Amit Shah and the March of BJP

The story of Amit Shah’s political life, struggles, rise and triumph is little known. For a leader who is often referred to as the Chanakya of Indian politics, who has dominated India’s fast-paced and complex political stage since 2014, has altered its electoral map by leading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to successive historic victories post the May 2014 general elections, there is very little that is recorded or narrated. So, it’s no surprise that the curiosity he evokes is ever on the rise.

Most of what is written about Amit Shah is based on conjectures, hearsay, assumptions and biases. The real Amit Shah-the once booth-worker and now national president of the largest political party in the world, the master strategist who has pushed the BJP to an organisational pinnacle and yet talks of scaling peaks, a man who is unhesitant in his stand on nationalism and on anything which concerns India’s national interest-has remained in the shadows, self-effaced, away from the limelight. The story of how he expanded the BJP into a pan-India party and the convergence of organisational science and ideology that has made the BJP a unique and formidable political entity is a story that needs to be told. The book narrates the personal and political journey of Amit Shah, captures the ideological world that shaped him and gives an account of the party that he is leading and shaping today. It is for the first time that his story is being told-an authentic, no-holds-barred portrayal of one of the most influential leaders of our times. To the political worker, the observer and to anyone even remotely interested in Indian politics, irrespective of their profession or political leaning, especially since the unfolding of Indian politics in the summer of 2014, this is a captivating exploration of the political life and journey of one of its central characters. View Now

Making of New India: Transformation Under Modi Government

The year 2022 marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of India’s independence. By then, Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisions transforming India into a New India—a strong, secure and prosperous nation where everyone has access to opportunities of development. The scale of this vision is certainly unprecedented, considering the nation’s status as a democracy with 1.3 billion people, of contrasting social and economic backgrounds. With four years gone and four more to go, we are almost mid-way into this journey which started with the swearing in of the Modi government in 2014. It is now an opportune time to reflect on the impact of various initiatives and reforms implemented by the government thus far. Are these reforms on course to achieve their objectives? How have people benefited from them? How are things changing on ground? Is there a legacy being created that could prove to be a road map for other developing countries facing similar challenges? This book, with contributions by some of the top global experts, attempts to answer such fundamental questions. With fifty-one essays—from economy to diplomacy, ideology to security and education to public health—providing detailed analytical assessments of select reform initiatives of the Modi government, this book presents a comprehensive view on the multidimensional efforts being invested into transforming India. A valuable collection, not just for the practitioners and students of economic and public policy as also diplomacy, the book will educate and enlighten anyone who is a stakeholder in this journey towards New India.

View Now

India @ 70, Modi @ 3.5: Capturing India’s Transformation Under Narendra Modi

Transformation of a nation—that too, with the size and complexity of India—won’t happen in months. At the same time, if it took decades, it won’t be called transformation any more. So is India really in the middle of a transformation under the Modi government? Are we seeing history in the making without fully realising it? The best way to answer these questions would be to capture the story of India’s development since 2014 with the backdrop of its progress as an independent nation. This book brings together acclaimed economists, scholars, diplomats and strategicians who dispassionately analyse India’s growth story under the Modi Sarkar. Be it plugging massive public spending leaks through the astute cashless transaction stratagem or touching the lives of millions of women through Ujjwala—the cooking gas revolution; be it the campaign to clean India, creating 100 smart cities or the focus on renewable energy and making India a responsible global leader, what stands out in the analysis is that the Prime Minister leads from the front, retains a grip on the performance parameters with processes like Pragati and believes in people participation—an inherent ingredient of the Reform, Perform and Transform theme that is close to his heart. This deeply analytical and evocative book captures the incremental changes combined with a sense of inherent hope and optimism that India is witnessing today—an essential reading to understand the working of the Modi government and the nation’s unique growth story under it.

View Now

Syama Prasad Mookerjee: His Vision of Education

Syama Prasad Mookerjee was an academician, administrator and educational thinker, as may be discerned from his life-long engagement with education and discourses on education that he delivered on various occasions in the last two decades of his life in particular. Ironically, his contribution to domains beyond politics remains unacknowledged and a serious and vigorous consideration of his educational views and vision….

View Now

The Modi Doctrine: New Paradigms in India’s Foreign Policy

States today are far more engaged in diplomacy than ever before, actively building relations with other states to harness their mutual commercial and cultural strengths. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s outlook to global affairs is no different, yet there is a nuanced approach in linking India’s foreign policy to domestic transformation. While on the one hand, his policies seek to attract foreign capital, technology …

View Now

Redefining Governance

The last one year has witnessed a sea change in india’s polity. performance, accountability and delivery has been the mantra for the narendra modi government and on every occasion it has emphasized and worked basing itself on these defining pillars of governance. ‘redefining governance: essays on one year….

View Now

Debating Culture

Barring the political agenda, the vital forces associated with India’s nationalist movement were moral, literary and artistic. Many cultural protagonists were vocal in saying that the regeneration of our society could happen through the revival of our arts and culture, not by politics and economics alone….

View Now

The Truth About Teesta Setalvad

This booklet exposes the activities of one who has been conferred the fourth highest civilian honour of the Republic of India, the Padma Shree, by the UPA Government for contribution in the field of ‘public affairs’. This booklet looks at how this Padma Shree recipient, Teesta Setalvad, instead of working for the honour and well-being of the Republic, seems to have worked to subvert the laws of the land and to have ….

View Now

Education: Philosophy and Practice

The anthology Education: Philosophy and Practice, an academic initiative of the Centre for Sri Aurobindo Studies, Jadavpur University, elaborates and analyses various strands of Sri Aurobindo’s thoughts on education. Sri Aurobindo divorced from history (especially from the very political atmosphere of the period….

View Now

SYAMA PRASAD MOOKERJEE : HIS DEATH IN DETENTION

When it appeared in 1953, Uma Prasad’s book on Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s detention and death in Kashmir created a wave of indignation. It reproduced documents connected to Dr. Mookerjee’s arrest and death and gave a gripping account of the manner in which he was arrested, detained and allowed to die. Dr. Mookerjee’s mother Jogmaya Debi’s letter to Nehru, pleading for an enquiry, Nehru’s refusal to order it, Sheikh Abdullah’s obfuscations, all of these find place in this book. Why was Dr. Mookerjee allowed to enter Jammu and Kashmir and then arrested? Why were high doses of a particular injection, to which he was allergic, administered to him? How did his diary disappear—are among the many questions that this book raises and attempts to answer. Above all it gives the readers an idea of how obstinate, self-obsessed, arrogant and scheming a man was Jawaharlal Nehru, who, as it comes across in this book, was not only economical with the truth but had literally pushed Dr. Mookerjee to his end. A must read for all those who wish to understand the truth behind the sudden end of a momentous and promising life.

View Now

DATTOPANT THENGADI The Activist Parliamentarian Hardcover – 2

The dimension of dattopant thengadi, founder of the largest trade Union movement in India, that has been brought out in this volume is his role as an activist parliamentarian through his debates in the Raja Sabha for two terms from 1964 to 1976. What stands out from the extracts of his speeches in Parliament are his meticulous presentation of facts, highly referenced Propositions and dignified response to counter viewpoints. His intense intellectuals and his diverse fields of knowledge are manifest in the range of subjects thengadi handled, each an area of specialisation for an expert. This volume is a lesson for young and elder parliamentarians of today on how to be an efficient, a competent and an elegant parliamentarian. To those interested in post-Independence India’s political evolution, this volume provides a window through thengadi’s political activism in his two terms in Parliament which spanned some of the most momentous developments in India’s political history after independence.

View Now