|
Shoddy proofreading (barely as ‘bairly’
on p.327; back as ‘beck’ on p.233; "…is there is
(sic) anything…" on p.198; there as ‘their’ on p.166
etc), inelegant phrases (wolf in a pack of hyenas…p.166;
furious food for thought p.108; …that divides the sun from
freakish stars…p.90; pale wan face…p.69; a wealth of
unhappiness…p.64; etc), and a jerky narrative peppered with
professorial pontifications can be daunting. A racy style would
have been far more apt.
However, after the
first fifty pages the narrative picks up.
***
India Under
Strain
by Dr. T.H. Chowdary, CTMS,
Secunderabad. Pages: xxii + 328.
Price: Rs. 100
 The country’s
independence generated in the common Indian’s heart great
expectations of a life free from want, violence and vicissitudes
that a slave nation suffers. Dubbed as a basket case by the
global community, we have made impressive progress since. But
problems remain. Chowdary gives a brief historical background to
our socio-cultural complexities that challenge the ruling
establishment’s administrative acumen to the hilt. Even the
political spectrum poses problems. Nani Palkhiwala often said,
"It requires superhuman power to keep India poor." But
the author suspects our Communists of plotting to weaken and
even break up India.
He blames Nehru
for the Kashmir problem as well as for the border problems with
China, among other things. The Nehru government committed many
mistakes – several of them have proved costly to the nation.
But Nehru also provided emotional integration to the disparate
subcultures within the country. He gave us the vision of a
technologically advanced India – peace-loving yet strong;
egalitarian yet prosperous; a leader of the Third World with all
the salient traits of a world power.
There are many
interesting chapters on the Muslim ‘problem’, the Nehruvian
legacy etc. The chapter, "Who created Pakistan?" is
quite interesting. He quotes several Muslim authors to argue
that the Hindu Right had no role in the country’s partition.
The Muslims were primarily responsible for the deed. This is
rather hard to accept. He does not give much credibility to the
secular school of Indian history and is deeply suspicious of
communists. I’m sure our Leftist intellectuals would like to
go through this book.
***
 ‘Hindutva’
Demystified
by Virendra Prakash, Virgo
Publications, New Delhi. Pages: 187.
Price: Rs. 295/-.
Hindutva hasn’t
been merely the flavor of drawing room exchanges but political
and social scientists now look upon it as a part of the global,
especially European, shift towards the Right. This book appears
to be a reaction to the Godhra / Gujarat carnage. Even though
the emotional content is rather high, the author makes a
pertinent point – Hindutva and Hinduism are two separate
concepts. Politicians are trying to fuse the two to serve their
own ends.
***
Dr. Ambedkar
& Social Justice
by M.G. Chitkara, APH, New
Delhi. Pages: xxxiv + 259. Price: Rs. 495/-.
This book is one
more addition to the ever-growing corpus on this amazing man of
his times who overcame all social handicaps and became a major
player on the Indian socio-political stage. He has left a
lasting influence on our thought processes. Chitkara tells us
his life story. The book has such irrelevant cliches like
"Love thy neighbor… It is easier to love the whole of
humanity than to love one’s neighbor…" Ouch!
|
HERE
is a thriller that has all the ingredients of a
bestseller----political intrigue, suspense, murder and a dash
of star-crossed love. Erudite minds have speculated about the
country’s destiny in case the well-kept secret of Jinnah’s
fatal disease had been revealed before Partition. Sabnis
assumes that in such an eventuality, Pakistan would never have
been born. Thus, a united and powerful India would have
entered the new millennium. In the novel, India becomes
independent as a single entity comprising the present Pakistan
and Bangladesh.
