Narayan better known as JP. He realized that he could no longer remain a silent spectator to misgovernment, corruption, black marketing and hoarding. He decided to join but on two conditions. Firstly, it should be non-violent and secondly it should not be restricted to Bihar. Since JP was a man of high moral authority and hero of freedom struggle, his entry gave the movement a big boost. The movement name changed from “Bihar movement” to “JP movement”. JP called for a total revolution to redeem unfulfilled promises of the freedom movement. The support for struggle was widespread and people came in hoards to support the movement. The grand success unnerved Indira Gandhi government to such an extent that she pushed Emergency on the unsuspecting nation. Now who was responsible for such a chaos. Still there is a debate and there are two school of thoughts. Both had shown little faith in representative institutions and ignored role of state in a modern democracy. Some believe that JP ideas were untested and unconvincing. He led a movement without a cadre of disciplined and non-violent volunteers. Moreover, its credibility was questioned due to the presence of extremists from both left and right. Indira Gandhi overreacted by imposing emergency thereby creating fear in the minds of the people. Her decisions made state functionaries dependent on the whim and fancies of a single person.

The first elections post emergency resulted in humiliating defeat of the Congress. Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi lost too. The first non-Congress party government was at the Centre. However, the Janata Party had not fought the elections under a single leader and after the election victory there were three contenders for the top post. There was hectic campaigning on the behalf of three candidates. First there was Moraji Desai who almost twice became Prime Minister after the death of Nehru and Shastri. The supporters of Charan Singh felt that their sweep in the North made him the right choice. Jagjivan Ram supporter argued that his defection from the Congress has been a decisive factor. Finally, JP and J.B Kriplani settled on Moraji Desai. The differences were an insinuation that there are trouble times ahead. After few years, Charan Singh was not contended being the number two in the cabinet. His differences with Moraji Desai started emerging. Charan Singh was sacked from the Cabinet. After few months he organized a massive farmer rally which around two lacs people attended. The show of strength compelled Moraji Desai to induct him back into the cabinet. Finally, the inevitable split in Janata Party happened and Moraji Desai lost majority and resigned. Charan Singh strike an alliance with his old nemesis Indira Gandhi to became the new Prime Minister. However, the Congress withdraw its support after few months. Indira Gandhi had the last laugh. She was in inertia and had to do nothing to engineer a split in Janata Party. The regime learnt a hard lesson that promises are like lollipops and performance like a dose of bitter medicine. The party came to power after a movement directed towards second freedom from authoritarian rule and restoration of democracy. However, from the beginning itself, party was determined to let go this goodwill. The opportunity was squandered. The party leaders were more interested in positions and perquisites. Once a political analyst commented on the three-year rule as chronicle of confused and complex party squabbles, intra-party rivalries, shifting alliances defections, charges and counter-charges of incompetence.

The account on scams, Anna Hazare movement, fall of Congress and rise and rise of BJP makes an interesting reading. You name any itsy-bitsy events in modern Indian history, it finds a mention in the book. This is a scholarly work from a master author. It is 800 pages book and you need a series of marathon reading session to complete it. It’s engaging too. It does causes a reading fatigue once you complete but every second spend on the book is worth reading. The subjects touched upon in review is only a fraction. It’s just like taking a mug of water out from a sea. It’s a wealth of information. If you think you know it all about modern Indian history then read this book to do a reality check. Otherwise simply read it to brush up your knowledge to see how much you know about your nation.
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India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy

Ramachandra Guha

4.39

17,131 ratings1,465 reviews

A magisterial account of the pains, the struggles, the humiliations, and the glories of the world's largest and least likely democracy, Ramachandra Guha's India After Gandhi is a breathtaking chronicle of the brutal conflicts that have rocked a giant nation and the extraordinary factors that have held it together. An intricately researched and elegantly written epic history peopled with larger-than-life characters, it is the work of a major scholar at the peak of his abilities...

Genres

History

India

Nonfiction

Politics

Indian Literature

Asia

Historical

 

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912 pages, Hardcover

First published April 20, 2007

Literary awards

Mark Lynton History Prize Nominee (2008), Sahitya Akademi Award for English (2011), Kiriyama Prize Nominee for Nonfiction (2008), Cundill History Prize Nominee (2008)

Original title

India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy

This edition

Format

912 pages, Hardcover

Published

July 24, 2007 by Ecco

ISBN

9780060198817 (ISBN10: 0060198818)

Language

English

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2023

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2019

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2007

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2008

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مؤسسة هنداوي سي آي سي

2017

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2017

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2007

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2019

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2019

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2012

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2011

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2010

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About the author

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Ramachandra Guha

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Ramachandra Guha was born in Dehradun in 1958, and educated in Delhi and Calcutta. He has taught at the University of Oslo, Stanford, and Yale, and at the Indian Institute of Science. He has been a Fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, and also served as the Indo-American Community Chair Visiting Professor at the University of California at Berkeley.

After a peripatetic academic career, with five jobs in ten years on three continents, Guha settled down to become a full-time writer based in Bangalore. His books cover a wide range of themes, including a global history of environmentalism, a biography of an anthropologist-activist, a social history of Indian cricket, and a social history of Himalayan peasants.

Guha’s books and essays have been translated into more than twenty languages. The prizes they have won include the U.K. Cricket Society’s Literary Award and the Leopold-Hidy Prize of the American Society of Environmental History.

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Kali Srikanth

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July 21, 2016

"If you do not know where you come from, then you don't know where you are, and if you don't know where you are, then you don't know where you're going. And if you don't know where you're going, you're probably going wrong.

— Terry Pratchett"

India is world's largest but least likely democracy. But how it still survives?

To me, Indian history always meant what happened till 1947 (year of Independence) or perhaps my knowledge expands one little year further till Gandhiji's death. I was kept in the dark all these years about what happened once India gained its independence. Remember? none of our academic books mention what happened after India got its independence,either. But ironically that is the most crucial period of our country which tests our integrity, intelligence, power, responsibility and many more constitutional lessons to come. And this epic volume offers mountainous account of our pains (partition, Riots, assassinations of leaders), conflicts (never ending Kashmir problem, Nagaland 'land issues', trouble with tribal), humiliations (war with China), challenges (Constitution, New political parties, foreign policies, plans) and glories (inclusion of princely states, first general elections, wars with Pakistan etc.,) of our country.

Though this book attracted some criticism that author distorted some facts and truths in the wake of his unquestioning loyalty to the congress party which celebrates a rich legacy, I feel, at-least this book filled my huge knowledge gaps by relating me the events that occurred in 65 years after independence. I can decide later which point of view I shall consider things from. So no complaints there.

Finally, If You have time (remember it's 900 odd pages volume) and curiosity (Motivation is what gets you started, but habit is what gets you going) about the affairs of our country, it's a great book to own.

4.75/5 to this near perfect book. History never seemed this entertaining.

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April 4, 2012

Just before a 3 week trip to India, I asked an acquaintance for the best book to read to help me gain perspective on this incredible country. India after Ghandi was his instantaneous recommendation. This is the perfect travelling companion for anyone who wishes to understand this great country. India has 1.2 billion people, 22 official languages, a mixture of religions including the second largest Muslim population making up 20% of its society and yet is one of the most successful secular democracies in the world. It is a complex country and the book helps us understand that complexity. It is a tough read but a perfect foundation for anyone who wants to both experience India and try to understand it.

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Sidharth Vardhan

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November 19, 2016

“Indians are better speakers than listeners, and Indian politicians especially so.”

There probably never will be a completely satisfying book about India but this one really far exceeded what I could have expected. In here is no talk about the ‘Hindu way of life’ (thank you Naipaul) or other vague expressions and generalizations like that. There is, in fact, the very opposite, a great diversity of voices looking at the subjects from different perspectives.

At a few times, I didn’t agree with author’s conclusions (I think, for example, it was a wrong sort of politeness that made Nehru government to settle for less than a common civil code and exempt Muslims from marital and inheritance reform laws), but that is a matter of subjective judgement.

What is likable is that there are at least representations of different perspectives rather than just superlative judgements. For example, the author doesn’t find fault with one single party on issue of ’47 partition. According to him (and I agree), British government, INC and Muslim League all shared in fault. Similarly, the author is one of few Indians who have tried to see the merit in Pakistan’s claim over Kashmir; and Kashmir and Mizoram’s claim for freedom.

He is worshiping no idols either. What I feared was that he would present one or other icons in too good a light. While he has his favourites, here too he is willing to look at both sides of all the coins. M. K. Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, India (the country) - have all received both praises and criticism mostly where due. The author is not afraid of calling it a spade if he thinks it is a spade - even if it is a religious spade. And you know how big a deal that is in India.

What is more, I learnt about a lot of Wikipedia page deserving people who have been mostly forgotten by popular mind. (Come to think of it, I should have a Wikipedia page!.) A good portion also went to recording experiences of minorities, marginalized groups and refugees. Then there are many very touching as well as hilarious moments in it. It might sound like a oxymoron but it is an entertaining history book.

One thing that has been heavily criticised by author (and rightly so) is the idea of Hindu nationalism, but I think I shall repeat author’s argument of the concluding chapter on this point:

"India is merely a geographical expression. It is no more a single country than the Equator.”

-Winston Churchill

You know what is common between India and the world? They are both predicted to be about to be fallen apart every few years. Churchill’s accusation, though ignorant, is at least understandable – not so much from Nobel prizing winning historian, not so much from a politician who had fate of India in his hands for several years but still. Look at what Wiki uncle tells about ‘nation’:

“Nation (from Latin: natio, "people, tribe, kin, genus, class, flock") is a social concept with no uncontroversial definition, but that is most commonly used to designate larger groups or collectives of people with common characteristics attributed to them—including language, traditions, customs (mores), habits (habitus), and ethnicity.”

Now above mentioned concept of nation is rather common. England wants her immigrants to learn English, because, well you know, it is England. U, S. A. Is worried that immigrants aren’t leaving their cultures behind and melting away into melting pot. The famous two- nation theory, forwarded by both Hindu and Muslim right, which lead to the red partition was based on this definition.

But then how do you explain India?

What is that attribute common among Indians? Language - European Union has 28 countries and 24 official languages. India alone has 22 scheduled languages (among others). There is no one language spoken or understood throughout the country. There are no common traditions and customs either – we have scores of different religions, festivals, food items, dances etc making tradition in different parts. Ethnicity – We are screwed there as well with simply countless Ethnic groups. A last theory is common struggle against common enemy. British government quickly comes to mind but those now living in Pakistan were a part of this struggle too and still there was partition, while there were parts of (new) India that didn’t participate in struggle.

There are a few things that do come close – Indians are fairly united in their wars against outsiders but that is more because of national identity rather than cause of it. Same for sports (cricket obviously getting special mention). Another thing is we enjoy same entertainment (movies, singers etc.) – but that entertainment too is shared with Pakistanis. (Still it is good to see that author should talk about those things that make us at least more Indian than our politicians ever did.)

So it would appear India is an impossible nation. And still, it was exactly the country that so many of the freedom fighters fought for. Ever since, although Hindu nationalists have tried to force some sort of common tradition down Indian throats – cow-worship and Hindi language among others, their efforts have got no long term success, India remains; and remains impossibly despite huge differences on the basis of religion, region, language, caste, class, customs etc. Somehow like members of a joint family who might at times fight and threaten to but won’t part, people have learned to live together through a sense of mutual respect. And that might just be what Indian experience have for Euro-American world to learn from.

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April 5, 2019

Unfortunately the book is extremely underwhelming for those who have more than passing interest in political history of India. It is consistently biased in favor of a Nehruvian/Congress/Leftist-Marxist viewpoint. Guha's hero-worship of Nehru, a leader with many flaws, is also less than neutral. He also sweeps under the floor the history of corruption in India since independence. Mr. Guha is partial toward First Prime minister Mr. Nehru and never criticize him at any moment and more over this writer is trying to save Nehru from any such side. Nehru is venerated like a god by writer. You will find half of book dedicated to nehru and as a fan on Nehru writer give his super human abilities of solving everything.

All the events described will be in and around congress and its activists. I think historians shouldn’t do such kind of things. Glorification of INC is the main propaganda of this book and hence lacks a balanced view needed for any keen history student. They should describe the events in an unbiased manner and leave the opinion to readers. Instead, in the whole book you find the authors opinion on how congress struggle or manage India. Few great people are just mentioned by name in some incidences and not about their contribution. Even state parties also contributed towards India.

Since Mr Guha has dedicated a large chunk of the book to the political lives of Indira Gandhi and Nehru, I would've like to have been informed more of the implications of their policy decisions (he does touch on some) and also their failings -Nehru's in particular. Not saying that I think Nehru was a failure, but Id have liked to have heard a mock debate between the pro and anti Nehru factions as well as the pro and anti Gandhi factions. There was no defense of these giants of the country (which makes sense since there were no real criticisms presented in the book). Even if the author felt no criticism was warranted, he could have addressed the criticisms of other writers/ thinkers. This is the least he could have done for Nehru (who he obviously admires).

No time devoted to the financial world and the industrial world and the world of the Indian scams! Ambani the entrepreneur and rule-breaker, Harshad Mehta, the fodder scam etc barely get a mention!

No mention of indigenous Indian governmental scheme's for the various reforms. There are some big holes in the book. Even details on wars was not properly mentioned.

The chapters on PV Narasimha Rao, Vajpayee primarily deal with Secularism issues totally ignoring the strides India made in Economy, Foreign policy, Defense etc during their era. Millions of Indians including me owe our jobs to PVN's economic policies. If India has finally emerged as a force to reckon with, it is primarily due to the economic policies of PVN and Vajpayee governments. It is truly astonishing that the impact the new policies have had on lifting millions of Indians out of poverty over the last two decades is not given the importance it deserves in the book. Even foreign economists like Robert Shiller who called PVN India's Deng Xio Peng. The author buries the legacy of PVN and Vajpayee in the issue of secularism.

There are so many things to point out but i don't have that much time to mentioned all that here. These kind of books set bad precedent. Even you can see this book have high ratings.

As another reviewer has said, one should remind Guha the words of the great historian R C Majumdar, who reiterated that "The aim of history is to solely tell the truth, by conscientious finding it out without any respect for individual or communities". But 'India after Gandhi' is dishonest history: there is no objectivity and Guha seems more interested to propagandize his readers than to present a neutral book.

Read it to know one side of the coin. No one book or may be any at all will ever completely articulate the other side of the coin. Even an extremely biased and opinionated book like this cannot spin it well to lead the readers to the authors point of view.

Highly disappointed.

I don't want to recommend it.

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January 11, 2018

Speaking of India the nation state, one must insist that its future lies not in the hands of God but in the mundane works of men. So long as the constitution is not amended beyond recognition, so long as elections are held regularly and fairly and the ethos of secularism broadly prevails, so long as citizens can speak and write in the language of their choosing, so long as there is an integrated market and a moderately efficient civil service and army, and – lest I forget – so long as Hindi films are watched and their songs sung, India will survive.

Guha’s closing words

Acknowledgements/thanks

I first want to thank my many Indian friends who, actively or passively, have recommended this book to me. The first two wrote glowing reviews of the book, and all the others rated it highly.

Lit Bug; Sujeet; Riku Sayuj; Praj; Megha; Aniruddh; Sai Kishore; Dhandayutha; Sumirti Singaravel; Rohan; Santhosh. Thanks to you all!

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June 2015. I read the Prologue tonight, with increasing astonishment. What the author wrote about in the Prologue was the attitude that the West had about India's Independence: that they wouldn't be able to govern themselves, that there were too many divisions in the country, that it couldn't possibly survive as a single country (the diversities in the country - caste, class, religion, language - were so immense, people were writing (in the 40s and 50s and later) that it was less likely to survive than would be Europe if Europe became a single country). And on top of that it couldn't possibly survive, even in pieces, as a democratic nation or nations, because of it's incredible poverty.

So here we are six decades later (when the book was written), India still a single country, with democratic institutions, and yes still with a host of divisions and problems, but perhaps the single most astounding experiment in democracy that the world has seen.

As I read these fifteen pages it was as if blinders were falling off my eyes, I had never considered these things before. I was just overwhelmed by how this author, who writes extremely well, is setting out to make a narrative of the history of these years in India, to suggest what the underlying things were that made this so improbable thing come about. I suddenly understand that there is some sort of “miracle” involved in this country’s post-colonial history.

o o o o o o o

December 2016. And now, 18 months later, I’ve read the last word of this fascinating book. ”Eighteen months?”, you say. Well, I’ve struggled to read probably 60 other books during those eighteen months. But whenever I picked up his book to read another chapter or two, there was no struggle involved, rather pure pleasure.

And when finally done, having read the Acknowledgments, read (or scanned) every one of the hundreds of endnotes occupying over ninety pages (during the read), I thought this must be close to the best history book I’d ever read.

longer review

The book

PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS

Following the Table of Contents Guha presents a Cast of Principal Characters. The list:

I think these are the most significant

Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah (1905-1982), Kashmiri leader and politician.

B.R. Ambedkar (1892-1956), leader of the low castes and first law minister of independent India.

Morarji Desai (1896-1995), first non-Congress prime minister of India, 1977-1980.

Indira Gandhi (1917-1984), prime minister of India, 1966-1977, 1980-1984.

Monhandas K. Gandhi, also known has Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), commonly regarded as the Father of the Nation, no relation to Indira, Rajiv, or Sanjay Gandhi.

Rajiv Gandhi (1945-1991), prime minister of India, 1984-1989, son of Indira Gandhi.

Sanjay Gandhi (1946-1980), Congress party politician, son of Indira Gandhi.

Sonia Gandhi, (1946- ), Congress party politician, wife of Rajiv Gandhi.

M.S. Golwalker (1906-1973), leader of the Hindu radical organization the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh.

E.M.S. Namboodiripad (1909-1998), the first Communist chief minister of an Indian state (Kerala).

Jayaprakash Narayan (1902-1979), socialist and social worker (known as JP).

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), prime minister and foreign minister of India, 1947-1964, father of Indira Gandhi and grandfather of Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi.

Vallabhbhai Patel, (1875-1950), home minister and deputy prime minister of India, 1947-1950.

A.Z. Phizo (1913-1991), Naga separatist leader.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1878-1972), first Indian governor general, and founder of the free-market Swatantra party.

Lal Bahadur Shastri (1902-1966), prime minister of India, 1964-1966.

Atal Behari Vajpayee (1924- ), first non-Congress prime minister to complete a full term in office, 1998-2004.

ACRONYMS & NICKNAMES

Here’s a list of acronyms, in some cases nicknames, Guha sometimes uses, made by referencing the Index.

BAMCEF – All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation

BSP – Bahujan Samaj Party

BJP – Bharatiya Janata Party

CEC – chief election commissioner

CFD – Congress for Democracy

CBI – Central Bureau of Investigation

CPI – Communist Party of India

CPM – Communist Party of India (Marxist)

CRPF – Central Reserve Police Force

DDA – Delhi Development Organization

DMK – Dravida Munnatra Kazhagam (party in Madras)

IAS – Indian Administrative Service

IB – Intelligence Bureau

ICS – Indian Civil Service

ICSSR – Indian Council of Social Science Research

IFS – Indian Foreign Service

ISI – Indian Statistical Institute

IUML – Indian Union Muslim League

JKLF – Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front

JP – Jayaprakash Narayan (see Principle Characters)

KMPP – Kisan Majdoor Praja Party

LTEE – Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

MGR – M.G. Ramachandran (popular film hero & provincial leader in Madras)

MISA – Maintenance of Internal Security Act

MNF – Mizo National Front

NC – National Conference

NDA – National Democratic Alliance

NEFA – North-East Frontier Agency

NNC – Naga National Council

NTR – N.T. Rama Rao (film actor)

PAC – Provincial Armed Constabulary

PIL – public interest litigation

PWD – Public Works Department

RJD – Rashtriya Janata Dal (political party in Bihar)

RSS – Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Hindu group, antagonistic to other religions)

SCs – Scheduled Castes (officially designated, disadvantaged indigenous peoples, of Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist religions; earlier called Depressed Classes; eg Untouchables)

SNDP – Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (caste association in Kerala)

SP – Samajwadi Party

SVD – Samyukta Vidhayak Dal (United Legislators party)

TNV – Tripura National Volunteers

UF-LF – United Front-Left Front Party

VHP – Vishwa Hindu Parishad (Hindu World Council)

Reading hints

1) The term “communalism” is much used. For American readers, I believe a good equivalent would be “parochialism”.

2) Before reading a chapter, scan the end-notes for it. For those that look interesting, find them and circle them in the text. Then keep a second book mark back in the notes section.

3) There are two fine maps in the Epilogue, pp. 752 and 754.

SECTIONS

The first four parts of the book (the “history” so-called by Guha) have been placed here: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...

PART V : A HISTORY OF EVENTS

1982 – 2007

The author: “… the book now moves from “history” to what might be called “historically informed journalism. Part V deals with the events of the last two decades, that is, with processes still unfolding.” (p. 593)

Since these five chapters are organized as broad topics, with overlapping times, I’ll treat them all separately.

Rights

- Far from disappearing since Independence, caste continued to have a determining influence in (and on) Indian society.

- Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Castes – and the Backward Castes Commission (Mandal Commission)

- The Recommendations of the Mandal Commission, after court challenges, were finally implemented in 1990; because of the number of people affected, possibly one of the most influential reports ever commissioned by any government.

- Upsurge of the Dalits (the formerly “untouchable” castes) during the 1990s.

- Escalation of caste conflict.

- Caste conflicts in Bihar; frequent, bitter, bloody.

- Kashmir, the Valley, again erupting in 1989-1990; kidnappings, killings, many separatist groups active.

- Radicals in the Northeast as well; the secessionist United Liberation Front of Assam.

- The falling ratio of young girls to young boys in the years 1981-2001 and the “crisis of masculinity”.

- “In the 1990s, as before, a ve=ariety of right were being asserted by a variety of Indians… However, as before, while some conflicts were being expressed in more intense and vilent forms, other conflicts were being attenuated and even, at times, resolved.”

Riots

- “The language of the mob was only the language of public opinion cleansed of hypocrisy and restraint.” Hannah Arendt

- The campaign in Ayodyha; ultimately Hindu mobs attacking Muslim localities.

- 1991, assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

- In the general election of 1991, “Riots were being effectively translated into votes” by the BJP in four northern provinces which it now controlled.

- December 1992, Bombay, Hindu shops raided, BJP leaders burned in effigy. The violence waxed and waned.

- The big story of the 1990s was the rise of Hindu communalism. The BJP “came to define the political agenda in a way the Congress once did in the 1950s and 1960s.”

- In “desperation”, Congress called up Rajiv Gandhi’s widow Sonia, living in seclusion with her family in Delhi, to head the party. As president from 1998, she worked overtime to dispel the image of her party as “anti-Hindu”.

- in Kashmir, outnumbered Hindus began leaving, some to the Hindu-majority Jammu, others as far as Delhi or Bombay.

- OED: “pogrom” an organized massacre of a particular ethnic group. By this definition, only two pogroms in independent India: against the Sikhs in Delhi in 1984, and against the Muslims of south Gujarat in 2002.

- Rise of the Hindu right has brought gloomy forebodings about India’s future. But as of November 2007, dire predictions have not come to pass.

Rulers

- Fragmentation of the party system, the rise of coalition governments.

- In recent general elections the two major parties, Congress and BJP, have only got 50% of the vote. The rest has gone to Communist parties (West Bengal, Kerala) 8%; backward caste and Dalit parties (north India) 16%; and regionalist parties (southern and eastern India) 11%. STILL leaving 15% to be divided in tinier slices among other parties.

- 1984 to 1989, Rajiv Gandhi, as prime minister, had sought to create an all-India system of local self-governance. This attempt bore fruit after his death when Congress regained power at the Centre.

- 1993, the 73rd & 74th amendments to the constitution: local government institutions at the village, county, and district; and the same for towns and cities. Everywhere, one-third of the seats were reserved for women, with additional reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

- Through the 1990s, whether led by the BJP of the Congress, a convergence of views on foreign policy – enhanced military capabilities, and more assertive in general.

- March 1998. The National Democratic Alliance, led by the BJP, takes office. Atal Behari Vajpaye begins a six-year term as Prime Minister. In the second week of May India explodes five nuclear devices.

- 1999, the Kargil conflict begun by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir.

- Across India, this conflict ”unleashed a surge of patriotic sentiment… the Kargil war was cathartic for the men in uniform, and for their compatriots as a whole.”

- Despite sporadic acts of terrorism in Kashmir, the summer of 2003 saw tourists from other parts of India “flocking” to Kashmir for the first time in years; this because of the newly elected chief minister having stated, “this is the first time since 1953 that India has acquired legitimacy in the eyes of the [Kashmiri] people.”

- The current generation of Indian politicians are attracted to it by power and prestige, and the opportunities of financial reward.

- Thus corruption, criminalization, and nepotism now endemic in the political system.

- These traits not so evident in the Indian administrative and police services, nor are they in the judicial branch of government.

- Insofar as it holds regular elections, has multiple parties, and has a free press, India is emphatically a democracy. "But the nature of it has changed profoundly. It is now a populist rather than a constitutional democracy.”

Riches

- The Indian economy examined in some detail. Changes and growth in specific sectors, and specific areas of the country.

- In brief: The strategy of economic development followed in the 1950s was backed by a strong consensus. By contrast, the strategy adopted since the 1990s has been subject to searing critique within and outside the political system. The debate is conducted between two schools, the "reformists" and the "populists", the vigorous arguments conducted in the press, in Parliament, on television, and in the streets.

A People’s Entertainments

- The eternal fascination which motion pictures exerts on the Indian public.

- The Indian movie industry the largest in the world.

- The popularity of film songs, and the innovations in the accompanying music; fusion with all sorts of Western musical types and instruments.

- The “capacious cosmopolitanism” of the film industry: Parsi, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Christian exemplars in all aspects of film: producing, directing, acting, screenwriting, songwriting.

- The astonishing range of subjects addressed in the films of Satyajit Ray.

- Theater and theater groups; K.V. Subanna and Habib Tanvir.

- The classical music of the Hindustani and Carnatic styles. Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Kahn.

- Spectator sport. In achievement, India has excelled in billiards and field hockey; but in popularity football (soccer) and cricket dominate.

- The influence of radio and television in aiding many of these forms of entertainment. All India Radio.

Epilogue. Why India Survives

Just some quotes. It’s a great conclusion.

“In 1959, the Atlantic pitied India for being a democracy when it might be better off as a military dictatorship. In 1999, the Atlantic thought that democracy had been India’s saving grace.”

“… as surveys found, women increasingly exercised their choice independently - that is, regardless of their husband’s or father’s views.”

“India is perhaps the only large democracy in the world today where the turnout of the lower orders is well above that of the most privileged groups” (Yogenda Yadav)

“The history of independent India … has challenged ideas of nationalism emanating from the western experience… [for example] the Indian nation does not privilege a single language or religious faith … From its inception the Indian National Congress was a political Noah’s ark that sought to bring every species of Indian on board.”

“On the paper money … the denomination is printed in words in Hindi and English (the two official languages), and also, in smaller type, in all the other languages of the Indian Union. In this manner, seventeen different scripts are represented. Each language, and each script, represents a distinct culture and regional ethos, here nesting more or less comfortably with the idea of India as a whole”

“It is in the nature of democracies, perhaps, that while visionaries are sometimes necessary to make them, once made they can be managed by mediocrities.”

“The key men in British India were the members of the Indian Civil Service (ICS)… In the first, difficult years of Indian freedom, the ICS men vindicated Vallabhbhai Patel’s trust in them. They helped integrate the princely states, resettle the refugees, and plan and oversee the first general election.”

“If India is roughly 50% democratic, it is approximately 80% united.”

“[India] has sustained a diversity of religions and languages – precisely what Howard, Huntingdon, and some others deem inimical to national survival and national solidarity. India has resisted pressures to go in the other direction, to follow Israel and Pakistan by favoring citizens who adhere to a certain faith or speak a particular language.”

“As a modern nation, India is simply sui generis. It stands on its own, different and distinct from alternative political models such as Anglo-Saxon liberalism, French republicanism, atheistic communism, and Islamic theocracy.”

The author

Ramachandra Guha (1958- ) is an Indian historian and writer whose research interests include environmental, social, political and cricket history. For the year 2011–2012, he held a visiting position at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

He was appointed to BCCI's panel of administrators by the Supreme Court of India on 30 January 2017.

Guha was born at Dehra Dun, Uttar Pradesh. He graduated from St. Stephen's College, Delhi with a Bachelor's in Economics in 1977 and completed his Master's in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics.

Between 1985 and 2000, he taught at UC-Berkeley, Yale, Stanford, the University of Oslo University, and the Indian Institute of Science.

Guha then moved to Bangalore, and began writing full-time. He served as Sundaraja Visiting Professor in the Humanities at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, in 2003.

Guha, not yet sixty, continues writing, books, articles, tweets – you name it. His web site is http://ramachandraguha.in/ - an interesting site where articles and essays by Guha are posted in five categories: History, Politics and current affairs, Biography, Culture, and “Longer essays”. Recent posts are mostly from The Telegraph and the Hindustan Times. The longer essays appear to come from a variety of sources, such as The Hindu, the New Republic, and Economic and Political Weekly. The site has archives going back to 2002, and a search engine.

From what I’ve read in this book and on his web site, Guha, though certainly a realist, exudes optimism about India. He loves the country, has claimed, very possibly correctly, that it’s the “most interesting” country in the world, and seems enthusiastically surprised and genuinely proud that India since Independence has time and again proved the Western doomsayers wrong about the impossibility of India’s continuous march down the path they chose decades ago: of being a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious (though sectarian), and multi-linguistic state – the world’s largest democracy.

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Brian Griffith

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February 12, 2021

This tome runs over 800 pages, and almost every page is interesting. I enjoyed all of it. It's such an important part of recent world history, and Guha provides an excellent basic education on the major developments. I was especially fascinated with Guha's clear, honest, and compassionate explanations of the ongoing tensions between secular respect for the rights of all religious communities and the demands to make India a Hindu state (or as Nehru described it, a "Hindu Pakistan"). Also, Guha shows how India's accommodation of regional autonomy for diverse language groups has generated increased national unity, which stands in contrast to the experience of other nations that imposed only one official language, such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the former U.S.S.R.

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January 20, 2022

We Indians mostly read history, reluctantly though, only in school. After that, the next dose of history comes from media in the form of debates and analysis. "Reading History" as an hobby comes to negligible percentage of people. This is mainly because of the aversion we develop during our history classes in school, courtesy the insipid and tedious nature of the school curriculum focusing on 'when and what' rather than 'why and how'.

When I was in school, in the mid-90s, our history lesson on India ended with British leaving our country. What happened after that was never mentioned or discussed. So I was completely ignorant of the names like "Sheikh Abdullah", "Jai Prakash Narayan" or events of 'emergency' and 'Operation Blue Star' or the wars India fought with her neighbours. So there has been a huge gap of almost 50 years in my knowledge about my own country from the time of independence to the time when I started reading newspapers zealously.

This book fills that void.

Having read this mammoth of book on the political history of post-independent India, I find myself much more informed about the present state of country than before. So, as far as knowledge on India is concerned, there is now two Mes. Me before "India after Gandhi" and Me after "India after Gandhi"

This book recounts the events in the post-Independent India till the late 80s in chronological fashion as those unfold in a completely unbiased or un-opinionated tone, making it read like a political thriller than a scholarly work on History. The only other history book that had such pacy readability was "Freedom at Midnight".

After the 80s the remaining events of the last three decades have taken shapes of essays or as the author calls those 'historically informed journalism'. The author believes that thirty-years is probably the right amount of time to pass before concluding any event to be an historical account.

This book should be a mandatory reading in our high-school curriculum, if India is serious about building an informed generation to take her forward.

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May 17, 2019

Even the persons who are giving five stars to this book are not missing an opportunity to call the author a Congress party loyal and he distorted some facts to pay the homage to Congress party. That is enough for even an ordinary citizen to think about his writings. These kinds of writers only show their loyalty to a certain group rather than doing any great work.

The book has done nothing more than creating the image of Gandhi family as larger than life. The author like Ramchandra Guha tries to establish his hegemony over Indian history. What he is saying that is right and what others are saying is absolutely wrong.

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