India Politics: A View From The Backbench by Bimal Jalan In India's Politics: A View from the Backbench, Bimal Jalan, ex-Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and best-selling author of The Future of India, turns his gaze to the complex mechanics of the political system in the country. As a member of Parliament, Bimal Jalan has watched the workings of India's politics closely. While there is much to be proud of in India's achievements as a vibrant democracy, there are some areas of concern which require attention. In particular, Jalan finds that the emergence of multi-party coalitions as a regular form of government?and their relatively short life expectancy at birth?has brought about a sea change in political dynamics. The search for power and the compulsions of coalition politics are increasingly the primary drivers of political behaviour in India today. This development combined with the need to cope with global terrorism, lawlessness and economic disparities during a period of high growth, calls for some urgent reforms in the working of India's vital political institutions. Jalan puts forward a ten-point programme to make India's parliamentary democracy more stable, transparent and accountable. According to him, constant vigilance is indeed the price of liberty and if some of the emerging trends are not reversed, India's democracy 'by the people' could become more and more oligarchic-of the few and for the few'.
India's Politics: A View from the Backbench is an insider's account of how politics is practiced in India, and to what effect. It is one of the most important studies of the India's political system to have been written. This paperback edition contains a new preface, taking stock of recent political developments.
The Puffin History of India for Children: 1947 to the Present (Volume 2) by Roshen Dalal The Puffin History of India for Children: 1947 to the Present begins at a turning point of Indian history, as India attains independence and the British withdraw from the subcontinent. Independent India's first few years are eventful and epoch-making: before the traumas of Partition and of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi have fully subsided, the focus must shift to laying the blueprint of the new nation, with the making of the Constitution, the integration of the 565 princely states, the setting-up of the administrative, legislative and judiciary systems, and the establishment of an infrastructure for industry and agriculture. The author follows this key period in Indian history closely, from the first Republic Day celebrations in 1950 to the first general elections in 1952, and the implementation of the subsequent agendas for social and economic development envisaged by Jawaharlal Nehru.
In a lucid and informal style, the book then tells the fascinating story of India over the next fifty years, beginning with the premierships of Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi and proceeding to Jayaprakash Narayan and the Emergency, the ousting of the Congress party and the rule of the Janata government headed by Morarji Desai. The author describes the dramatic turnarounds of the 1980s and 90s, from Indira Gandhi's return to power to her subsequent assassination, Rajiv Gandhi's prime ministership, the governments of V P Singh and P V Narasimha Rao, and the Bharatiya Janata Party's rise to power, with Atal Bihari Vajpayee heading a National Democratic Alliance government.
Along with periods of growth, the book looks closely at times of turbulence: the Indo-China War of 1962, the war with Pakistan in 1965, the 1971 Bangladesh War, and the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. It also analyses some issues that are key to the recent history of the nation: economic liberalization, the harmful effects of terrorism and sectarian movements on the national fabric, the Kargil conflict, India's attainment of nuclear capability and its progress into the new millennium as the world?s largest democracy.
This is not merely a political history of India. It tells the story of India's people-from an account of the social and economic changes that have taken place since Independence, to art and culture in independent India. Colourful descriptions, informative nuggets and lively analyses make the book immensely readable. An attractive layout, profuse illustrations, detailed maps and a thorough index add to its value. A long chapter outlines the history of each individual state and union territory, full of information that will be invaluable to the student as well as the casual browser.
Puffin Lives: Rani Laxmibai by Deepa Aggarwal A little girl, Manikarnika, with an uncanny sense of her own destiny, grew up to be none other than the brave queen of Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai. Trained in horse riding and the martial arts from an early age, Manu was married to Gangadhar Rao, the Maharaja of Jhansi, when she was thirteen. Soon after her husband's death, the reins of the kingdom passed on to her, and she took up this responsibility undeterred and fearless. When Jhansi faced the danger of annexation, she fought against the British with unflinching courage, losing her life in the course of the battle. She has since become one of the most inspiring heroes of the freedom struggle and a much-admired role model.
The Upside Of Irrationality by Dan Ariely Behavioral economist Dan Ariely will explore the many ways in which our behavior often leads us astray in terms of our romantic relationships, our experiences in the workplace, and our temptations to cheat. Blending everyday experience with groundbreaking analysis and new research into our decisionmaking processes, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities. In each chapter, Dan will examine data from original experiments to draw invaluable conclusions about how-and why-we behave the way we do in these areas of our lives. In an extension of his conclusions, Dan will also reflect on ways to make ourselves and our society better.
Among the topics Dan explores are:
What we think will make us happy and what really makes us happy;
How we learn to love the ones we are with;
Why online dating doesn′t work, and how we can improve on it;
Why learning more about people make us like them less;
Why large bonuses can make CEOs less productive;
How to really motivate people at work;
Why bad directions can help us;
How we fall in love with our ideas;
How we are motivated by revenge; and
What motivates us to cheat.
Drawing on the same experimental methods that made Predictably Irrational such a hit, Dan will emphasize the important role that irrationality plays in our day-to-day decisionmaking-not just in our financial marketplace, but in the most personal aspects of our lives.
I Am Another You by Priya Kumar I AM ANOTHER YOU is a story of breakthroughs. Powerful, Life changing breakthroughs You start this journey with the author, years ago, trying to escape from a world that did not feel right. You travel with her in this magical journey to the Netherlands where she learns the greatest lessons of her life by taking part in some amazing processes in the tradition of the ancient spiritual masters and healders who help her realize that the only place where wrong is rightened is within. There is nothing wrong with the world outside if we sort out the world inside. There are some stories that everyone relates to, because they involve you through thoughts and feelings that are universal. This is such a story. A life purpose for example, is something each of us is looking for. A desire to achieve more from life and live at a higher self, is something everyone wants. A spiritual inclination to seek deeper, beyond material fulfillment, each of us pursues sooner or later. There are numerous places in the book where you find yourself stopping, drawing paralles to your own life and finding answers. In an honest narrative, extracted from real life experience ,the book takes you through struggle, overcoming and victory over self. The book deals with breakthroughs that can be used by anyone to achieve personal success in the true sense of the word. Priya, who is a corporate trainer by profession, weaves learnings into each chapter, subtly, observing the meaning behind every experience, pointing it out to the reader without being obvious and leading you to think and find meaning and purpose in your own life situation, as it is now and where you desire to take it from here.
A book of many lessons, many insights and many truths, it has the power to awaken you to your best self. This book will urge you to take that path you always knew was right but never had the courage to follow. It will guide you, humour you, inspire you, touch you and above all lead you to your life s calling.
Down Memory Lane by Hiro Shroff A series of recollections by one of India's most distinguished journalists. Shroffs anecdotes are peopled by the infamous and the man on the street. Here then is a record of an eventful era.
You could be one of the many millions of people whose malfunctioning thyroid gland is slowing down their metabolism. Often, proper thyroid treatment can be all that is needed to help you successfully lose weight.
The Thyroid Diet will help many previously unsuccessful dieters get diagnosed and treated, and shed unwanted pounds. It will also help sufferers whose weight loss problems persist after treatment by identifying the many frustrating obstacles to weight loss and offering solutions, both conventional and alternative.
the most effective ways to change your diet
thyroid-damaging foods to avoid
metabolism-supporting herbs and supplements
eating plans, food lists and delicious recipes
handy worksheets to help you track your weight loss
resource section with websites, books and support groups.
Literary Occasions: Essays by V.S. Naipaul Charting half a lifetime spent exploring the written word, these eleven articles include Naipaul's boyhood experiences of reading books and his first youthful efforts at writing them; the evolution of his ideas about the extent to which individual cultures shape identities and influence literary forms; Naipaul's observations on Conrad, his literary forebear; the moving preface he wrote to the only book his father ever published; and his reflections on his career, ending with his celebrated Nobel lecture 'Two Worlds'. A remarkable companion piece to The Writer and the World, Naipaul's previous volume of highly-acclaimed essays, Literary Occasions is a stirring contribution to the fading art of the critic, and a revelation of a life in letters.
Tales Of Two Cities by Kuldip Nayar In Tales of Two Cities, two eminent journalists - Kuldip Nayar and Asif Noorani - give their personal accounts of the Partition of India, the killings and massive migrations which it provoked and their subsequent impact on Indo-Pakistan relations.
As a young law graduate, Kuldip Nayar witnessed at first hand the collapse of trust between communities in Sialkot and was forced to migrate with his family to Delhi across the blood-stained plains of Punjab. He vividly describes his own perilous journey and his first job as a young journalist in an Urdu newspaper reporting on Gandhi's assassination. Asif Noorani, while still a schoolboy in Bombay, set off with his family by steamer across the Arabian Sea for the promised land of Pakistan, ultimately settling in Karachi. He gives his own compelling account of the difficulties faced by the new arrivals and the slow emergence of today's megacity with its dominant Mohajir culture.
Both authors write with authority about their ancestral homes and their adopted cities, which have played so large a role in bilateral relations. This is a book about a trauma which transformed the subcontinent and still exerts a powerful influence today. These are personal narratives bringing to life a lost world of harmonious relations which each author in his own way is still to recreate.
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