The Idea of India

Jan 14, 2025 5:18 AM

Author:Sunil Khilnani

The Idea of India

THE IDEA OF INDIA was originally published to mark the 50th anniversary of India's independence and has since established itself as a uniquely valuable and authoritative book on a key subject. At the heart of India's self-image since independence has been 'the idea of India' - modern, technocratic, egalitarian, secular - but the tensions between the idea and the reality have become almost intolerable. With the legacy of Nehru and Gandhi everywhere under attack and ferociously religious and militant politicians in power has the idea of India lost all meaning?

Reviews

There are times when all the reviewer needs to write is "Read it, love it!"

—— Arnold Wesker , Guardian

Marvellous...riveting...it hits you with a shock of recognition

—— Libby Purves , Midweek

A complex and compelling evocation of a vanished world

—— Observer

A lovingly detailed verbal map... This is vivid and highly scrupulous autobiographical reportage

—— Financial Times

Next volume, please

—— Sunday Times

Exemplary in its restraint, scrupulousness and empathy, it is also beautifully written

—— Roy Foster, Books of the Year , Times Literary Supplement

'A sad but spellbinding story, told with artistic tact and a humane concern for all caught up in the terrible event. The Burning of Bridget Cleary draws on oral tradition, reportage, popular culture and high literature to show how the past may persist in the present

—— Declan Kiberd

The story of the killing of Bridget Cleary is so brilliantly researched and narrated that it becomes a parable of the cultural and political relationship between Ireland and Britain at the end of the last century... A classic account

—— Seamus Deane

'The subhead - "a true tale of love, murder and survival in the Amazon" - sets the mood for this adventure and Whitaker delivers in spades. The publishers could have added "intrigue, heartache and girl power in 18th century Peru" and still undersold the story...there has to be a movie in it!'

—— WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

'Riveting...This is really two books in one, suited for fans of Dava Sobel's bestseller Longitude who also appreciate a dash of romance and suspense in their historical scientific fare'

—— ATLANTA JOURNAL

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