Remaking India

(Source: The Times Of India Delhi; Date: Oct 17, 2010)

63 Years After Independence, Historian Ramachandra Guha Reflects On The 19 Men And Women Who Made India A Unique Experiment In History.

To make the Indian experience more central to global debates is one aim of this book. Another, and perhaps greater aim, is to make Indians more aware of the richness and relevance of their modern political tradition. Unfortunately, the works presented in these pages remain far less known than we might suppose.  Read More...

Ramachandra Guha | I chose people who were both thinkers and doers

(Source: www.livemint.com; Date: Oct 25, 2010)

Guha says Makers of Modern India, a compilation of the writings of 19 Indians who he feels had a pivotal role in the shaping of modern India, is a book of conversation and argument.

I chose people who were active in politics and social reform, but at the same time left behind a significant corpus of writing. That is to say, those who were both thinkers and doers. Which is why, for example, Sardar Patel is not in the list—he didn’t leave behind books or essays of any substance or depth. Nor did I want pure writers. So, they had to bridge the barrier between thought and action. Then, they had to speak to their time as well as ours.  Read More...