| Title | : | Makers of Modern India |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0674052463 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780674052468 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 560 |
| Publication | : | First published October 25, 2010 |
Makers of Modern India Reviews
-
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.
After such bold claims, I was disappointed to find that the book is in fact an anthology of Indian political writing. I strongly feel a commentary would have been better to meet the professed aims of the book and could have been made more impact-full with short relevant extracts
The questionable set chosen as “Makers of Modern India” include nineteen famous and not-so-famous names:
Rammohan Roy (Part I); Syed Ahmad Khan, Jotirao Phule, Tarabai Shinde, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Part II); M.K. Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, B.R. Ambedkar, M.A. Jinnah, E.V. Ramaswami and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (Part III); Jawaharlal Nehru, M.S. Golwalkar, C. Rajagopalachari, Rammanohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan and Verrier Elwin (Part IV); and Hamid Dalwai (Part V).
As a contemporary alternative to
Argumentative Indian, I am not sure it succeeds - except by showing that a connected tradition built on boldness, challenge, contest and contrast existed in the vast correspondences that contemporary Indian thinkers were capable of producing. Guha illustrates this in a way by showing a connected series of thoughts evolving by bouncing around between the set of characters above, original thoughts arising and then being furiously debated and progressing in dramatic point-counter-point fashion (mostly Gandhian ideas of course, but still...) towards action and sometimes even more dramatic reaction in the crucible of Indian Democracy.
The essentially disputatious nature of this tradition is manifest throughout this book. The pity is that very little of this intellectual ‘tradition’ was meant for mass consumption or was based on a focused and sustained attempt at analyzing and evolving systems of thought but seem to be individual contributions to individual problems - a method that has always plagued Indian political thought and has probably resulted in the poverty of thought post-independence.
That sort of integration is probably what is needed before India can submit the results of her social and democratic experiment to the world and from it evolve a new conception of democracy relevant to a more diverse world than that existed when democracy was originally conceived. Guha has taken a first step in this direction and I sincerely hope a more synthetic attempt will follow one day. -
This book is an anthology of the writings of some of the eminent personalities, mostly political leaders and social reformers, of pre-independent and post-independent India. These writings (presented in the form of excerpts in the book) show the cognizance of India’s most prolific thinkers and doers. Their ideas are a blend of substance and style, which had helped in the shaping of our republic. The precision of the arguments that they made shows the coherence of their thinking. It gives the reader not just a comprehensive idea of how the country has evolved but also speaks volumes about the concerns of the present. Many of their ideas remain relevant in present-day India.
The writings of these thinkers or/and activists show their multi-faceted persona and acquaints the reader to read directly - not just the ideas of the acclaimed stalwarts of modern India, but also the ideas of some of the obscure, yet discerning minds of India whose contributions in shaping India are immense.
All in all, these writings are bound to touch a chord with their readers and refine their thought processes.
5/5 -
I could understand the disappointment of some reviewers here for this book.
Most enthusiasts of modern Indian history, had picked this book after reading the brilliant "India after Gandhi" by Ram Chandra Guha, expecting this to be similar in treatment to the works and contributions of the makers of modern India. However, the book turned out to be an anthology of writings of some of the eminent personalities, mostly social reformers and political leaders, of pre- and post independent India.
Secondly, how modern is modern? The book picks up the personalities whose contribution to India society and polity could be dated to the ninteenth and first two-thirds of twentieth century. None of the makers were alive in my lifetime.
Thirdly, there could be always a disagreement of who should be included and who could be excluded in the list. Omissions of the obvious names like Bose and Patel in the political field, Vivekananda and Ghosh in the spiritual field, Vinoba in social reform filed, could raise eyebrows. The author has two arguments though - first, since it is an anthology of writings of these makers of India, so activists who had limited writings are excluded; second, as he said in one of the TV interviews, the title of the book is "Makers of Modern India" and not "The Makers of Modern India", hence to avoid any kind of controversies.
In my opinion, had the book been titled "From the pens of some of the socio-political Movers and Shakers of Pre and Post-Independent India", then the readers wouldn't have been much disappointed. (It is a different thing that no one would have picked up this book with such a weird title, but you got my point)
Having said that, I think this is a brilliant collection of thoughts and writings by some of the finest minds of India whose contributions in shaping India are immense.
Prior to this book, I had read the writings of the usual suspects : the most famous, deservedly so, Indian - Gandhi, the erudite visionary prime-minister - Nehru, the saviour of the caste-victims - Ambedkar, and the poet-saint - Tagore.
Nonetheless, the selection of writings by the editor is brilliant to bring out the multi-faceted persona of these amazing thinkers.
With this book I got acquainted with some who I have read about in history books, but never got an opportunity to read their ideas directly, the likes of : the social reformer - Rammohun Roy, the fire-brand freedom fighter - Tilak, the not so fire-brand freedom fighter - Gokhale, the Gandhian liberal - Rajagopalchari, the muslim separatist - Jinnah, the hindu supremacist- Golwalkar and the socialists JP and Lohia.
Also, I got to know the ideas of some of the names I heard for the first time like the agrarian radical - Jotirao Phule, the feminists - Tarabai Shinde and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, the tribal defender- Verrier Elwin and last but not the least - the Muslim secularist - Hamid Dalwai.
This book is definitely going to act as a future reference material for the argumentative Indian in me. -
"I have long believed India to be the most interesting country in the world. This is the impartial judgement of a historian, not the partisan claim of a citizen. India may also be the most exasperating and the most hierarchical and the most degrading country in the world. But whatever qualifier or adjective one uses or prefers, it remains the most interesting, too." truer words couldn't have been said!
I rather liked the fact that it was an anthology of works by the *makers* of modern India. I had been wanting to read a short compilation like this one for quite some time. sure, I wish there were a few other additions, and from other fields too, but the ones that are included are most definitely readworthy. not that I agree with all of the ideas expressed, but the writings and speeches tell you why these people are revered or criticised or idolised so much. plus the prologue and intros are exactly what you might expect of Guha: brilliant. AND I am ashamed to say I hadn't heard of people like Verrier Elwin and Tarabai Shinde (don't agree with all that she said, still, she questioned stuff back in the 19th century!) So, mighty good that I got to read this book! -
Historian, author and columnist Ramchandra Guha’s recently published book, Makers of Modern India is a sincere effort at profiling some of India’s most prolific thinkers and doers, whose ideas have had a defining influence in the shaping of our republic. The book – through speeches, articles and essays by these great personalities – tracks Indian’s political, social and cultural history over the last two centuries, giving the reader a comprehensive idea of how the country has come to evolve.
In a detailed introduction, Guha talks about how political activism has mostly gone hand in hand with theoretical reflection in our country, and most of its greatest thinkers have all been in the thick of political action. This is of course not unique to India. But one of the reasons that makes the compilation of such a book a worthwhile exercise is because many of those ideas remain relevant to present day India, says Guha.
Among the 19 individuals chosen by the author, there are the obvious names of course. But on first glance, there are several others who seem to be missing from the list. In the introduction, the author explains his choices clearly. Two iconic leaders of Indian national struggle, Vallabhhai Patel and Subhash Chandra Bose are not included, and Guha says this was owning to the paucity of original ideas contained in their published works and because both were ‘out and out doers’. The others missing are either because their ‘influenced has passed’ with age or because their ideas didn’t extend far beyond a certain class. The Indian Marxist finds no representation and Guha explains why -- their work has been derivative and no novel contributions have been made to the ideas of Mao and Lenin.
The rest is at
http://sandyi.blogspot.com/2010/12/au... -
1/5 stars
The problem with this book wasn’t the quality, it was the info-dumping. There should have been some warning on this book that you need to have an in-depth understanding of Indian history before delving into the inspirational makers. Not to mention the biographies of each person was very short and stunted. Instead of the author taking time to explain the person, we are given what feels like a rushed wiki-page, followed by a block of their essays translated into English. So, along with knowing about the history of India, you also need to know about the actual people being discussed.
Maybe it’s just me. I am more of a literature fanatic. So, if this was a book about Indian authors and it followed the same style, I think I would have been okay with the info-dumping. But something about this felt like it was a history book written for people who already know the history. I just got bored and annoyed at constantly having to look things up. At that point, I might as well just look up the people themselves.
Still, if you enjoy Indian history or know about it, this book would be good for you. If you admire some of these makers, then you would enjoy this as you would be able to read their essays. -
This book is an excellent introduction to modern Indian intellectual history through the writings of nineteen thinker-activists who have shaped the idea of India over the past nearly 150 years. Carefully chosen excerpts from their most important and insightful writings are preceded by thoughtfully written introductions situating each individual in his or her social, political, and intellectual contexts. These writers are further divided into five chronologically arranged sections, with each section again preceded by a nuanced introduction.
The prologue highlights the uniqueness of this intellectual tradition and makes a cogent case for why studying it is important for understanding the problems and prospects of mankind in the twenty-first century world at large. In this regard, Guha points out that these individuals lived through and shaped the five great transformations that have occurred simultaneously in India—the national, democratic, industrial, urban, and social revolutions. It also lays out the criteria for selecting these individuals from a galaxy of Indian luminaries.
Section 1 focuses on the polyglot and polymath Raja Rammohan Roy, India’s first liberal thinker. The writings include his attack on Sati and the existing patriarchal society, and his defense of women against charges of their being physically, mentally, and morally inferior to men. Another excerpt is from a memorial addressed to the Bengal government pleading for press freedom and unbanning native publications deemed seditious. The last excerpt is from a letter to William Pitt pleading for the introduction of modern education in India rather than a Sanskrit school, which would only “load the minds of youth with grammatical niceties and metaphysical distinctions of little or no practicable use.”
Section 2, “Rebels and Reformers,” begins with the Muslim modernist Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and his testimony before the Hunter Commission, wherein he made a case “for impressing upon the Muhammad-ans the advantages accruing from English education.” Like Roy earlier, he wanted the curriculum to include history, political economy, and natural philosophy. Also included are his writings on Hindu-Muslim relations, in which he likened the two communities to two lustrous eyes of a beautiful bride, and on the new Indian National Congress, which he opposed given its domination by the Hindu Bengali intelligentsia.
The militant nationalist Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s “Need for a National Hero” is excerpted, in which he justifies the cult of Shivaji for his courage [End Page 430] in fighting against misrule. Tilak also defends it against the charge of being anti-Muslim. A second excerpt details his critique of moderate politics practiced by the likes of G. K. Gokhale, the next reformer selected by Guha. Gokhale’s thoughtful critique of caste Hindu treatment of the depressed classes is presented as also his dismissal of the equation of the caste system with the European class system. As he argues, while in Britain Mr. Chamberlain could rise to a high station in life despite his humble origins as a shoemaker’s son, no shoemaker’s son could aspire for a similarly high position in India. In the next excerpt, Gokhale advises the Hindu community to share a greater responsibility for Hindu-Muslim unity since they had an advantage over other communities in terms of their numbers and education. At the same time though, he opposed special status to Muslims on the grounds that they were the rulers of India before the advent of British rule.
The remaining thinker activists in this section include two subalterns. Jotirao Phule’s tracts assailing Brahmin exploitation of the laboring classes and peasants, Brahmin monopoly over education, and jobs in government are reproduced in sharp translations from Marathi. Also underlined is Phule’s demand for a new educational system free from Brahmin control that would teach agriculture, morality, technical knowledge, and sanitation, in addition to other subjects. Tarabai Shinde’s fifty-two-page book, published in Pune in 1882, calling for equality between men and women is excerpted for its sharp critique of existing gender stereotypes in Hindu society. -
The book "Makers of Modern India" by "Ramachandra Guha" gives you first-row seat of the India in making through the thoughts and ideologies of such varied personalities. Irrespective of the fact whether they are remembered today or not, it can't be denied that they contributed most of the bricks that laid the foundation of our nation. India which still remains the greatest experiment in democracy ever.
The book has a slow start and I was only left wondering why did I picked it. But, it gradually gathers pace and towards the last is just unputdownable. Some of the readers may disagree with the author's chosen selection of the personalities included in the book but then author does gives a satisfying explanation in the first few pages for he has chiefly included those whose voice or ink produced reflections that are relevant even today.
The book introduces to range of myriad figures which includes
Raja Rammohan Roy, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Jyotirao Phule, Tarabai Shinde, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, B.R. Ambedkar, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, E.V. Ramaswami, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, M.S. Golwalkar, C. Rajagopalachari, Rammanohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan, Verrier Elwin and Hamid Dalwai. Out of these I was really impressed with C. Rajagopalachari(Rajaji) of whom I regret to have read so little.
The thing I liked most about the book is that it focuses on the thoughts of these thinkers instead of their lives themselves in their own voice. By this way, writer and historian Mr. Guha achieves his purpose of highlighting India's experiment and making it central to various global debates. Kudos to him for such a brave attempt but a lot lefts to be desired specially the focus on individual thinking over the collective one.
I recommend it to anyone who is curious about our nation and it's radical architects. The book may disappoint for in the end one may feel that so little has been included but then may be there lies its strength for it will left you hungry and yearning for more. -
A classic collection of essays and speeches of 19 brilliant thinkers of India. With the wealth of such writing available, I still wonder how come we still teach our children the mundane history script. Why not allow them to read what the Mahatma or Nehru themselves had to say. Let the children form their own opinion about these great people.
I cannot think of one modern day politician who can write and articulate as well as these great men did. Fact was that all were voracious readers and of course had travelled around the world which gave them fodder for their thoughts.
Finally I would like to quote what Mr Guha says towards the end of the book. 16 of the 19 thinkers represented in the book speak directly to the concerns of the present. This goes to show how change in our country has just been more cosmetic in nature while the core issues still remain unaddressed.
A must read book for all who want to understand what the idea of India is all about -
I did not expect that this book will be only a collection of writings penned by the makers of modern India, with very short introductions to each maker. But this aspect gives the book its charm, it gives you the opportunity to read the [translated] original works of the people most influential in shaping the destiny of India. Almost all the articles selected in this book are still relevant in today's Indian society and democracy to a large extent.
-
The author has made a list of personalities who have played an important role in the building of the ideas on which our nation is built. The author has selected 2-3 ( more in case of people like Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru) pieces of writing which gives us an insight into the thoughts of each maker.
What I missed is an in-depth treatment of each maker. My expectation from the author is very high and definitely a more analytical treatment would have made me happier. -
The only reason I gave 4 instead of 5 stars is because the essays can seem dry at times. And also a bit overbearing if you’re an overthinker trying to analyze and compare and contrast. Would be 5/5 if this was published in two volumes instead of one :)
-
തങ്ങളുടെ വ്യക്തിമുദ്രകള് പതിപ്പിച്ച നായകന്മാരുടെ ചിന്തകളും ജീവിതവുമാണ് ഈ പുസ്തകത്തിൽ കാണാൻ കഴിയുക. മഹാത്മഗാന്ധി, ജവഹര്ലാല് നെഹ്റു, ബി.ആര്. അംബേദ്കര് തുടങ്ങിയ മഹാന്മാരെയും താരതമ്യേന അപ്രശസ്തരായി ചരിത്രത്തിന് ഇരുളില് മറഞ്ഞുപോയ പല വിശിഷ്ട വ്യക്തിത്വങ്ങളെയും അവരുടെ ആശയങ്ങളെയും പരിചയപ്പെടാനുള്ള അവസരം ഈ പുസ്തകം നല്കുന്നു. കൂടാതെ ജാതി, മതം, സാമ്പത്തികം, ദേശീയത, ലിംഗസമത്വം തുടങ്ങി ഇന്നും നമ്മുടെ സമൂഹത്തെ പിടിച്ചുലയ്ക്കുന്ന വിഷയങ്ങളുടെ പ്രഭവസ്ഥാനങ്ങളെയും ഇതിൽ അടയാളപ്പെടുത്തുന്നു.
-
The set of personalities selected are interesting, however I think that a bit more representation should have been given to the south. My favourite out of this list is Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay.
-
A collection of essays by nineteen Indians, who in Guha's opinion had interesting things to say. Any attempt to summarise Gandhi or Ambedkar into a few twenty pages is always destined to fall short, so the book only acts as a primer to those ideas. Someone who has already read the original texts of those authors wouldn't find those parts very useful.
Consequently, my favourite Maker turned out to be the least known - Hamid "Muslim Nehru" Dalwai. In Dalwai's insistence on embracing self-willed modernity (or Laïcité secularism, if you'd like), he may just have done something Nehru, Gandhi and Syed Ahmad Khan failed to do: find a solution to Hindu-Muslim tensions.
Having said that, I wonder what Dalwai would've thought of a Hindu Right government (Dalwai died the same year the first non-Congress government came into power). For example, would he still have stuck with his preference for a Uniform Civil Code? Such questions come to my mind. -
A classic book by Ramchandra Guha
--------------------------------------------------------------------
This book is basically a biography (or biographies) of some great historical personalities of their times,some of whom we know through our history books and some are very unknown names which makes the book more interesting.
The book included these famous People -
*Rammohan roy
*Syed ahmad khan
*Jotirao Phule
*Gopal Krishna Gokhale
*Bal Gangadhar Tilak
*Tarabai shinde
*M.K gandhi
*Rabindranath Tagore
*B.R ambedkar
*muhammad ali Jinnah
*E.V ramaswami
*Kamala Devi chattopadhyay
*J.L Nehru
*M.S golwalkar
*Rammanohar Lohia
*Jayaprakash Narayan
*C.rajagopalachari
*Vernier Elwin
*Hamid dalwai
The language of the book is not that hard .
The author has done a tremendous job by remaining unbiased and sticking to facts.
One thing which is missing in this wonderful book is the absence of photographs of these personalities.
This book should be read and digest by every indian.
I hope u like the review, thanks for reading, Jai hind.
For more information You can visit-
https://dontbignorant.in/ -
Was particularly impressed with Dr.Ambedkar on untouchability.
It amazed me to see how relevant (or prophetic) Rajaji's thoughts were on Indian democracy. On elections, on leftist economics of Congress, on lack of internal democracy, on need of a balanced opposition party. Unfortunately most of these are still true after 50 years. It was also interesting to read the first manifesto of the Swatantra party.
But the best thing was reading the relatively unknown Hamid Dalwai who to my mind is the first public intellectual with whom i thoroughly agree in his definition of secularism wrt India. Not apologetic (unlike the editor), no victimisation, not regressive; Maybe due to my narrow-mindedness i did not expect someone from his community to speak such frankly.
Notable by their absence were SC Bose (armed struggle) ,Sardar Patel (esp. post-independence) and Swami Vivekananda. For Swamiji, the excuse was that Gandhiji's views on religion were sufficient. Well in that case Mr.Guha we could have had just Mr.Gandhi and Mr.Jinnah, why bother with such a compilation. -
The problem with Guha is that he tries to justifies his history and makes it a point again and again that his history is objective. Guha picks up 21 thinkers of modern India and tries to avoid any criticism by adding a disclaimer that he might have missed few deserving ones. Some of the thinkers, without disregarding their contributions, find a place in the book because Guha thinks so; and just to remind you he is objective with his writing :). The author always positions himself as a leftist intellectual (a lofty one at that) who despises Hindu nationalists. Therefore he has the choicest of words for them. So a certain Tilak becomes a Militant Nationalist. This book also being an anthology of work by others does not have a clear premise. Roughly less than ten percent of the book is written by the author and in that the author fails to create a clear narrative.
PS: The sections on Verrier Elwin and Tarabai Shinde were enlightening. -
The book written by Ram Chandra Guha are always detailed and covers the details which have been missed by other political writers, which he mentioned in his books candidly.
It contained the political work done by various personalities in the British India and Independent India. It tells how the former made the foundation for new India. The Gandhi of course shadows other leaders because of his political, spiritual thinking.
The chapter I like the most is one on Tarabhai Shinde, born in Marathi family and tells assertively what she thinks of men and women relationship. Why women are suppressed? The exploitation by men fro money making, violation of religion by them.
The book tells the important leaders of India b analyzing their political career and writing, who made the India modern. -
Ramachandra Guha compiles a very apt list of Modern India makers. Filled with simple descriptions and some welcoming facts.
-
As the author says, Indian political thought has much to offer to the world. People read western political history but Indian political thought & history is much more important and relevant today because the Indian journey is unique...apart from its size and diversity, India is underwent / is undergoing FIVE transformations simultaneously- urban revolution, the industrial revolution, the national revolution, the democratic revolution and the social revolution.
Thus book that brings together thoughts of nineteen leaders , men and women , who were both thinkers and doers who shaped these transformations.
The book presents excerpts from their speeches and writings and these leaders spanned the entire political spectrum- Left, Right and Centre. The list includes several very well known and also not very well known personalities- Tilak, Gokhale, Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar, Syed Ahamed Khan, Golwalkar, Jaiprakash Narayan, Rajagopalachari, Raja Rammohan Roy, Hamid Dalwai, Rammaohar Lohia, JotiRao Phule, EV Ramaswami, Tarabai Shinde, Tagore, Verrier Elwin, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and Jinnah.
It is a great pleasure and education to read these erudite, committed and passionate people who lived for a cause they believed in. They challenge one another, argue & debate.
Truly it is amazing that such a large, diverse country with deep class and caste divisions such as ours has not only survived as a Democracy but has progressed on Equality, Justice & Opportunity for all (though we are still short of the ideal) .
It is only due to people such as these leaders & others like them who were deep thinkers on the problems, challenges & dangers of various paths to be taken post independence. There are many lessons there for the leaders and citizens of today as we aspire to become the ideal Nation State. -
I found the book to be a very interesting read in its depiction of the thoughts and ideas of some of the prominent and obscure individuals who are part of the Indian spirit. Mr. Guha has selected writings that talk plenty about the various social and political aspects of a developing India. These makers of modern India, as he calls them have very distinct and sometimes conflicting opinions, which is very refreshing to read. This style allows the reader to gain a more wholesome view of the opinions of these stalwarts.
Personally, I really could relive the relevance of these writings in modern times. There are occasions where the writings did not live up to the modern expectations of a growing society, but I am glad Mr. Guha included such writings as well. This has helped enrich the level of conversation and ideas shared in the book.
Another aspect that I found very helpful was that it introduced me to new thinkers and their approach to understanding and developing Indian society.
Coming to the criticisms, I don't think I have reached the capability of judging which individuals should be included or excluded. I think that will require a deep dive into the individual lives of all the names included in the book and many more. On top of that, the selection of articles and speeches Mr. Guha has included is as he sees fit. I personally found them to be very invigorating and thoughtful. But I am sure many will raise criticisms on the representation of the individuals.
As always with books of this kind, it is important to find multiple sources and read the book with an open mind.
But setting aside, the usual disclaimer the book is a very good starting point into the lives of these individuals. I personally think that I would come back to this book again to revisit some of the thoughts of the makers of modern India. -
A really nice collection of thoughts and essays of a pantheon of great Indian thinkers in the 19th and 2oth Century. The thing which I liked the most about the book is how the author has included the thoughts of political adversaries in subsequent chapters and have tried to be completely impartial. This is a true sign of a historian who presents the facts to the audience as it is without bringing his subjectivity into the matter and let the readers decide which point of view they agree with or not. In my opinion, Ramachandra Guha possess all the necessary qualities of a great historian.
Its hard to tell with which of these 19 thinkers, I agree the most. I guess I liked some points and disliked some other points which they make. I guess that's what was the intention of the author to write this book: to let the readers choose what they like about the great men here and avoid getting blinded by the charisma of the thinker himself. To that intention, author has done complete justice.
I would love to read another such anthology of some of the thinkers which the author has skipped in the current volume. -
நான் எப்போதும் சொல்வது தான். இந்த தேசம் ஒரு ஆளால் ஒரே நாளில் உருவானதல்ல. ரூபாய் தாளில் பதினேழு மொழிகளை கொண்டுள்ள ஒரு நாடு அத்தனை வேற்றுமைகளையும் மீறி அறுபது ஆண்டு காலம் ஜனநாயக பற்றுள்ள அரசியலமைப்பை பின்பற்றுவது சாதாரண விசயமில்லை. இந்த தேசத்தையும் அதன் மக்களையும் பண்படுத்தியதில் முக்கியமானவர்களை பட்டியலிட்டுள்ளார் ராமச்சந்திர குஹா.
நேரு, அம்பேத்கர், ஜே.பியின் கட்டுரைகள் எனக்கு பிடித்திருந்தது. வழக்கம் போல் பெரியாரின் கட்டுரைகள் G.O.A.T. நான் பெரிதாக அட்மைர் செய்யாத ராஜாஜி எதிர்க்கட்சியின் அவசியத்தையும், நாட்டின் பன்முக கலாச்சாரத்தையும் உணர்ந்தவர் என்பதே எனக்கு ஆச்சரியம் தான். ராமச்சந்திர குஹா இது அவரின் பட்டியல் எனவும் நாம் அவற்றுடன் முரண்படலாம் என்றும் போட்டிருக்கிறார். ஆனால் எவ்வளவு யோசித்தாலும் கோல்வால்க்கரை ஒரு வரலாற்றாசிரியர் சிற்பி என்பதை எப்படி புரிந்து கொள்வது? அவரின் கட்டுரைகளும் கூட அப்பட்டமான வலதுசாரி வெறுப்பை வெளிப்படுத்துவதாகத்தான் இருக்கிறது.
மொழிபெயர்ப்பில் தாழ்ந்த சாதி என்ற பதத்தை தவிர்த்திருக்கவேண்டும். மற்றபடி நான் அவசியம் பரிந்துரைக்கும் புத்தகம் இது. -
This book is a precious curated collection of personal writings by a select group of visionary Indians from the 19th & 20th century who played an active part in trying to shape modern India through their politics and activism. The thoughts presented by each is well articulated and refreshingly original pertinent to our current times whether it be in the area of electoral framework, empowerment of women, modernizing Islam, plurality of the state in terms of language, caste system and religion or even recognizing and respecting the ancient tribal heritage in parts of India. It’s a pity very few lived to see and contribute enough during the early decades of independent India which led to an unchallenged dynastic rule for nearly half a century. It’s also a pity that our national history has done little justice to recognize and highlight the tremendous contribution of these visionaries... highly recommended for anyone interested in history of modern India...
-
The book has five parts, namely: 'The Opening of the Indian Mind', 'Reformers and Radicals', 'Nurturing A Nation', 'Debating Democracy', and 'A Tradition Reaffirmed'.
Guha segments nineteen historically important people into twenty one titles in these parts. As the headers outrightly suggest, the author has brought into light various aspects that shaped India's thought process.
The book covers analysis of the studies by these makers, related to, or about cultural and ethnic diversity, democracy, nationalism, economy, secularism, and colonialism.
It's kind of a repository of the impact of ideas that these 'makers' put forth during the important evolutionary years of India. It also has excerpts from writings and speeches that were written and delivered during their lifetimes. -
For me this book was an exhilarating experience. Reading excerpts from famous speeches or essays on ideologies and beliefs of key leaders who shaped the history of modern India was just fabulous. The thoughts expressed are still relevant to a great extent and it's pity that we no more have such leaders amongst us. It's a pity that our generation have no opportunity to get exposed to such a rich and inspiring leadership. It's a pity that we have such less regard and take things for granted, which were precious to our earlier generations.
-
This book introduces you to the most influential ideas of the modern India as their proponents had put them. From Ram Mohan Roy to Hamid Dalwai, its a nice book to start the adventure of exploring these ideas and the problems that they seek to solve.
I was actually unaware of some of the people featured in the book like Kamla devi Chattopadhyay and Hamid Dalwai, but all the speeches & writings of these people have it a compelling read.
But, it's only a preliminary book and coukd prove beneficial for those who are only starting the studies of Indian political thought. It has certainly inspired me to read further the works of the maker of modern India.
