Short Takes
Schools for thought
Randeep Wadehra

Madrasas in India
ed by Akhtarul Wasey. Global Media Publications. Pages 123. Rs 300

Madrasas are in the eye of a rather high-pressure international controversy. Ever since the flames of terrorism began to singe light-skinned denizens of the Bush-Blair territory, these quaint educational institutions are being damned as nurseries of terror. Understandable, that. There’re, however, any number of scholars who’re prepared to swear that madrasas are being deliberately demonised without any evidence against them. This book takes a clinical look at them – tinged with occasional apology and polemics – and concludes that these Islamic schools need to be modernised. Truly, one needs to upgrade knowledge periodically in order to keep one’s mindset in consonance with the contemporary world. You’ll find the level of scholarship in this book quite impressive. Thought-provoking stuff.

Freedom Struggle in East Punjab States
by Chander Shekhar Azad
Azad Publications, Ludhiana. Pages 233. Rs 200.

Just when you thought that everything, but everything, has been written on our freedom struggle, a fresh tome hits the market. This me-too literature has become a genre in itself. Azad tells us about that aspect of India’s freedom struggle wherein common people had to struggle against both the British and the then princely states. Though the narrative is confined to events in the then East Punjab, you’ll find the contents quite interesting – if you’ve not read about them elsewhere, that is. However, since the author himself was a freedom fighter, and an eyewitness to most of the events mentioned here, you might like to have this book for reference purposes.

Reflections of India
by Jagman Singh. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co (Pvt) Ltd. Pages xi+612.
Price not mentioned.

This book is so huge and heavy that one is tempted to get one’s wrists insured before venturing to go through its contents. Soon, you realise that insurance of wrists alone won’t suffice. The book begins with history of the "Institution of Engineers", wherein there’s less of history and more of eulogy of persons in power. Before long, you find such figures as Alexander the Great and President Abdul Kalam strolling through the tome’s pages. Before you realise it, you are transported to assorted tourist spots. Mixing of genre is an art. Singh has done his best to mix travelogue with history, current affairs and eulogistic literature.

HOME