Hinduism is one of the world's oldest and greatest religious traditions. In captivating prose, Shashi Tharoor untangles its origins, its key philosophical concepts and texts. He explores everyday Hindu beliefs and practices, from worship to pilgrimage to caste, and touchingly reflects on his personal beliefs and relationship with the religion. Not one to shy from controversy, Tharoor is unsparing in his criticism of 'Hindutva', an extremist, nationalist Hinduism endorsed by India's current government. He argues urgently and persuasively that it is precisely because of Hinduism's rich diversity that India has survived and thrived as a plural, secular nation. If narrow fundamentalism wins out, Indian democracy itself is in peril.

There are over a billion Indians alive today. But are some more Indian than others? To answer this question, one that is central to the identity of all who belong to modern India, Shashi Tharoor explores hotly contested ideas of nationalism, patriotism, citizenship and belonging. A contest has emerged between two opposing ideas of India: ethno-religious nationalism, versus civic nationalism. The struggle for India's soul has heightened, deepened and broadened, threatening to hollow out and destroy the remarkable concepts of pluralism, secularism and inclusive nationhood that were bestowed upon the nation at Independence. The Constitution is under siege; institutions are being undermined; mythical pasts propagated; universities assailed; minorities demonised, and worse. Every passing month sees new attacks on the ideals that India has long been admired for, as authoritarian leaders and their supporters push the country towards a state of illiberalism and intolerance. If they succeed, millions will be stripped of their identity, and bogus theories of Indianness will take root in the soil of the subcontinent. However, all is not yet lost. This erudite and lucid book shows what needs to be done to win the battle of belonging - to strengthen everything that is unique and valuable about India. 'A passionate defence of civic nationalism, it is many books rolled into one, full of erudition interspersed with anecdote. You find the raconteur and the public intellectual vying with each other for attention...but in the final analysis the book hangs together and the message is clear.' - The Hindu 'Arguably Shashi Tharoor's most ambitious work yet... a book that showcases the power of his erudition and perspicacity.' - The Wire 'A passionate plea for an ideal of India, an India taken for granted by generations and now seemingly endangered by overt and covert ideas and ideologies that seek to segment it on imagined criteria of "us" and "them".' -- Mohammad Hamid Ansari, former Vice-President of India 'A must-read for the sheer brilliance of Tharoor as a writer and for the personal anecdotes and stories he has up his sleeve.' -- The Daily Guardian, India

***THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER*** In the eighteenth century, India's share of the world economy was as large as Europe's. By 1947, after two centuries of British rule, it had decreased six-fold. Beyond conquest and deception, the Empire blew rebels from cannon, massacred unarmed protesters, entrenched institutionalised racism, and caused millions to die from starvation. British imperialism justified itself as enlightened despotism for the benefit of the governed, but Shashi Tharoor takes on and demolishes this position, demonstrating how every supposed imperial 'gift' from the railways to the rule of law was designed in Britain's interests alone. He goes on to show how Britain's Industrial Revolution was founded on India s deindustrialisation, and the destruction of its textile industry. In this bold and incisive reassessment of colonialism, Tharoor exposes to devastating effect the inglorious reality of Britain's stained Indian legacy.

Dissects how competing, increasingly strident visions of India will shape its destiny for decades to come. Over a billion Indians are alive today. But are some more Indian than others? To answer this question, central to the identity of all who belong to modern India, Shashi Tharoor explores hotly contested notions of nationalism, patriotism, citizenship and belonging. Two opposing ideas of India have emerged: ethno-religious nationalism, versus civic nationalism. This struggle for India's soul now threatens to hollow out and destroy the remarkable concepts bestowed upon the nation at Independence: pluralism, secularism, inclusive nationhood. The Constitution is under siege; institutions are being undermined; mythical pasts propagated; universities assailed; minorities demonised, and worse. Tharoor shows how these new attacks threaten the ideals India has long been admired for, as authoritarian leaders and their supporters push the country towards illiberalism and intolerance. If they succeed, millions will be stripped of their identity, and bogus theories of Indianness will take root in the soil of the subcontinent. However, all is not yet lost. This erudite, lucid book, taking a long view of India's existential crisis, shows what needs to be done to save everything that is unique and valuable about India.

The Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller on India's experience of British colonialism, by the internationally-acclaimed author and diplomat Shashi Tharoor 'Tharoor's impassioned polemic slices straight to the heart of the darkness that drives all empires ... laying bare the grim, and high, cost of the British Empire for its former subjects. An essential read' Financial Times In the eighteenth century, India's share of the world economy was as large as Europe's. By 1947, after two centuries of British rule, it had decreased six-fold. The Empire blew rebels from cannon, massacred unarmed protesters, entrenched institutionalised racism, and caused millions to die from starvation. British imperialism justified itself as enlightened despotism for the benefit of the governed, but Shashi Tharoor takes demolishes this position, demonstrating how every supposed imperial 'gift' - from the railways to the rule of law - was designed in Britain's interests alone. He goes on to show how Britain's Industrial Revolution was founded on India's deindustrialisation, and the destruction of its textile industry. In this bold and incisive reassessment of colonialism, Tharoor exposes to devastating effect the inglorious reality of Britain's stained Indian legacy.

Hinduism is one of the world's oldest and greatest religious traditions. In captivating prose, Shashi Tharoor untangles its origins, its key philosophical concepts and texts. He explores everyday Hindu beliefs and practices, from worship to pilgrimage to caste, and touchingly reflects on his personal beliefs and relationship with the religion. Not one to shy from controversy, Tharoor is unsparing in his criticism of 'Hindutva', an extremist, nationalist Hinduism endorsed by India's current government. He argues urgently and persuasively that it is precisely because of Hinduism's rich diversity that India has survived and thrived as a plural, secular nation. If narrow fundamentalism wins out, Indian democracy itself is in peril.

An incisive new biography of the great secularist whoalongside his spiritual father, Mahatma Gandhiled the movement for Indias independence from British rule and ushered his newly independent country into the modern world. An incisive new biography of the great secularist whoalongside his spiritual father, Mahatma Gandhiled the movement for Indias independence from British rule and ushered his newly independent country into the modern world. The man who would one day help topple British rule and become Indias first prime minister started out as a surprisingly unremarkable student. Born into a wealthy, politically influential Indian family in the waning years of the Raj, Jawaharlal Nehru was raised on Western secularism and the humanist ideas of the Enlightenment under his fathers careful guidance. Once he met Gandhi in 1916, Nehru threw himself into the nonviolent struggle for Indias independence, a struggle that wasnt won until 1947. India had found a perfect political compliment to her more spiritual advocate, but neither Nehru nor Gandhi could prevent the horrific price for independence: Partition. In this fascinating biography, Tharoor, author of India: From Midnight to the Millennium, casts an unflinching eye on Nehrus heroic efforts for, and stewardship of, independent India and gives us a careful appraisal of his legacy to the world.

A Monsoon Feast comprises seven short stories by renowned writers from Kerala (India) and Singapore that provide deep insights on the various concerns and ways of life of both communities. The collection includes stories by well-known author Shashi Tharoor, Commonwealth Writers' Prize-winning author of 12 books, including The Great Indian Novel, and inaugural Singapore Literature Prize winner and popular author Suchen Christine Lim. A unique literary collaboration, A Monsoon Feast intimately connects the reader to the heart of two similar and yet different cultures. Across the seas, the winds blow between two lands, whispering back and forth what is seen, heard, tasted, smelt, felt in each place: the green trees, the tropical heat, the lush rain, the peoples of enterprise and culture, the aromas of different flavours and more. A Monsoon Feast is the point at which these winds intermingle, their conversation celebrating the best of what Singapore and Kerala have to offer.