India: From Midnight to the Millennium and Beyond by Shashi Tharoor

This book promises to give you an idea of the importance of India for the future of the industrialized world. It handles issues such as religious identity vs. tolerance and democracy vs. economic development. On the other hand, it is far from being a pop-culture introduction to the new, IT-enabled India. The book is heavily based on history and gives a detailed account of India’s journey to independence, the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty, the army attack on the Golden Temple in Amristar etc. I have never been a big fan of boring historical details but I must say that this book has added a few missing pieces to the puzzle that is today’s India. Many times I travelled somewhere and heard a piece of history connected to a place, but never quite understood the context. As in any country, politics is a popular topic to discuss over a few bottles of beer and I occasionally found myself among Indian friends discussing the Raj, the Gandhis, the land reforms etc. Embarrassingly, I had to hold my mouth shut because I was mostly ignorant of the historical details. Yes, we have all heard of Gandhi and Mother Theresa, and we all think they were “inspirational”, “great souls” or “moral examples”. But what do you really know about them?  

You can buy the book here on Amazon.

Warning: The book is densely packed with detail so don’t expect to read it cover-to-cover in two hours. I am still slowly working my way through its chapters ... and becoming a little wiser each time!