Desires, Dreams and Powers

Desires, Dreams and Powers is a fascinating saga of the life and times of Tathagata Roy. Not many people may have traipsed into so many fields of life as Roy has. He has been a civil engineer, an encyclopaedic, a university teacher, a researcher, a contract lawyer, a politician, an author in two languages, an intrepid traveller and, lately, a history buff.

 

By writing about his times than his life, Roy covers truly eventful eight decades of a nation in transition, during which British rule transmogrified into the partitions of India and Bengal, the world around him transformed from writing with a quill pen to taming the personal computer and toying with AI, and politics from optimism to Naxalism to hope. His native West Bengal, the crucible of left ideology, finally exorcised the ghost of Marxism by overthrowing the Left Front united in 2011 after 34 years of unbroken communist rule. Through it all, he pranced into high school, segued into engineering college, got his first job with the Indian railways, taught at Jadavpur University, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and capped it all up by becoming the governor of three north-eastern states of India.

 

The book is as much about the trajectory of a nation on the move as it is about Roy’s life. The parallel is unmissable.

Gods Dancing Among Men

Theyyam, an ancient tradition of North Malabar, is a captivating blend of folk art, religious ritual, and profound spirituality. Gods Dancing Among Men: The Mystical World of Theyyams of North Malabar delves deep into the rich history of theyyam, exploring its roots and relevance in contemporary belief and worship. This book sheds light on both the luminous and shadowy facets of this tradition as well as the enigmatic grey areas that define it.

 

Every aspect of the theyyam cult, from the vibrant and intricate costumes to the wild and transcendent dances, is fascinating. The practitioners of theyyam display astonishing abilities, including clairvoyance, prophecy, and the power to fulfil wishes. The pantheon of theyyam includes Shaivite and Vaishnavite manifestations alongside a diverse array of Bhagvathy theyyams. Popular deities such as Muthappan, Muchilot Bhagavathi, Thee Chamundi, Gulikan, Kuttichathan, and Pottan Deiyvam hold a special place in the hearts of the people. Additionally, the theyyam tradition incorporates animals into its repertoire with performances featuring monkeys, tigers, buffaloes, crocodiles, bees, and snakes. One of the most astonishing aspects of theyyam is the fearless interaction with fire. Performers nonchalantly walk on embers and even hurl themselves onto immense mounds of fire, known as meleri, repeatedly. Despite the influence of Aryanization, the sanitizing impact of British colonial rule, the teachings of social reformers, the remarkable literacy rates, and the prevalent communist ideology in the region, the sanctity of the theyyam tradition remains unblemished. Theyyams are living gods, cherished and revered by the people of North Malabar, and their blessings hold immense significance.

Grit to Glory

‘Raising a regiment is like riding bareback. The struggle is harder; the sweat, toil and tears unending. The reward is confidence in our own abilities, an understanding and respect for the esprit de corps of the cavalry, and regimental pride.’

 

From the annals of Indian military history comes the glorious tale of the raising of 13 Armoured Regiment — India’s only armoured regiment raised with a unique class composition of Sikh, Rajput and South Indian Classes. Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta, a veteran of the 1971 war, was reverted from RAW by General A.S. Vaidya, then Chief of Army Staff, to raise 13 AR. The regiment was raised in December 1984, in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, a time of national turmoil and security concerns in India. Through an engaging narrative, this book weaves together the many personal and professional challenges undertaken by the unit’s officers and its first commandant, Brigadier B.S. Mehta, for the unit to be declared fit for war and assigned to an infantry division. In January 1987 while two of its squadrons participated in the Republic Day Parade at New Delhi and Allahabad, 13 AR was mobilized at short notice and inducted into a Strike RAPID Formation deployed in the desert for Exercise Brasstacks under General Hanut Singh. Pakistan’s nervous response led to President Zia-ul-Haq deploying his Army Reserves opposite Punjab, creating a warlike situation that led to a moment of truth for the leadership in politics, diplomacy and the armed forces of both nations.

Hindus in Hindu Rashtra

To those who claim we are now living in a totalitarian, fascist, Hindu Rashtra, one must ask: What kind of a Hindu Rashtra is this where a billion-strong Hindus have been, through our parliament, through our courts, our education system, and our constitution, reduced to not just second-class but, rather, eighth-class citizens? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where Ram Navami, Hanuman Jayanti, Durga pooja processions, and even Garba celebrations, are attacked and stoned with impunity? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where a sitting Prime minister says minorities have the first right to resources? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where Hindus are forced to be refugees in their own land, where one can settle 40,000 Rohingya Muslims but not 700,000 Kashmiri Hindus, the land’s original inhabitants; where the judiciary says it is too late to prosecute those who raped, murdered, and ethnically cleansed lacs of Hindus? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where Hindu temples are exclusively controlled by the State, where Hindus must beg for Waqf land to celebrate their festival while the government usurps hundreds of thousands of acres of temple land and is responsible for more than 100,000 temples losing lakhs of crores in rental income? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where the Right to Education Act discriminates only against Hindus and their schools, forcing tens of thousands of them to shut down? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where monsters like Aurangzeb and Tipu who perpetrated large-scale Hindu genocides are eulogised through State sponsored publications, naming of roads and cities, and organising of festivals? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where a law was about to be enacted through with only the Hindus would have been held guilty in a communal riot even if they were in a minority for example in Kashmir? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where court judgments like the Sabarimala and legislative enactments like the Hindu Code Bill purport to reform only Hindu religious practices but dare not touch practices of other religions, and if they do, the decisions are promptly reversed like in the Shah Bano case? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where The Places of Worship Act continues to deny the Hindus their legitimate right to correct historical injustices and reclaim thousands of demolished temples? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where the Waqf Act gives overarching powers to Muslims to declare a 1500-year-old Hindu temple to be on Islamic land when Islam is only 1300 years old? If this is how a Hindu is rewarded in a Hindu Rashtra, he’d much rather be in a Muslim Rashtra because then at least there’d be no pretence of equality – a Kafir will get what he deserves. In this searing commentary penned with clinical precision, the author shreds to smithereens once and for all the guilt-tripping, self-loathing fake narrative that Hindus have been duped with since Independence. There is no pretence, no political correctness, only unvarnished truth – that the Hindus are living under State-sanctioned Apartheid.

HINDUS IN HINDU RASHTRA (Marathi Edition)

To those who claim we are now living in a totalitarian, fascist, Hindu Rashtra, one must ask: What kind of a Hindu Rashtra is this where a billion-strong Hindus have been, through our parliament, through our courts, our education system, and our constitution, reduced to not just second-class but, rather, eighth-class citizens? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where Ram Navami, Hanuman Jayanti, Durga pooja processions, and even Garba celebrations, are attacked and stoned with impunity? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where a sitting Prime minister says minorities have the first right to resources? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where Hindus are forced to be refugees in their own land, where one can settle 40,000 Rohingya Muslims but not 700,000 Kashmiri Hindus, the land’s original inhabitants; where the judiciary says it is too late to prosecute those who raped, murdered, and ethnically cleansed lacs of Hindus? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where Hindu temples are exclusively controlled by the State, where Hindus must beg for Waqf land to celebrate their festival while the government usurps hundreds of thousands of acres of temple land and is responsible for more than 100,000 temples losing lacs of crores in rental income? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where Right to Education Act discriminates only against Hindus and their schools, forcing tens of thousands of them to shut down? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where monsters like Aurangzeb and Tipu who perpetrated large-scale Hindu genocides are eulogised through State sponsored publications, naming of roads and cities, and organising of festivals? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where a law was about to be enacted through with only the Hindus would have been held guilty in a communal riot even if they were in a minority for example in Kashmir? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where court judgments like the Sabarimala and legislative enactments like the Hindu Code Bill purport to reform only Hindu religious practices but dare not touch practices of other religions, and if they do, the decisions are promptly reversed like in the Shah Bano case? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where The Places of Worship Act continues to deny the Hindus their legitimate right to correct historical injustices and reclaim thousands of demolished temples? What kind of Hindu Rashtra is this where the Waqf Act gives overarching powers to Muslims to declare a 1500-year-old Hindu temple to be on Islamic land when Islam is only 1300 years old? If this is how a Hindu is rewarded in a Hindu Rashtra, he’d much rather be in a Muslim Rashtra because then at least there’d be no pretence of equality – a Kafir will get what he deserves. In this searing commentary penned with clinical precision, the author shreds to smithereens once and for all the guilt-tripping, self-loathing fake narrative that Hindus have been duped with since Independence. There is no pretence, no political correctness, only unvarnished truth – that the Hindus are living under State-sanctioned Apartheid.

Hindutva

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.

Hop’s Spectacular Adventure

When Hop, the Frog refuses to eat his locusts, he lands himself in a dizzy adventure, drifting towards the earth after the mysterious Two legs come calling. Hop’s Spectacular Adventure is the story of how he becomes the only frog to fly since Felix, the hero of Lower Greens. The endearing tale recounts how a young frog skyrocketed to glory when he least expected it. As he ends up being one with the very legend that he had grown up admiring, he becomes a source of inspiration to young tadpoles everywhere even as he showers them with a bounty of delicious gifts.

How To Get Into IAS

Welcome to India’s biggest and arguably the toughest examination—the UPSC Civil Services Examination. Clearing the exam is a painful journey—a battle, some might say—that requires tenacity, discipline, dedication, unwavering self-confidence, and hard work. While all losing battles have many things in common, a winning one has one: sound guidance. All unsurmountable goals are possible with a perfect companion and guide.

 

How to Get into IAS is that perfect companion and guide. It will:

  •  Educate you in detail about UPSC CSE pattern: Prelims, Mains, and interview.
  •  Explain the eligibility criteria and other important details.
  •  Help you in selecting an optional paper.
  •  Provide you tips on effective writing.
  •  Highlight important topics across subjects with an exhaustive list of reference books.
  •  Suggest tricks to solve comprehension questions and those related to logical and analytical reasoning.
  •  Act like your mentor and provide answers to all your queries related to UPSC CSE.
  •  Assist you in choosing a service and cadre.
  •  Give you an insight into the life of an IAS officer.
  •  Motivate you to achieve your ultimate dream of becoming an IAS officer.

 

Whether it is your first attempt or your last, this is the only book you will ever need. Even in moments of self-doubt, it will put you back on track and inspire you to stay focused.

 

So what are you waiting for? Make How to Get into IAS an integral part of your UPSC journey and see how it will help, motivate, and guide you in transforming your dream of becoming an IAS officer into reality.

Identity’s Last Secret

“Identity’s Last Secret is Makarand R. Paranjape’s most audacious work in mixed media, bringing together many of his avatars in one along with a ‘graphic’ art that builds upon his lifetime of creative adventures. It is a visual poem in the tradition of concrete poetry by George Herbert and Dylan Thomas. With its simple and elegant brushwork, it alludes deftly to the Japanese art of Sumi-E. It, also, recreates the ancient art of tantric scrolls while mandalas and yantras depict the inwardized space of a yogi’s consciousness and the rhythms of accompanying verse bring a synesthesia of sound and vision.” —Pariksith Singh, MD

India and The Changing World Order

India and the Changing World Order breaks free from conventional boundaries, delving fearlessly into the realms of emerging civilisational, religious, and historical matters. Its purpose lies in sparking essential conversations about broader matters, such as civilisational, cultural, and social diversity issues that have been overlooked in the shaping of the post-World War II and post-Cold War global order. As the existing global order confronts unprecedented challenges, this book serves as a catalyst, fuelling a discourse that captures the essence of a rapidly evolving world.

 

Through a comparative study, the book offers fresh insights into the contrasting approaches of short-termist liberal democracies and long-termist autocratic China, shedding light on the distinctive qualities of a liberal and civilisational democracy as exemplified by India. Within its illuminating pages, the reader will uncover the critical challenges that Indian democracy faces while navigating the complexities of its relationship with both autocratic China and the liberal West. Additionally, the book examines the fundamental differences between market economics and market societies. It artfully unravels contemporary geopolitical, geo-economic, and geo-strategic issues, offering intricate analyses of India’s strategic connections with select nations and its ever-growing ties with the USA. Moreover, it dares to propose innovative solutions like astronomy-based education as a means to foster conflict resolution.

 

With an invitation that resonates deeply, India and the Changing World Order calls upon the reader to partake in a discourse that re-evaluates the past, contextualizes the present, and ultimately shapes the trajectory of our shared future.

Integral Education — Beyond Schooling

Integral Education—Beyond Schooling explores a new paradigm of education, taking learning and teaching beyond conventional schooling, towards what may be called evolutionary education and the growth of consciousness.

 

 The book is premised on the idea that we humans are still evolving in consciousness and have reached an evolutionary tipping point where we need a radically new way of learning and growing, a radically new way of perceiving, understanding and organizing our world and living our day to day lives in it, more in harmony, oneness and peace.

 

This book is a must-read for all who are interested and involved in the development of human future, immediate and long term.

Invaders and Infidels

Invaders and Infidels: From Sindh to Delhi: The 500-Year Journey of Islamic Invasions is a work of gripping history, which tells the story of the origins and trajectory of Islamic invasions into India. It begins with the first Muslim conquest and ends with Babur’s invasion of Hindustan, spanning the period of the Delhi Sultanate which was in power for almost 320 years. This epochal story encompasses a vast sweep of events, which changed the history of India forever, and introduced it to an alien faith and a religious despotism such as the country had never experienced before. It comprises major and minor sagas of great heroism, untold savagery, stout resistance, brutal intrigues and epic tragedies.

 

Embedded in this narrative are two major themes, largely overlooked in the inherited Indian historical and cultural memory. For more than three hundred years, alien Muslim invasions into India were largely fleeting, transitory and unstable. However, the lasting legacy of these Muslim invasions is the permanent destruction and disappearance of Classical India. Invaders and Infidels will fascinate anyone interested in the story of pre-Medieval India, a gateway era in the history of this ancient culture and civilisation.

Invaders and Infidels

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.

Jana Awjanar Majhe

Jana Awjanar Majhe is a reflection of the author’s journey of life. It depicts his retrospective feeling about his past, and he tries to bring back those golden days in the mirror of the present. Having spent most of his childhood and adolescence in Kashi, the details of old Kashi are vibrant in the book.

Kashi

Kashi: The Valiant History of a Sacred Geography tells the story of the most sacred of all Hindu holy cities through the prism of sacred geography as is extensively documented in the Sthala Purana. The book features a summary of the Kashi Khanda from the Skanda Purana, an ancient text on the divine origin and leela surrounding the kshetra of Kashi. The history of this kshetra is enriched by the accounts of warrior sadhus, sages, kings, queens, devotees and ordinary citizens who dedicated their lives to preserving and reviving this sacred geography by doggedly building and rebuilding temples, taking up arms against invaders, meticulously documenting Kashi’s history and lore, and tenaciously sustaining pilgrimage routes and practices covering the holy sites of this pivotal city.

 

In particular, the lesser-known story of the warrior sadhus who defended the Kashi Vishwanath temple from marauding invaders is explored through the lens of sacred geography. Studied in this light, Kashi is both a spatial and metaphysical contestation. The current controversy and litigation over the Gyanvapi site cannot therefore be satisfactorily resolved without taking recourse to the idea of sacred geography, which has since time immemorial informed Hindus and indigenous societies worldwide about their identity and the relevance of space and place, culture and metaphysics, civilization and the development of nationhood.

Krishna-Niti

How often have you been advised to follow the teachings of Krishna but wondered what those teachings were? Krishna-Niti: Timeless Strategic Wisdom brings forth eleven of the most important lessons delivered by Krishna at critical junctures in the Mahabharata. These practical lessons are different from the spiritual wisdom imparted to Arjuna in the celebrated Bhagavad-Gita. Whether negotiating for peace between the Kauravas and Pandavas, resolving internal conflicts in the Pandava camp, or inspiring Yudhishthira to rule as a Dharmaraja (righteous ruler) at the end of the Kuruskshetra war, Krishna emerges as the strategist par excellence, who is as worldly wise as he is spiritually enlightened.

 

Krishna’s instructions cover a wide range of subjects, including ethics, strategy, governance, policy, and above all dharma. However, throughout its wide scope, Krishna-Niti is governed by an underlying worldview, which can be summarised as jnana-karma-samuchchaya, or the right combination of knowledge and action to achieve the fourfold goals of human life. Krishna argues that karma is essential to life and natural order. Steadfastness in one’s karma is the key to the attainment of one’s goals whether material or spiritual. Escapism or inaction is not an option, neither is indecisiveness stemming from unending intellectual debates. In no case should one abandon one’s duty by citing a lack of good options.

 

Krishna’s role in the Mahabharata is not just as a knower of dharma (dharmajna) but as its upholder and institutor (dharma-samsthapaka). Therefore, unlike other great works on niti, Krishna’s instructions are not theoretical but have an immediate relation to the situation at hand. His guidance is always delivered to a particular character in the epic, especially in moments of crisis, internal dissension, or war. This implies that we get to see the principles of Krishna-Niti in action throughout the epic.

 

The authors, Kushagra Aniket and Nityananda Misra, draw upon their extensive research into the Mahabharata to present a unique gem of Nitishastra that is distilled from the quintessential Itihasa of India. They analyse Krishna’s practical wisdom through his interventions on numerous occasions. Rooted in the vision of the epic, Krishna-Niti: Timeless Strategic Wisdom paints the authentic picture of Krishna as a statesman—an enduring image that is deeply relevant to our times.

1 2 3 6