India has taken so sharp a turn in recent years that the very centre has shifted considerably. What led to this swing? Is it possible to trace the path to this point? Is there a way back to the just, secular, inclusive vision of our Constitution-makers? This country has long been an outlier in its South Asian neighbourhood, with its inclusive Constitution and functioning democracy. The growth of Hindutva, in some sense, brings India in line with the other polities here. In Our Hindu Rashtra, writer and activist Aakar Patel peels back layer after layer of cause and effect through independent India's history to understand how Hindutva came to gain such a hold on the country. He examines what it means for India that its laws and judiciary have been permeated by prejudice and bigotry, what the breach of fundamental rights portends in these circumstances, and what the all-round institutional collapse signifies for the future of Indians. Most importantly, Patel asks and answers that most important of questions: What possibilities exist for a return? Thought-provoking and pulling no punches, this book is an essential read for anyone who wishes to understand the nature of politics in India and, indeed, South Asia.

Our Hindu Rashtra: What It Is. How We Got Here

History

Patel, Aakar

World

Vintage Books

One of the greatest raconteurs of 20th century, Saadat Hasan Manto declared that he was forced to write when his wife routinely demanded that he put bread on the table for the family. He didn't attribute any genius to his skills as a writer and convinced his readers that the stories flowed even as he minded his daughters or tossed a salad. Equally, Manto treated his tryst with Bollywood with disdain and unmasked the cardboard lives of tinsel town when a horse was painted to double up for a zebra or multiple fans rotate to create a deluge. In these essays, two of Manto's favourite and recurring themes-women and Partition-find special mention as he brings to focus the bizarre morality in the context of feminine beauty and the futile presence of religiosity in the creation of a nation he was to adopt later in life. For the first time ever, this unique collection of nonfiction writing from the subcontinent's greatest writer, translated by well known author and journalist, Aakar Patel, showcases Saadat Hasan Manto's brilliance while dealing with life's most mundane things-graveyards, bumming cigarettes, a film crew with motley characters from mythology and a sharp dissection of what ails the subcontinent even after six decades, Hindi or Urdu, vile politicians and the hopelessness of living under the shadow of fear.

Why I Write: Essays by Saadat Hasan Manto (Includes two new essays)

Literature & Fiction

Essays & Correspondence

PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE INDIA PVT.LTD.

After Messiah

Genre Fiction

Columnist, author and political commentator, Aakar Patel has long been a close observer of the political scenario. In Price of the Modi Years, he seeks to explain the data and facts on India's performance under Narendra Modi. Modi's predecessor, Manmohan Singh, had once said that Modi would be a disaster as prime minister. This book shows how. It concedes Modi's popularity; this is an accounting of the damage he has wrought. It is the history of India since 2014, assessing the damage across the polity from the economy, national security, federalism, foreign relations, legislations and the judiciary to media and civil society. Our memories are not long, news cycles are transient and incidents are forgotten or misclassified as being only episodic, unless documented, unified and placed together as a record. And, therefore, this book-a history of these present times.

Price of the Modi Years

Business & Money

Economics

Why I write? (Sadat Manto): Aakar Patel (Marathi Edition)

Sakal Media Pvt. Ltd.

India has taken so sharp a turn in recent years that the very centre has shifted considerably. What led to this swing? Is it possible to trace the path to this point? Is there a way back to the just, secular, inclusive vision of our Constitution-makers? This country has long been an outlier in its South Asian neighbourhood, with its inclusive Constitution and functioning democracy. The growth of Hindutva, in some sense, brings India in line with the other polities here. In Our Hindu Rashtra, writer and activist Aakar Patel peels back layer after layer of cause and effect through independent India’s history to understand how Hindutva came to gain such a hold on the country. He examines what it means for India that its laws and judiciary have been permeated by prejudice and bigotry, what the breach of fundamental rights portends in these circumstances, and what the all-round institutional collapse signifies for the future of Indians.Most importantly, Patel asks and answers that most important of questions: what possibilities exist for a return? Thought-provoking and pulling no punches, this book is an essential read for anyone who wishes to understand the nature of politics in India and, indeed, South Asia.

Politics & Social Sciences

Anthropology

Westland

Columnist, author and political commentator, Aakar Patel has long been a close observer of the political scenario. In Price of the Modi Years, he seeks to explain the data and facts on India’s performance under Narendra Modi. 
Modi’s predecessor as prime minister, Manmohan Singh, had once said that Modi would be a disaster as prime minister. This book shows how. It concedes Modi’s popularity; this is an accounting of the damage he has wrought. It is the history of India since 2014 assessing the damage across the polity from the economy, national security, federalism, foreign relations, legislations and the judiciary to media and civil society. 
Our memories are not long, news cycles are transient and incidents are forgotten or misclassified as being only episodic, unless documented, unified and placed together as a record. And therefore this book—a history of these present times.

Westland Non-fiction

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