Language: EnglishPages: 566About the BookIndia is the only civilization to elevate kama-desire and pleasure-to a goal of life. Kama is both cosmic and human energy, animating life and holding it in place. Gurcharan Das weaves a compelling narrative soaked in philosophical, historical and literary ideas in the third volume of his trilogy on life's goals: India Unbound, the first, was on artha, 'material well-being'; 7he Difficulty of Being Good, the second, was on dharma, 'moral well-being'. Here, in his magnificent prose, Das examines how to cherish desire in order to live a rich, flourishing life, arguing that if dharma is a duty to another, kama is a duty to oneself.This fascinating account of love and desire sheds new light on love, marriage, family, adultery and jealousy. Are the erotic and the ascetic two aspects of our same human nature? What is the relationship between romantic love and bhakti, the love of god? How do we prepare for the day when desire disappears and turns bitter?Gurcharan Das shows us that kama is a product of culture and its history is the struggle between kama pessimists and optimists. The yogis and renouncers regarded kama as an enemy of their spiritual project. Opposed to them were those who brought forth Sanskrit love poetry and the Kamasutra. In the clash between the two emerged the Kama realists, who offered a compromise in the dharma texts by confining sex to marriage. Ultimately, this ground-breaking narrative leaves us with puzzles and enigmas that reveal the riddle of kama.About the AuthorGURCHARN DAS is a renowned author, commentator and public intellectual. He is the author of two bestsellers, India Unbound and The Difficulty of Being Good, volumes one and two of a trilogy o

Kama

Politics & Social Sciences

Gurcharan, Das

Philosophy

India Allen Lane

Exploring the lives of two remarkable women who chose to enter a field of activity which, in the middle of the 19th century, was seen a male domain, this book brings to light how unusual circumstances catapulted Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh and Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi into the rebellion of 1857. Both of them sacrificed their lives trying to overthrow the British rule, which they considered to be alien and oppressive. Their resistance and their deaths are heroic and poignant. The book captures the different trajectories of their lives and their struggles.

Begum and A Rani: Hazrat Mahal and Lakshmibai in 1857

Biographies & Memoirs

Mukherjee, Rudrangshu

Community & Culture

This landmark volume, edited and introduced by Anand Teltumbde and Suraj Yengde, establishes B.R. Ambedkar as the most powerful advocate of equality and fraternity in modern India. While the vibrant Dalit movement recognizes Ambedkar as an agent for social change, the intellectual class has celebrated him as the key architect of the Indian Constitution and the political establishment has sought to limit his concerns to the question of reservations. This remarkable volume seeks to unpack the radical in Ambedkar's legacy by examining his life work from hitherto unexplored perspectives. Although revered by millions today primarily as a Dalit icon, Ambedkar was a serious scholar of India's history, society and foreign policy. He was also among the first dedicated human rights lawyers, as well as a journalist and a statesman. Critically evaluating his thought and work, the essays in this book-by Jean Drèze, Partha Chatterjee, Sukhadeo Thorat, Manu Bhagavan, Anupama Rao and other internationally renowned names-discuss Ambedkar's theory on minority rights, the consequences of the mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism, Dalit oppression in the context of racism and anti-Semitism, and the value of his thought for Marxism and feminism, among other global concerns. An extraordinary collection of immense breadth and scholarship that challenges the popular understanding of Ambedkar, The Radical in Ambedkar is essential reading for all those who wish to imagine a new future.

Radical in Ambedkar

History

Teltumbde, Anand

Asia

Since the time he left his coastal town of Mangalore and came to Bombay (now, Mumbai), more than seven decades ago, George Fernandes's was a life lived with passion, but more importantly, of struggle against all odds. From those early years of fighting for the rights of dock and municipal workers of Bombay to this last decade as a bed-ridden, afflicted with Alzheimer's, but keenly watchful of his own slow bodily degeneration, his fights were always persistent and single-handed. Chronicling the story of George, who rose from the streets of Bombay to straddle the power corridor, The Life and Times of George Fernandes: Many Peaks of a Political Life opens a window to the life of George Fernandes and traces the course of the Socialist Party in India from its inception in 1930s to its dissolution into the Janata Party in the late nineteen-seventies. With nineteen-eighty as the dividing line, the book explores India's post-independence politics. It focuses particularly on a trail of opposition parties that worked to displace the long-ruling Congress Party from its preeminent position. Thought provoking, comprehensive and absolutely unputdownable, this first definitive biography of George Fernandes is a tour de force.

The Life and Times of George Fernandes: Many Peaks of a Political Life

Ramagundam, Rahul

Historical

As a $3-trillion economy, India is on her way to becoming an economic superpower. Between 1991 and 2011, the period of our best growth, there was also a substantial decline in the number of people below the poverty line. Since 2011, however, there has been a marked retreat in the high growth performance of the previous two decades. What happened to the promise? Where have we faltered? How do we change course? How do we overcome the ever-present dangers of the middle-income trap, and get rich before we grow old? And one question above all else: What do we need to do to make our tryst with destiny? As professional economists as well as former civil servants, Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah have spent most of their lives thinking about and working on these questions. The result: In Service of the Republic, a meticulously researched work that stands at the intersection of economics, political philosophy and public administration. This highly readable book lays out the art and the science of the policymaking that we need, from the high ideas to the gritty practicalities that go into building the Republic.

In Service of the Republic

Business & Money

Kelkar, Vijay L.

Economics

About the Author\nSundar,Nandini (External Editor) 
Nandini Sundar is professor of sociology at the Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University. Her recent publications include The Burning Forest: India's War against Maoists (2019) and several edited volumes including The Scheduled Tribes and their India (2016) and Civil Wars in South Asia: State, Sovereignty, Development (2014).\nSrinath Raghavan (External Editor) 
Srinath Raghavan is professor of international relations and history at Ashoka University. He is the author of several books, including The Most Dangerous Place: A History of the United States in South Asia (Penguin Random House India, 2018).\nIn a long and versatile career spanning thirty-five years, Ramachandra Guha has produced a vast body of work. Each time, he has broken new ground-his pioneering environmental histories of India and his still-relevant work on ecology and equity; his social histories of Indian cricket; his monumental history of the Indian republic; his biographies of Verrier Elwin and Gandhi; his anthologies of ecological, social and political thought in India; and his collections of biographical and political essays.\nSparked by Guha's wide-ranging and important work, A Functioning Anarchy is a collection of essays by historians, social scientists, ecologists and journalists.

Functioning Anarchy?

Literature & Fiction

Sundar, Nandini

Essays & Correspondence

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib was born in Agra in the closing years of the eighteenth century. A precocious child, he began composing verses at an early age and gained recognition while he was still very young. He wrote in both Urdu and Persian and was also a great prose stylist. He was a careful, even strict, editor of his work who took to publishing long before his peers. His predilection for writing difficult, obscure poetry peppered with complex metaphors produced a unique commentarial tradition that did not extend beyond his work. Commentaries on his current Urdu divan have produced a field of critical writing that eventually lead to the crafting of a critical lens with which to view the classical ghazal. The nineteenth century was the height of European colonialism. British colonialism in India produced definitive changes in the ways literature was produced, circulated and consumed. Ghalib responded to the cultural challenge with a far-sightedness that was commendable. His imagination sought engagement with a wider community of readers. His deliberate switch to composing in Persian shows that he wanted his works to reach beyond political boundaries and linguistic barriers. Ghalib's poetic trajectory begins from Urdu, then moves to composing almost entirely in Persian and finally swings back to Urdu. It is nearly as complex as his poetry. However, his poetic output in Persian is far more than what he wrote in Urdu. More important is that he gave precedence to Persian over Urdu. Ghalib's voice presents us with a double bind, a linguistic paradox. Exploring his life, works, and philosophy, this authoritative critical biography of Ghalib opens a window to many shades of India and the subcontinent's cultural and literary tradition.

Ghalib: A Wilderness at My Doorstep: A Critical Biography

Farooqi, Mehr Afshan

Arts & Literature

A dissenting judgment, as ordinarily understood, is a judgment or an opinion of a judge, sitting as part of a larger bench, who 'dissents' (i.e. disagrees) with the opinion or judgment of the majority. Dissenting judgments or opinions appear in different ways. Tracing, exploring and analysing all dissenting judgments in the history of the Supreme Court of India, from the beginning till date, Rohinton Fali Nariman brings to light the cases, which created a deep impact in India's legal history. From the famous&nbsp;Bengal Immunity Co. Ltd. v. State of Bihar in 1955&nbsp;to&nbsp;Bhagwandas Goverdhandas Kedia v. Girdharilal Pashottamdas and Co. in 1966, State of Bombay v. The United Motors (India) Ltd in 1953,&nbsp;Superintendent & Legal Remembrancer, State of West Bengal v. Corporation of Calcutta in 1967,&nbsp;Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association v. Union of India in 1993, Mafatlal Industries v. Union of India in 1997&nbsp;and&nbsp;Pradeep Kumar Biswas v. Indian Institute of Chemical Biology in 2002,&nbsp;Keshava Madhava Menon v. State of Bombay in 1951,&nbsp;United Commercial Bank Ltd. v. Workmen and Ram Singh v. The State of Delhi&nbsp;in the same year and&nbsp;Union of India v. West Coast Paper Mills Ltd. in 2004&nbsp;among others, this two-volume definitive work is a thorough examination of the important dissenting judgments of the Supreme Court of India, and of some of the Judges of the Supreme Court who have gone down as 'Great Dissenters', for having written dissents of legal and constitutional importance, some of which have gone on to be recognised as correct position of the law. Comprehensive, definitive and authoritative, this is a must a must have for legal scholars and practitioners. Besides, the book will greatly interest policy makers as well as anyone, interested in India's legal history.

Discordant Notes, Volume 1: The Voice of Dissent in the Last Court of Last Resort

Nariman, Rohinton Fali

Rules & Procedures

Discordant Notes, Volume 2: The Voice of Dissent in the Last Court of Last Resort

Explaining Life through Evolution

The story of four billion years of life on Earth.\nLooking forward to a book that explains life? Well, here it is! Explaining Life Through Evolution opens a window to the four billion year history of the millions of species we see on this planet. This book does not simply narrate the story of evolution: it brings to light who we are and where we came from. As humans we often focus on identifying our differences, no matter how small; Prosanta Chakrabarty demystifies our perceived differences and emphasizes our similarities. As more and more people take ancestry tests, sending their DNA samples and money to genealogy testing centres, we need to be educated on what the results actually mean scientifically, and we all have to decide together what it means socially. He thinks we should be celebrating the fact that our diversity comes from the same little drops of water and sunlight, each of us just shining a little differently as seen through the prism of evolution.\nProsanta encourages us to think of life as being like a book, one that is always in the making. What we see living around us today are just the last few pages. If we look out on to the millions of species that we share this planet with we can trace their histories, and ours, back through nearly four billion years of evolution. We can also think of all the living things around as the young leaves on an ancient and gigantic 'Tree of Life,' all of us connected by invisible branches not just to each other, but to our extinct relatives and our evolutionary ancestors.\nEvocative, comprehensive, and thought-provoking, this is a book which will compel you to reimagine life.

Explaining Life Through Evolution

Chakrabarty, Prosanta

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