India has been fortunate in the abundance of thinkers who wrote
extensively, and often evocatively, on the fundamental issues raised by the task of
forging a modern nation from a severely fragmented and backward colony. Guha
presents well-chosen excerpts, expertly contextualized by insightful introductions,
from the writings and speeches of nineteen such thinker-activists who reflected,
often in conflict with each other, on the critical dilemmas of their time:
colonialism, religion, language, caste and Untouchability, the status of women,
grass-roots governance, electoral systems, regional discord and India’s engagement
with the world… Makers of Modern India is not meant to be
closed-ended, but it effectively brings together the great arguers, fiercely
independent in thought and action, from whose disputatious but educated debate
emerged the political traditions and compromises that underpin India’s complex
reality.
-- Navtej Sarna Times Literary
Supplement
Readers in the west will find some
familiar personalities here, including Gandhi himself, Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s
secular and liberal-minded first prime minister, and Rabindranath Tagore, the
Bengali poet and Nobel laureate. But they will also encounter much less well-known
and equally distinguished figures, such as BR Ambedkar, the articulate spokesman of
formerly untouchable Hindus, or Dalits, and the main architect of India’s
extraordinary constitution that in 1949 bestowed equal rights upon all its citizens.
As an anthology of Indian political debates, Makers of Modern
India makes for instructive reading.
-- Pankaj Mishra Financial
Times
Guha’s prose is compelling. He has collected
the writings and speeches of a range of influential personalities in the struggle to
free India from its colonial yoke and set it on a new path as a modern nation. His
introductory remarks are short, informative and enlightening without being intrusive
or overwhelming. The result is a skillfully edited collection that will serve as an
erudite introduction to the foundations of modern India.
-- Ramesh Thakur
The Australian
One of the aims of the book, as Guha
points out, is to ‘make the Indian experience more central to global debates.’
Another is to acquaint Indians with the rich political tradition of their
comparative recent past. Makers of Modern India does both of
these very well.
-- Times of India
A
treasure for every thinking Indian and for the world which is increasingly curious
about this country and its people.
-- The
Tribune
[A]n extremely readable and accessible
collection.
-- India Today
In
Makers of Modern India, the first major anthology of Indian
social and political thought, Ramachandra Guha, an established historian, brings
together writings and speeches from 19 key political figures of the 19th and 20th
centuries to highlight the range and diversity of ideas about the forming nation…
Makers of Modern India begins with an extensive introduction and
includes biographical sketches of each figure and guides for further reading. Guha
is a learned historian whose writing and subject matter do not fail to
captivate.
-- Visi Tilak Indian
American
[A] stimulating work… Incisive and
informative.
-- The New Indian Express
A
highly readable volume… [A] perfect bedside book.
-- The
Telegraph
Makers of Modern India
will be a valuable resource for all who seek to understand modern India.
--
R. N. Sharma Choice
One of the first major
anthologies of Indian political writing, impressively annotated by Guha. The book
recovers and elucidates obscure political writings that ‘had a defining impact on
the formation of the Indian Republic’ and demonstrate the diversity of India. A
variety of rhetorical styles adds to the complexity and liveliness of the
collection: Syed Ahmad Kahn’s blunt political rhetoric on Muslim separatism abuts
Rammohan Roy’s elegant articulations on gender inequality… An engaging and
illuminating read, and brings to the fore both the diversity of India and the
relevance of its modern political origins.
-- Publishers
Weekly
Guha has produced a pioneering anthology that
provides an indispensable introduction to the rich diversity of Indian political
argument and a testament to the intellectual ferment out of which India emerged.
While interest in the contours of India’s democracy grows, there is little
high-quality material available on the political traditions that have constituted
it. Makers of Modern India admirably fills this gap and goes
further, offering a map of modern Indian political debate.
-- Sunil
Khilnani, Johns Hopkins University
