Varna, Jati, Caste: A Primer on Indian Social Structures

Adideva

Shiva kathas are strewn like bright gems across the antiquated treasure chests of the Vedas, Itihasas, Maha Puranas, Sthala Puranas, and folklore. Adideva: 25 Legends behind His 25 Names is a collection of twentyfive enchanting legends about Shiva retold in opulent detail keeping true to the original texts and temple lore. Each tale is supplemented by captivating verses of many saint-poets and photos of intricate sculptures and art, illuminating the adoration of our ancestors for each of the divine manifestations of Adideva. From the well-known stories of Neelakantha, Uma Maheshwara, and Rameshwara, the riveting narratives of Tripurantaka, Sharabeshwara, and Kirata, the poignant accounts of Grishneshwara, Mrtyunjaya, and Matrubhuteshwara to the profound contemplations of Dakshinamurti and Arunachala, the chosen stories are filled with navarasas, and evoke wonder and adoration for Mahadeva. Embedded within these narratives are subtle teachings of dharma and adhyatma—inspiring a journey towards selfdiscovery. Most importantly, they are the easiest and sweetest ways to cultivate Shiva bhakti, which is the immediate cure for samsara.

Buy On Amazon

Modi’s Governance Triumph

ByTarun Chugh

Meticulously researched and analysed, Modi’s Governance Triumph: Reshaping India’s Path to Prosperity delves into the Modi government’s key initiatives, reforms and innovations that have left an indelible imprint on India’s socioeconomic and political fabric. From the ambitious ‘Make in India’ campaign to sweeping changes in the taxation system with the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST), each chapter unpacks the narrative of a leader who has redefined governance in the world’s largest democracy.

The book not only examines the achievements but also critically evaluates the challenges and controversies that have marked Modi’s tenure, providing a well-rounded perspective on his leadership. It is an essential read for anyone interested in understanding changes taking place in India and the role Prime Minister Narendra Modi plays in reshaping the nation’s future.

Buy On Amazon

Nastik

ByKushal Mehra

Nastik chronicles the transformative journey of a modern Indian sceptic who initially embraced Western neo-atheism. It begins with the protagonist’s disillusionment with religious dogma and his subsequent adoption of Western neo-atheism, characterized by a staunch denial of theism and a critique of religion’s influence on society.

As the narrative unfolds, he encounters the rich tapestry of Indian philosophy. He discovers the nuanced perspectives of nastik schools of thought in Indian tradition, such as Charvaka, Jainism and certain interpretations of Buddhism, which reject the authority of the Vedas and the existence of a creator god yet engage deeply with ethical and philosophical questions. His transformation into a nastik and Nirishvarwaadi is marked by an appreciation for the complexity of Eastern scepticism, which often intertwines with spiritual and moral considerations unlike the more direct and often materialistic scepticism prevalent in the West. The book delves into the differences between Western and Eastern scepticism, highlighting how Eastern traditions offer a nuanced view that accommodates doubt within a spiritual framework.

As his worldview evolves, he critiques the emergence of neo-atheism’s successor, ‘wokeism’, which he argues marks a shift from scepticism to a new form of dogmatism. He argues that neo-atheism inadvertently paved the way for wokeism by undermining traditional structures without offering a sustainable alternative, leading to a vacuum that wokeism has filled with its own set of moral certainties.

At the penultimate stage, the protagonist explores the concept of Hindu scepticism, which is considered part of the broader Hindu tradition. The inclusiveness of this tradition highlights the unique ability of dharma to absorb various strands of thought. As the narration closes, he learns that at the heart of dharmic traditions lies a commitment to mutual respect, reciprocity and ahimsa (non-violence), which have allowed for a diverse array of beliefs and practices to coexist and flourish within the Indian philosophical landscape.

Buy On Amazon

The Battle for IITs: A Defense of Meritocracy

ByRajiv Malhotra, Vijaya Viswanathan

The IITs are under attack.

This has serious legal implications and severe consequences for the IITs across India, its students, and faculty. More broadly, it impacts India’s engineering education. Such concerted attacks will follow the IIT engineer and other tech professionals to their workplace anywhere in the world. Harvard University’s Woke machinery is behind this attack and we need to understand the sophistication that backs it.

This book’s evidence-based rebuttal gives IITians and other engineers the toolkit to tackle false accusations of being casteist bigots.

Buy On Amazon

Snakes in the Ganga

ByRajiv Malhotra, Vijaya Viswanathan

Snakes in the Ganga unveils uncomfortable truths concerning India’s vulnerabilities:

Intense warfare against India’s integrity is the work of a wellorchestrated global machinery driven by a new ideology.
Marxism has been reincarnated as critical race theory in US academia and serves as the framework to address America’s racism. This has been recklessly mapped on to India: Caste is equated with Race. Marginalized communities of India are considered as Blacks and Brahmins as the Whites of India. Groups claiming grievances (like Muslims and LGBTQ+) are artificially clubbed together.
Popularly called the woke movement, the mission is to dismantle Indian civilization and heritage by waging an uncompromising war against India’s government, educational institutions, culture, industry, and society.
Harvard University is ground zero of these social theories developed in collaboration with Indian scholars, activists, journalists, and artists. This represents a clear and present danger to India’s sovereignty and national security.
Several Indian elites are hoisting Harvard as the vishwa guru with their money and family names. Some private universities within India are importing wokeism that has serious repercussions for India’s stability.
Indian corporates are bringing the latest Western rubric of environmental, social, and governance ratings into their workplaces. This is aligned with the global social justice movement.
China has exploited this latest infrastructure as a passage to India.
Wokeism has penetrated some of the Indian government’s policies. For instance, the National Education Policy 2020 is propagating Harvard’s liberal arts.
An entire ecosystem of ideologies, institutions, and young leaders is emerging for the recolonization of India.

Is India for sale?

In this paperback edition, the back matter has been trimmed to shed some weight in the interest of portability. Readers can, however, still access it by scanning the QR code printed after the last chapter.

Buy On Amazon

भारत के जनजातीय क्रान्तिवीर

ByDhaval Patel

भारतवर्ष को दासता के चंगुल से मुक्त कराने व स्वराज की स्थापना करने के लिए देश के असंख्य वीर सेनानियों व क्रांतिकारियों ने अपना जीवन भारत माता के चरणों में समर्पित किया है। किन्तु दुर्भाग्यवश, उनमें से बहुत–से योद्धा ऐसे हैं, जिन्हें मानक इतिहास पुस्तकों में किसी कारणवश उनका यथोचित नहीं मिल सका। यह बात देश के विभिन्न जनजातीय समुदायों से आने वाले क्रांतिवीरों के योगदान के विषय में और भी सटीकता से लागू होती है।

यह पुस्तक ऐसे ह जनजातीय क्रांतिवीरों की अल्पज्ञात अमरगाथाओं का यशोगान कर उन्हें जनसामान्य के समक्ष रखने एक छोटा–सा प्रयास है। अदम्य साहस, अतुलनीय शौर्य व अटूट स्वाभिमान से भर ये कथाएँ न केवल ज्ञानवर्द्धक हैं, अपितु सभी देशवासियों के लिए महान् प्रेरणास्रोत भी हैं।

Buy On Amazon

प्रतीक्षा शिवाची

ByVikram Sampath

ज्या सहजतेने काशी किंवा वाराणसी आपल्या इतिहासाचे प्रचंड ओझे वाहते, तशी जगातील फार थोडी ठिकाणे असतील. ही नगरी आपल्या संस्कृतीच्या आत्म्याचे आणि शतकानुशतके आलेली विपरीत परिस्थिती, हल्ले सहन करूनही पुन्हापुन्हा उभी राहत आपल्या अपराजित वृत्तीचे दर्शन घडवते.

‘प्रतीक्षा शिवाची – काशी– ज्ञानवापीच्या सत्याचा शोध’ या पुस्तकाच्या माध्यमातून विश्वेश्वर किंवा विश्वनाथाच्या रुपातील शिवाचा अधिवास असणाऱ्या काशीचा इतिहास, तिची प्राचीनता आणि पावित्र्याचे दर्शन घडते. जो या शहरात आपला देह ठेवतो त्याला मोक्ष मिळेल असे वचन प्रत्यक्ष शिव देतो. हे पुस्तक या स्वयंभू ज्योतिर्लिंग विश्वेश्वराच्या इतिहासाचा सखोल शोध घेते. आपल्या भक्तांचे आश्रयस्थान असलेले हे विश्वेश्वर मंदिर हे नेहमीच धर्मांध मूर्तीभंजकांच्या निशाण्यावर राहिलेले आहे. परंतु जेव्हा जेव्हा हे मंदिर उद्ध्वस्त करून त्याचे अस्तित्व पुसून टाकण्याचा प्रयत्न झाला तेव्हा तेव्हा हे मंदिर पुन्हा उभे राहिले आणि भरभराटीला आले.

मंदिराच्या इतिहासातील या प्रलयंकारी घटनांचा लेखाजोखा ‘प्रतीक्षा शिवाची’ हे पुस्तक मांडते. जुलमी मुघल बादशाह औरंगजेबाने १६६९ मध्ये या मंदिरावर घातलेला घाव वर्मी बसला आहे. त्याने मंदिर फोडले आणि मंदिराच्या पश्चिमेकडील अर्धवट तुटलेल्या भिंतीवर घुमट उभे करून त्याला मशिदीचे रूप दिले. आज ज्याला ज्ञानवापी मशीद म्हणतात ती मशीद आणि त्याच्या आजूबाजूची आणि अठराव्या शतकात बांधल्या गेलेल्या नव्या विश्वनाथ मंदिराजवळची जागा यावरून नेहमीच वादंग माजलेला आहे. भूतकाळात या मुद्द्यावरून अनेक वेळा रक्तरंजित दंगली झाल्या आहेत. इंग्रजी सत्तेच्या काळातही या जमिनीच्या मालकी आणि ताब्याच्या मुद्द्यावरून अनेक वेळा ब्रिटिश न्यायालयांचे दरवाजे ठोठावले गेले आहेत, त्यासंबंधीचे खटले चालवले गेले आहेत. स्वातंत्र्यानंतरही हा पूर्ण परिसर मुक्त करावा अशी मनीषा हिंदूंच्या मनात कायमच वास करत आली आहे. २०२१ ला नव्याने दाखल करण्यात आलेल्या एका खटल्याने या फार काळापासून ठसठसणाऱ्या जखमेवरची खपली निघाली. भारतीय पुरातत्व विभागाकडून सर्वेक्षण होऊ नये यासाठी अगदी सर्वोच्च न्यायालयापर्यंत वारंवार अपीले करूनही हे सर्वेक्षण झाले आणि जानेवारी २०२४ मध्ये या सर्वेक्षणाने या पूर्ण प्रकरणातील सत्य उजेडात आणले.

विक्रम संपतचे हे नवे पुस्तक या मंदिराचा बहुपेडी इतिहास, त्यात आलेली नाट्यमय वळणे, घडलेल्या गूढ घडामोडी, या जागेवरून झालेले कडाक्याचे वादविवाद या साऱ्या गोष्टी उलगडून दाखवते. कितीतरी काळ ज्ञानवापीमध्ये दडपून आणि लपवून ठेवलेल्या या गुपितांना या पुस्तकाच्या रूपाने वाचा फुटली आहे.

Buy on Amazon

Seeing with Hands

ByJinan K. B.

Seeing with Hands is a result of a unique experiment and extensive research by the author, Jinan K.B., and his foundation. It is a record of how children express their experiences through drawing (not art) and how drawing becomes a tool that helps them observe the world around them.

Showcasing brilliant drawings made by children to express themselves, the book attempts to prove that they are naturally equipped to adapt and learn autonomously.

This book is bound to prompt a new way of thinking on educating children, helping them develop their cognitive tools and provide insights to all those who are concerned with children, be it parents, teachers or caretakers.

Buy On Amazon

Hindutva

ByAravindan Neelakandan

Hindutva: Origin, Evolution and Future studies Hindutva in both critical and holistic terms—an approach that is oft found missing in most studies on Hindutva, where a lot of critical knowledge has been left out either intentionally or out of ignorance. This omission has led to characterize Hindutva as a dangerous exclusivist majoritarian supremacist ideology. Hindutva is often studied like other extreme right-wing ideologies. However, the thesis presented in this book is built on the strong foundation that Hindutva is not an ideology but a historical-civilizational process. As such, it does not fit the expectations of any ideological framework.

Buy On Amazon

प्रतीक्षा शिव की ज्ञान वापी काशी के सत्य का उद्घाटन

ByVikram Sampath

दुनिया में कुछ ही ऐसी जगहें हैं जो इतनी सहजता से इतिहास का भार वहन कर पाती हैं, जितना काशी या वाराणसी ने किया है। यह पवित्र शहर हमारी सभ्यता की आत्मा का प्रतीक है और उस लचीलेपन का प्रतीक है जो हमने सदियों से कई प्रतिकूलताओं और घातक हमलों का सामना करते हुए प्रदर्शित किया है।

‘प्रतीक्षा शिव की: ज्ञान वापी काशी के सत्य का उद्घाटन’ विश्वेश्वर या विश्वनाथ रूपी भगवान शिव की निवास स्थली के रूप में काशी के इतिहास, प्राचीनता और पवित्रता को पुनः प्रस्तुत करती है। शिव ने स्वयं अपने भक्तों को आश्वासन दिया था कि यदि वे अपनी नश्वर कुण्डली का इस शहर में करेंगे तो उन्हें मोक्ष प्राप्त होगा। यह पुस्तक विश्वेश्वर के इस स्वयं-प्रकट स्वयंभू ज्योतिर्लिंग मंदिर के इतिहास पर प्रकाश डालती है, जो सदियों से भक्तों के लिए शरणस्थली भी रही है और मूर्तिभंजन की रक्तरंजित लहरों का लक्ष्यभी रही है। हालाँकि, जब भी मंदिर को ध्वस्तकर उसे नष्ट करने का प्रयास किया गया, यह और भी तीव्र उत्थान तथा वैभव के साथ लोकजीवन के समक्ष प्रकट हुआ।

यह पुस्तक मंदिर के इतिहास में घटित इन प्रलयकारी घटनाओं का दस्तावेजीकरण करती है। मंदिर को अंतिम आघात 1669 में मुगल शासक औरंगज़ेब द्वारा दिया गया, जिसने मंदिर को खंडित कर, इसे मस्जिद कहे जाने के लिए आंशिक रूप से नष्ट हुई पश्चिमी दीवार पर कुछ गुंबद खड़े कर दिए। वह क्षेत्र जिसे अब ज्ञान वापी मस्जिद कहा जाता है और आसपास की भूमि जो कि विश्वनाथ के नए मंदिर के निकट स्थित है, 18वीं शताब्दी के अंत में बनी थी तथा यह हमेशा से तीव्र विवाद का विषय रही है। इस मुद्देको लेकर वाराणसी में पहले भी कई बार खूनी दंगे हो चुके हैं। औपनिवेशिक युग के दौरान, क़ब्ज़े के मुद्दे को निपटाने के लिए ब्रिटिश अदालतों के दरवाजे खटखटाए गए और उन्होंने कई बार इस मामले पर अपना निर्णय भी दिया। स्वतंत्रता के बाद भी, इस परिसर को ‘मुक्त’ कराने की इच्छा हिंदू मन-मानस में पनपती रही है। ऐसे में वाराणसी सिविल कोर्ट के समक्ष 2021 में दायर एक नए मुकदमे ने लंबे समय से चले आ रहे ऐतिहासिक घाव को फिर से हरा कर दिया। याचिका को खारिज करने के लिए सुप्रीम कोर्ट में कई अपीलों के बावजूद, भारतीय पुरातत्व सर्वेक्षण (एएसआई) को इस परिसर के सर्वेक्षण का आदेश दिया गया, जिसने जनवरी 2024 में अपने निष्कर्षों के माध्यम से सच्चाई को उजागर किया।

विक्रम संपत की यह नवीनतम पेशकश इस विवादित स्थल के लंबे इतिहास और इस प्राचीन मंदिर के विचित्र अतीत में आए नाटकीय मोड़ और बदलावों की याद दिलाती है। ज्ञान वापी में लंबे समय से दबे हुए रहस्यों को अंततः इस पुस्तक के माध्यम से आवाज मिलती है।

Buy on Amazon

Invaders and Infidels

BySandeep Balakrishna

When Qutub-ud-din Aibak died in a polo game 1210, he had left behind a rickety, fledgling Muslim kingdom in Delhi. For the next eighty-odd years, its fortunes swayed wildly, witnessing a record twelve kings. It was a period of incessant palace coups and serial political murders. The death of Balban extinguishes the so-called Muslim Slave dynasty and with it ends the shortlived Turkic Muslim imperialism. It also heralds the ascent of the Afghanistan-based Khaljis, classed as “low-born.” A straight line connects the origin of the Khaljis with the military airport built by the US in Zabul in 2006. By this time, Hindu political power in northern India is in total disarray with no unifying leader who has the vision to combat and expel the alien oppressor lodged in Delhi. No Hindu ruler exploits the repeated openings and vulnerabilities provided by internecine Sultanate warfare. Book 2 of Invaders and Infidels traces the unlikely rise of Jalal-ud-din Khalji as an illsuited monarch and ends with the maiden Islamic raid of Devagiri, the gateway to southern India. The incident will have far-reaching consequences for the history of India for the next six hundred years. It is a heady tale of a period rife with bloody intrigues, aggressive campaigns of Islamic expansionism, heroic wars of Hindu resistance and squandered chances for civilizational reclamation. The narrative in this book is marked by a flair of vivid historical storytelling, juxtaposing the oscillating fortunes of both Islamic conquests and the ensuing Hindu responses. It unearths a slew of eye-opening and forgotten details about the socio-political and economic life of the era whose impact is visible even today. Written in a fast-paced and engaging style, Book 2 of Invaders and Infidels is a riveting read of a critical juncture in the history of early Muslim rule of India.

Buy On Amazon

Life of An Industani

ByShiv Kunal Verma

The book is a Force 12 hurricane, dropping only to a 10 gale now and then, for it sweeps one along breathlessly from incident to incident, place to place, name to name. From the arresting prologue itself, the book is brutally honest, exhilarating and even self-deprecating. It is a story that most of Young India must read, for it provides an incredible ring-side view to critical events in the 1980s and 90s that shaped the destiny of the nation. The author’s subsequent credentials as a military history writer, his earlier works and his vast exposure to virtually every part of the subcontinent, place him in a unique position to paint scenario after scenario where the reader is completely mesmerised by the cinematic unfolding of events.

Buy On Amazon

The Eternal Feminine

ByAlok Pandey

A woman is not just a form and a figure; though her form itself is significant of deep-guarded secrets and the capacity to create marvels out of a seed state. She is the Force, Shakti, Wisdom, Strength, Beauty, Love, Delight that is everywhere and in all beings. This book is not just an attempt to discover and evoke her through myths and legends of India, but to unravel the mysteries of the ‘Eternal Feminine’ with a view to discover the truth behind what a woman truly represents as seen through the awakened eyes of the mystics and the spiritual culture of India.

Buy On Amazon

Sobha Singh Artist

ByHriday Paul Singh

The magic of eminent artist Sardar Sobha Singh continues to live even after his death in the year 1986.. Despite an uneasy childhood, Sobha Singh rose to a widely loved and respected artist with innumerable admirers in India and several other countries. A man of vision, Sobha Singh was a versatile genius.. Though a renowned artist, several other facets of his persona have mostly remained unknown. This biography records the life of the artist besides providing some glimpses of his art. This book is an extension of the author’s mission to preserve and propagate art and the philosophy of his grandfather Sobha Singh Artist so that with the passage of time facts are not replaced with unsubstantiated matter.

Buy On Amazon

Snakes in the Ganga: Breaking India 2.0

ByRajiv Malhotra, Vijaya Viswanathan

Snakes in the Ganga unveils uncomfortable truths concerning India’s vulnerabilities:

Intense warfare against India’s integrity is the work of a well-orchestrated global machinery driven by a new ideology. Marxism has been reincarnated as Critical Race Theory in US academia and serves as the framework to address America’s racism. This has been recklessly mapped on to India:Caste is equated with Race. Marginalized communities of India are considered as Blacks and Brahmins as the Whites of India. Groups claiming grievances (like Muslims and LGBTQ+) are artificially clubbed together. Popularly called the Woke movement, the mission is to dismantle Indian civilization and heritage by waging an uncompromising war against India’s government, educational institutions, culture, industry, and society. Harvard University is Ground Zero of these social theories developed in collaboration with Indian scholars, activists, journalists and artists. This represents a clear and present danger to India’s sovereignty and national security. Several Indian elites are hoisting Harvard as the vishwa guru with their money and family names. Some private universities within India are importing Wokeism that has serious repercussions for India’s stability. Indian corporates are bringing the latest Western rubric of Environmental, Social, and Governance ratings into their workplace. This is aligned with the global Social Justice movement. China has exploited this latest infrastructure as a passage to India. Wokeism has penetrated some of the Indian government’s policies. For instance, the National Education Policy 2020 is propagating Harvard’s liberal arts. An entire ecosystem of ideologies, institutions and young leaders is emerging for the recolonization of India. Is India for sale?

Buy On Amazon

Bharat Rising

ByUtpal Kumar

India became politically independent in 1947, but for economic freedom it had to wait for another four decades until P.V. Narasimha Rao, in tandem with Dr Manmohan Singh, chaperoned the country’s liberalization process in the summer of 1991. In 2014, another seismic revolution unravelled, the contours of which are still being drawn. For the first time, a ‘new India’ had not just seen an alternative model of governance that is truly divorced from the Nehruvian ethos but also initiated a process of democratization and decolonization of the largely ‘elitist, insular and compromised’ Lutyens’ world.

Argumentative and deeply researched, Bharat Rising combines the narrative style of journalism and the rigour and discipline of academia. It is as much about the resetting of Lutyens’ world as it is about a new India shedding its traditional distrust, if not distaste, for the country’s civilizational and cultural past.

Buy On Amazon

Varna, Jati, Caste: A Primer on Indian Social Structures

Meet The Author

Rajiv Malhotra

Snakes in the Ganga

Snakes in the Ganga: Breaking India 2.0

The Battle for IITs: A Defense of Meritocracy

The Power of Future Machines: Essays on Artificial Intelligence

Reviews

Varna, Jati, Caste: A Primer on Indian Social Structures

Meet The Author

Reviews

Related products