This book is a must read for anyone interested in India's progress since its freedom. As the author points out, Indian educational system and a vast majority of historians have dedicated an enormous quantum of effort in documenting the centuries that run up to the 15th of August 1947.
After this, India attained its freedom and then time stood still! literally! if one were to go by historians!
Fortunately, the ilk of Ramachandra Guha have taken it upon themselves to remedy the situation and boy they do a fantastic job.
The book begins with a India attaining its Independence and Nehru's famous "Tryst with destiny" and covers every decade until the late 2000s. The book itself has been narrated in a wavy manner where the reader is constantly transported through the several years of a decade as the author picks a topic, say the Naga struggle and narrates the turn of events that happened over the years since its beginning and final culmination of the struggle.
The book is full of names, anecdotes and quotes from various authors with genuine references that we can re-read this book several times over and still feel charmed about the country that we call India!
The generation of youngsters today remember stalwarts like Jawaharlal Nehru only for his philandering ways and blame him for the mistakes he made. This book enlightens us of all the good he did along with his faults. It makes one appreciate the man that was Nehru better. This is just one example, the book covers many such great men and women who paved way for what India is today.
The book covers the formative years of the Constitution and how it was hotly debated and how Dr.B.R.Ambedkar who was an employee with the British government went on to became a mass leader that became the face of the lower caste of this country.
The book talks about all the British officials who stood by India through one crisis after the other that dogged India through the century! The book talks about all the naysayers who wrote thesis after thesis writing off the very concept of India pooh pooing the will of the masses as being too immature to hold such a vast country together.
We see through the author's eyes, India's integrity being tested in each decade by different forces within and without and how India has stood testament to the word 'Democracy'.
We see how our great leaders achieved great things and made even greater mistakes such as Rajiv Gandhi in his capitulation of the Shah Banno case or forcing the reopening of Babri Masjid for Hindu prayers.
We see Nehru, refusing to believe that his country was under fire, like Nero and his daughter on the other hand forced the war on East Pakistan to end the menace on the eastern front.
Overall, the reader becomes prouder for what this country stands for and realizes what pains our forefathers have gone through to give us the life we live today.
I will recommend this book to every Indian. As with any history book, there will be another author who would contest some of this book's writings, as Mr. Guha would agree, if this book brings out more such historians, then this Author's mission is deemed complete
