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Idea of Islam
Himmat Singh Gill
Moderate or Militant: Images of India’s Muslims
by Mushirul Hasan. Oxford University Press.
Pages 252. Rs 495.
EVER since Independence, India’s
Muslims or the Muslim Indians, as some prefer to call them, have been
the subject matter of many studies and government-appointed committees
dealing with minority rights.
Slice of modern life
Ramesh Luthra
Zanibar Bed and Other Stories
by Rajeshwar Singal. Shilpayan Books, Delhi.
Pages 248. Rs 300.
this
bouquet of short stories is Rajeshwar Singal’s maiden contribution to this genre. A true-to-life and pithy picture of society is presented before us. The stories have been written with a purpose undoubtedly. “Betrayal is a part of normal human
behaviour,” the author remarks in Forword. This forms the recurring theme of the stories herein. Instead of an imaginative world, he offers a slice of life, a down-to-earth scenario in which the reader involves himself unknowingly.
A hymn for humanity
Amar Nath Wadehra
Sukhmani Sahib
by Sri Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606). Presentation by Syed Afzal Haider.
Izharsons, Lahore, Pakistan.
Pages: 320. Rs 1,200.
IN every community, scriptures play a vital, multifaceted role. They act as guiding lights for smooth functioning of a society, facilitate spiritual discipline and elevation, and become sources of equipoise during crises. Even if one is not a practicing theist, prayers help one acquire self-confidence while facing vagaries of life. Sukhmani Sahib is such a font of spiritual, moral and psychological strength.
Travails and tribulations
Harbir K. Singh
The Mahanadi Dreams
by Subhakanta Behera.
Indialog Publications, New Delhi.
Pages 214. Rs 225.
this
is the story of Arun who leaves his cushy job to live with his parents in Cuttak in Orissa to do something for his people. After spending almost 10 years in different cities in India, he took such a bold decision because he was emotionally attached to the city of his birth.
Dynamics of globalisation
Santosh Kr. Singh
Globalization, Governance Reforms and Development
in India
Ed. Kameshwar Chaudhary. Sage, New Delhi. Pages 552. Rs 1,100
Globalisation
is the buzzword of the 21st century. The amount of literature, studies and writings that has been produced in the preceding decade and a half from almost all possible corridors of knowledge on this theme is simply phenomenal. It primarily arrived as an economic process of social change attempting to merge the national economies with the larger international economic concerns and constraints.
How India lost 1857
Shyam Chand
Rebel Sikhs in 1857
Pages 119
Shamsul
Islam, a teacher of Political Science
(DU), has taken upon himself the task of testing unfamiliar waters, best left alone by his peers in the faculty of history. As usual, his painstaking research has produced one of the finest masterpieces of investigative journalism which provides many missing links in the history of India’s First War of Independence.
-
Letters of Spies and Delhi was Lost
Pages 128
-
Jeewan Lal: Traitor of Mutiny
Pages 117. By Shamsul Islam, Vani Prakashan, Delhi. Rs 95 each.
back of the book
Voice of dissent
The Starkness Of It
by Ashok Mitra. Lotus/Roli. Pages 350. Rs 295
The
eminent
economist and political activist Ashok Mitra has straddled several
careers. He also happens to be an essayist in English as well as
Bengali, and has received the Sahitya Akademi award for contributions to
Bengali literature.
Not a happy homecoming
Two new books talk of the experience of displacement for indentured workers of Indian origin who went to the West Indies, reports
Shubha Singh
Over
a million Indians went as indentured workers to the British colonies to work on the sugar plantations in the first organised migration from India. There is a popular belief that the Indian workers did not return to India. But many of them did return, though it was not a happy homecoming for most of them. Two recent publications: The First Crossing and Finding the West Indies in India relate the instance of one such group of returnees.
Shakespeare’s secret is a bestseller
Ever since
Dan Brown wrote The Da Vinci Code, blending the world of Renaissance art
with a fast-paced murder mystery, countless authors have So when a
first-time author added her work to the mountain of historical thrillers
without the help of an advertising campaign or a recommendation by
Channel 4's Richard and Judy book club, few would have predicted
outstanding sales figures.
Books
received: english
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