Customer Reviews

India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy.

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In my mind, three things stand out about this book: it comes across as intellectually objective, full of interesting facts and very brave.

Firstly, the views on Nehru are refreshing and enlightening, especially because they contrast him with his daughter, who undid many of his contributions. Guha especially conveys how it was Indira Gandhi who probably inculcated the `dynasty' not just in the Congress party, but for others to emulate. You definitely don't leave this book feeling positive about Indira, and in my opinion, rightly so.

His view of the 1965 war with Pakistan: a `stalemate'. It was only post 1971 that India abandoned non-alignment in favor of the Soviets because of Russian pro-activeness, not the other way round. Going back to the mid-50s, India's non-alignment suffered when Nehru & Menon refused to slam the Soviets for their invasion of Hungary. There are far too many little interesting tid-bits to mention, but its great that he's covered a wide range of issues such as the rise of caste-based politics (over ideology) in the late 70s, the various cults of personality across the country, the botched Chinese war, etc. He does give the post independence leadership a positive pat on the back, given the circumstances. I especially like his coverage of the 90s that lead us to where India is today. One thing I've enjoyed about this book is that it is a good primer for understanding India's current affairs - it has improved my understanding of context when I read the morning papers in India. Even by the author's own admission that it takes a generation to view past events correctly, he has done an admirable job.

Kashmir is given 'fair' treatment in that, it is the unfortunate Kashmiri (both Hindu and Muslim) who has been been caught in a wider struggle that included British, American, Soviet and Chinese interests at the time of partition itself. Guha clearly shows that for very different reasons, neither India nor Pakistan have fared well.

Guha admires India's continued democratic lean, especially its ability and resourcefulness in holding elections. India's multi-lingual democracy is favorably contrasted against countries that have viewed linguistic differences as an opportunity to secede. His bravest views are against the horrible politically motivated pogroms against the Sikhs in Delhi and the Muslims in Godhra. It is refreshing to see this point of view coming from within (ie, an Indian) not that India's `free press' has been afraid of voicing its opinion, just not as clearly as Guha does.

Personally, I wish he'd spent a little more time talking about the psychological mind-shift from the early 70s to this generation of up-beat world beaters. Instead of hoping others write more deeply about some of the subjects he briefly touched (as he mentioned during his book launch), perhaps he should himself have another go at a follow up book. This book however, covers many topics deeply enough for me to highly recommend his work.

Ramachandra Guha's new book is a bold attempt at revisiting the major ups and downs, albeit mainly in the political sphere, that independent India has had to endure during the last 60 years of freedom. He offers some very valuable insights on the 'Indian Experience' and tries to answer a question that has baffled political and social scientists for quite some time now - Why does India keep on surviving?. Despite the many doomsday scenarios declared by people of all shades and hues, India has endured secessionist movements, famines, religious fundamentalism, population explosions and a brief flirtation with dictatorship with Indira Gandhi's emergency.

The answer is obviously complicated but the author has done a very nice job of making the reader realize the uniqueness of the continuing grand Indian experiment in liberal democracy. Given the paucity of literature on developments within the country after 1947, this book has definitely filled a gap which avid India-watchers are sure to appreciate. To sum it up, the author has made a substantial contribution to the debate about the idea and essence of India and he follows in the footsteps of writers like Sunil Khilnani (The Idea of India), Octavio Paz (In light of India) and William Dalrymple (The Age of Kali). Appropriately timed as India celeberates its 60th year of Independence and reflects on its achievements and failures with a mixture of pride and somber reflection.

It was not clear to me from the information provided by Amazon that this really is the same book as India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy. That edition has about 900 pages vs. the Kindle version's 772 vs. the Kindle product description's 300. The Kindle edition is missing the photos of the printed edition. There are maps in the Kindle version, but Kindle maps leave much to be desired.

Unlike many Kindle editions, the notes and index actually work. Each entry has links to the corresponding points in the text. Very nice.

The Kindle version was obviously produced by scanning a printed version and running the result through a spell checker. No proofreader has ever seen this text. Every page has some words run together and others split apart. The book is not unreadable, but it is certainly annoying.

I have both the 900 page and Kindle versions. At home, the 900 page one is my favorite: the whole book is very nicely laid out and easy to read, and the maps and photos are helpful. On the road, I take the Kindle.

If Nehru were to pick his choice of a historian to chronicle Indian history starting where he left off with his Discovery of India letters to Indira from 1942-46; he would probably have lived a decade longer in his excitement after finding Ramachandra Guha. Never before has a historian (or any human being for that matter) undergone the momentous task of uncovering and articulating the history of the world's largest democracy the way Guha has with India After Gandhi. Leave opinion, judgment, agenda, and agency aside; it is little doubt that Guha is the most aware Indian alive.

I had the good fortune of spending hours listening to Ram in person earlier this year, and was amazed at the wisdom-per-second spewing out from head-to-mouth impromptu. It is one thing to collect, select and organize information in chronological order; and it is another to hold that infinity in the back of your mind and retrieve, synthesize and present it on demand. It reflects passion, experience, genius, and wisdom. The series of talks were a follow-on to his controversial article in The Outlook about seven reasons why India will not be a Superpower, and why that is a meaningless goal to aspire towards.

I have received several new-found insights about India as a result of this book. It would be silly to attempt any summary or conclusions of the book and trivialize its very essence. Yet, the most important insight is that it is a miracle that India has overcome the challenge of surviving as one country. The initial conditions before, during and after independence were so unfavorable that historians, intellectuals, politicians and journalists worldwide did not give the "India experiment" a chance to survive too long (read the book for hundreds of revealing quotes on this topic). In our detachment from the freedom struggle and ignorance of history, we often fail to acknowledge the fact that India's biggest achievement might be the fact that we survived as one country, a fact now beyond question; and so beyond reproach that it would take a deep conspiracy to imagine otherwise.

In a world where hindsight is 20-20, over a billion people are unable to speculate on what could've should've would've been a better road for India to travel since Independence - Pakistan or no Pakistan, Nehru or Patel, Gandhi right or wrong, Hindu or secular, etc. It is easier to chart a path (any path) to utopia lined up with reversal of outcome at key turning points, but much harder to understand the gravity of flaws in the idea of India and the fragility of initial conditions, despite which we made it. An awareness of the initial conditions followed step-by-step with the path to where we are today, would provide much-needed closure (and surprising optimism) to every Indian or worldly soul interested in this most crazy country; and a brand new set of goggles as we look ahead.

Inspite of being Indian, I didn't know much (atleast verifiable facts) about the history of India post independence. So I decided to start reading this book and its well written with more information than opinions which makes a pretty good read. Overall well written, filled with some cool history and a good read.

I bought the book several months ago, and read through some of it, but got bored after 8 chapters or so. The last actions of Ghandhi, and the separation of India and Pakistan were exciting, but the story couldn't hold my attention when it got into the business of various parts of India wanting to separate, switch countries, ect. I eventually stopped reading.
Having said that, the book was definitely very informative, and well written. It's just that the history itself wasn't interesting enough for me. I have kept the book, and may eventually return to finish it.

The book elaborates and underlines the hot topics of the movie (DVD). A great way to expand insight into the South Asian problems, political dynamics, and outcomes.

For context, history would be the one exam where i would unfailingly cry the previous night. This book, on the other hand, made me stay up way past bedtime, and read thhrough all 764 pages in a week. The book is that good, beginning in 1947, laying a framework to understand India, and then proceeding to fill in that framework with 60 years of politics, economics, and entertainment.

Exceptional book by Ramachandra Guha. His writing style presents a fascinating story of India after independence highlighting its struggles of survial and triumphs of unity. He is unbiased in his views and in presenting the facts. The readers would feel as if they are living through the history as they read this book. As Guha says, no matter how corrupt Indians politicians become, they can only "disturb the tree of (its)democracy but ...not uproot or destroy it." Plan at least two weeks to finish the book - 800 pages or so.

This is a book that I consider a masterpiece from one of the most authoritative sources on the subject. Prof. Guha traces contemporary Indian history from 1946 till 2007, covering key social, political, economic and cultural events and milestones. What is amazing is the wealth of references cited in chapter after chapter, each devoted to and aptly titled to discuss a specific topic.

Frankly, I found the book highly informative, entertaining, unbiased and extremely well written.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Dr B.R.Ambedkar emerge as the key pillars that guided India's destiny, and secured her future through strong foundations of a true Democracy. Nehru's vision of a modern and vibrant Indian economy, his strong belief in technology and central planning created some of India's finest establishments or the "Temples of Modern India". Integration of over 620 princely states, especially the difficult ones (Kashmir, Hyderabad, and Travancore) in a swift and professional manner by Sardar Patel is an achievement that has stood the test of time. (Goa fell soon after despite Portuguese resistance.) Dr Ambedkar's leadership in framing one of the world's best written free Democratic constitutions (sometimes referred to as the gem on the jewel of world constitutions) makes us Indians, proud citizens of the world's largest Democracy.

At many places in the book I got the impression that Prof. Guha is "pro Nehru". But at the end I realized that it was Prof. Guha's strong belief in the principles of Democracy and Secularism that that has perhaps developed in him a great sense of admiration and respect for Panditji.
The book starts on a tragic note, the division of India into two nations much against the will of Gandhiji, father of the Indian Nation. Despite his best efforts, mad violence takes a huge toll. Thousands perish, and hatred prevails. Even to this day, the two nations are inconvenient neighbors at best. The country was divided on the basis of religion. One nation to become an Islamic state, while the other to adopt a Democratic and Secular constitution, with equal rights and respect for all religions.

This brings us to the core of the book. India has been challenged not only on the dimension of religion, but on five other "axes" of region, caste, creed, language and gender. Each of these factors has been major contentions, and sometimes even threats to national integration. But what is remarkable is the fact that India stands united today as the world's fastest growing democratic nation, despite the forces of Balkanization. European nations, on the other hand share borders with each other based on the same factors that have witnessed a united India, despite challenges and criticisms by skeptics.

Take the reorganization of sates on linguistic basis for example. The supreme sacrifice by Potti Sriramalu demanding the creation of Andhra Pradesh is a lead story. Today, states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala have proved that such reorganization has helped in "efflorescence of cultural creativity" with major contributions to regional literature, theatre, culture and even cinema.

The attempts by the Central Government to "impose" Hindi as the only official language met with stiff resistance in the mid 1960's. My personal memories as a five year old at that time on this topic are still fresh on my mind. The people, especially in the south resisted, and won. But no one can ever doubt the spirit of nationalism and pride of belongingness to India in any of those who opposed this myopic linguistic policy.

The role of the bureaucracy is well explained. The ICS (The Indian Civil Service, the elite cadre of civil servants created during the British rule) or "Steel Frame", were men of intellect, integrity and professionalism. Sukumar Sen, the first Election Commissioner to conduct the world's biggest experiment in democracy during India's elections on the principles of universal adult franchise is one such example. Sardar Tarlok Singh, the great administrator responsible for redistribution of land in Punjab area based on the concept of "standard acre" and "graded cut" is yet another.

The Indian Armed forces are not far behind. India suffered reverses and humiliation against the Chinese aggression in 1962. Despite diplomatic assurances to the contrary, the Chinese attached and annexed Indian Territory. To quote Mr. H.V.Kamath, an ICS man of the 1930's cadre of "Central Provinces" and an eminent parliamentarian, "for the Chinese who follow Lenin's dictum, promises like pie-crusts are meant to be broken." Personally, a nostalgic statement from my maternal grand uncle who was also a founding father of the Indian Constitution.

The Indian armed forces created history and changed geography in 1971. In a fourteen day war against Pakistan, Bangladesh was born and over 90000 Pakistani troops surrendered unconditionally. By then I had grown up to be an eleven year lad, reading every page of the news paper at 6 AM every day and also to hear the hourly news bulletin on All India Radio on the progress of the Indian forces on both sectors. Memories of Param Vir Chakra, the highest gallantry award during wartime to 2 nd Lt Arun Khetrapal are fresh in my mind. It was a great honor and also a emotional moment to see this valiant Officer's bust at the National Defense Academy at Pune, last month.

Since independence, Prof. Guha traces the gradual corrosion of the "steel frame" of India's elite bureaucracy, due to the atmospheric onslaught of criminalization and corruption of politics. This is perhaps the saddest part of India's journey in the last four decades. The good news is that India's policy decision in 1991 towards a market economy has liberated India's business from stifling controls. The Union Budget of 1991 presented by the hen Finance Minister and the current Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh was a "Magna Carta" for the Indian economy that struggled for nearly four decades under the "License Control Raj".

My admiration of India and the principles of Democracy and Secularism have been further strengthened after reading this book.

The period of nineteen months of "Internal Emergency" from June 1975 till January 1977 is an aberration, or statistically an "outlier" to juddge this great nation.

One thing is for sure. This book is a great read. Without doubt, I chose this as my personal and affectionate gift to my twenty one year old daughter on India's sixtieth Republic day last week. I am sure that this generation and the next will take India to the next higher trajectories of growth, firmly grounded on the nonnegotiable and universal principles of Democracy, Secularism and Human Rights.

Prof Guha, thanks for the great work. For India, the best is yet to come.

Yours ever in the service of the Motherland. Jai Hind.