India after Gandhi

893 pages

English language

Published 2007 by Ecco.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-019881-7
OCLC Number:: 76961156

Born in privation and civil war, divided by caste, class, language and religion, independent India emerged, somehow, as a united and democratic country. This remarkable book tells the full story--the pain and the struggle, the humiliations and the glories--of the world's largest and least likely democracy. Social historian Guha writes of the protests and conflicts that have peppered the history of free India, but also of the factors and processes that have kept the country together (and kept it democratic), defying numerous prophets of doom who believed that it would break up or come under autocratic rule. This story of modern India is peopled with extraordinary characters: Guha gives fresh insights on the lives and public careers of the long-serving prime ministers, but also writes with feeling and sensitivity about the major provincial leaders and other lesser known (though not necessarily less important) Indians--peasants, tribals, women, workers and musicians.--From publisher …

Born in privation and civil war, divided by caste, class, language and religion, independent India emerged, somehow, as a united and democratic country. This remarkable book tells the full story--the pain and the struggle, the humiliations and the glories--of the world's largest and least likely democracy. Social historian Guha writes of the protests and conflicts that have peppered the history of free India, but also of the factors and processes that have kept the country together (and kept it democratic), defying numerous prophets of doom who believed that it would break up or come under autocratic rule. This story of modern India is peopled with extraordinary characters: Guha gives fresh insights on the lives and public careers of the long-serving prime ministers, but also writes with feeling and sensitivity about the major provincial leaders and other lesser known (though not necessarily less important) Indians--peasants, tribals, women, workers and musicians.--From publisher description.

6 editions

Ben Waber reviewed India After Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha

An Amazing Page-Turner

5 stars

This is an incredible history (FYI I read the updated version published in 2019), with Guha setting the stage around India's independence and partition, then combining a wide variety of perspectives to study India in the decades since independence. Important historical figures and organizations are examined to reveal their role in shaping different policies and events, while more macro statistics and perspectives are brought in to give a sense of the effects of these policies and changes in regions over time. Guha repeatedly hammers home just how audacious the democratic experiment in India is when compared with other countries, notably the US, and even with the recent rise of authoritarianism there refers back to other dark periods post-independence where a descent into fascism was predicted but never realized. Reading this book gives one profound hope about the future of what will arguably be the world's most important country moving forward …

This is an incredible history (FYI I read the updated version published in 2019), with Guha setting the stage around India's independence and partition, then combining a wide variety of perspectives to study India in the decades since independence. Important historical figures and organizations are examined to reveal their role in shaping different policies and events, while more macro statistics and perspectives are brought in to give a sense of the effects of these policies and changes in regions over time. Guha repeatedly hammers home just how audacious the democratic experiment in India is when compared with other countries, notably the US, and even with the recent rise of authoritarianism there refers back to other dark periods post-independence where a descent into fascism was predicted but never realized. Reading this book gives one profound hope about the future of what will arguably be the world's most important country moving forward and a deeper understanding of the chaotic decades immediately following independence and its emergence as a major global power. Highly recommend

Ben Waber

rated it

November 23

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