Waiting for Shiva

After nearly ten centuries of invasions and colonial rule, and seven decades after achieving a bloodied and partitioned freedom, the Indian nation-civilisation is experiencing a remarkable surge in nationalism. There is a strong urge to revive and assert itself politically, culturally, and economically.

India, that is Bharat, is challenging its colonised mindset and manners, striving to write its own story and history, which were distorted by its colonisers and tormentors. India’s New Right captures this pivotal moment in Bharat’s life. The book seeks to understand this exceptional period in Bharat’s history through the eyes of the many protagonists driving this change. Some of these individuals are prominent public figures, while others are faceless individuals working behind the scenes to bring about change.

The book features nearly fifty full-length interviews woven into the larger narrative. It covers a wide range of subjects, from youth to economy, history to popular culture, law to gender identity, minorities to ghar wapsi, and the demographic war.

Whispers from the Past is an overture to the history and culture of classical Kashmir, which for over a thousand years was one of the most creative places in the world. Through the book, the author hopes to acquaint the reader with Kashmir’s contributions to art and aesthetics, including drama, music, painting, sculpture, sciences, yoga, tantra, literature, and philosophy. The region’s culture was premised on the idea that universal consciousness binds humanity together, and knowing this at the individual’s level is fundamental to self-understanding and for creative growth. Classical Kashmiri artists appreciated great art not merely from its inherent cleverness points of view but for its capacity to inspire audiences to the source of creativity itself, and this entailed devotion to excellence and a robust tradition of criticism. The book explores the currents of intellectual life and the lives of prominent royals, writers, and sages, showing how Kashmiri scholars and travellers came to influence not only southern regions but also far-away lands beyond the Himalayas. It showcases Kashmir’s famed storytelling tradition through abridged tales from the Panchatantra, Kathā-sarit-sāgara, and Yoga Vāsiṣṭha, the last of which is arguably the greatest book of imagination and wisdom ever written on the conundrums of consciousness with unequalled clarity. Kashmiri aesthetics and the search for meaning in life resonate with modern sensibility

My Freedom of Expression is a collection of 22 articles published in recent years mostly by the Statesman newspaper. The anthology—varied in its themes ranging from Indic civilization to democracy, scientific temper to religious bigotry and identity to governance—is an exploration of what holds India back to become a global leader. The author picked some of contemporary’s most contentious topics, such as global warming, scientific marvels, the mysteries of life and the universe, cultural and religious superstitions, illusions and prejudices in the practise of science, and the importance of religion in society, and dissected them one by one with a rationalist knife. So what his writings essentially do is show a mirror to society. By being both accessible and arresting at once, the book deserves a place in everyone’s library.

India became politically independent in 1947, but for economic freedom it had to wait for another four decades until P.V. Narasimha Rao, in tandem with Dr Manmohan Singh, chaperoned the country’s liberalization process in the summer of 1991. In 2014, another seismic revolution unravelled, the contours of which are still being drawn. For the first time, a ‘new India’ had not just seen an alternative model of governance that is truly divorced from the Nehruvian ethos but also initiated a process of democratization and decolonization of the largely ‘elitist, insular and compromised’ Lutyens’ world.

Argumentative and deeply researched, Bharat Rising combines the narrative style of journalism and the rigour and discipline of academia. It is as much about the resetting of Lutyens’ world as it is about a new India shedding its traditional distrust, if not distaste, for the country’s civilizational and cultural past.

Rearming Hinduism is a handbook for intellectual resistance. Within its pages, Vamsee Juluri delivers a sharp and comprehensive examination of Hinduphobia pervasive in contemporary academia, media, and popular culture. Juluri not only exposes the Hinduphobic narrative’s denial of the profound truths and beauty within Hindu philosophy but also challenges its disregard for the inherent integrity and sacredness of the natural world. This book fearlessly dismantles prevalent misconceptions about nature, history, and ancient civilizations propagated by modern media while debunking Hinduphobic myths surrounding Aryans, invasions, and ritual practices. Through this critique, Rearming Hinduism draws connections between Hinduphobia and a culture marked by exploitation and self-destruction, suggesting that a revitalized Hindu perspective may offer a potent counterforce. It urges readers to envision the present through the lens of timeless principles, thereby uplifting our understanding of our land, time, and the enduring values of sanatana dharma.