Ramachandra Guha's India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy (Revised and Updated Edition)

Sanjay SabaleSanjay Sabale: The media could not be loaded.  Use this book for general knowledge.
I have a habit to read books.
Book is no doubt good, but paper quality is so cheap, should be improved.

India on Oct 28, 2023

Very interesting book. Glad I purchased it. Recommend to any history buff!: It’s informative in an interesting format. Huge but enjoyable read.

United States on Oct 07, 2023

Devanshu Kaushik: Though voluminous, it helps answer some important questions on how we got where we are as the Indian nation, at least politically speaking, post independence. Raises some important questions too.

India on Sep 17, 2023

Kartik MatmariKartik Matmari: I am proud to say that I finished the 780-page epic. India after Gandhi - The history of the world’s largest democracy, by Ramachandra Guha.

We are never taught in schools about the Post-Independent India. History lessons in high schools in India stop at 15th August 1947. What after that? What happened from 16th August 1947 to today. This book is the answer.

I took more time than usual particularly for this book because I made notes on each page. I compared what was happening in the 1950s through 1980s in India to what was happening in the USA & UK particularly as my family is extensively spread between these countries.

1961 my father and his peers, were 21-year-old young men, with hopes and dreams – I could understand their struggles, their battles, and their internal demons after understanding what India and the Indian society was going through. I was born in the year of Emergency in India; this book taught me the times I was born. What was happening around me while I was in a cradle in Hyderabad.

This is a spectacular book that takes us through 75 years if Independent India. I thank Guha for this effort. Particularly for factual historic...

India on Aug 12, 2023

Meena Abhijeet Valke: Very good quality and it was delivered as expected.

India on Aug 09, 2023

Rajiv Thind: This is a very well-researched book with all the necessary footnotes, so discerning readers can assess original sources.

It’s evident Ram Guha has spent many years researching M.K. Gandhi and the Congress party’s role in the freedom struggle. As such, the narrative is completely focused on the upper caste (mostly North Indian) Hindu elites led by Gandhi.

To Guha’s credit he records (in his other book on Gandhi) significant engagements of Gandhi with B.R. Ambedkar. Some discussion of the AFTERMATH of their confrontation would be useful.

What would Gandhi and friends do to the OBCs, the Dalits, Adivasis without Ambedkar’s tireless activism for minority rights? What would Gandhi have thought about the reformist Constitution of India and the Hindu Code Bill?

Gandhi was a stubborn Hindu reactionary with bizarre theological justifications for whatever he thought was the right course for the entire nation. Is Gandhi compatible with the idea of modern India as Ambedkar is? These questions remain unanswered.

United States on Jul 08, 2022

mb: I love his work on "Gandhi before India" and this is his second installment but on Indian democracy (read - not on Gandhi, his forte).

Guha attempts to answer very important questions on why democracy survives in India while there have been multiple coupes in Pakistan, tragic civil wars in Sri Lanka and unsuccesful attempts to keep democracy intact after independence in Nepal/Burma/African countries and some intresting discussions on social fault lines on US which dont exists in India (Hispanic vs White/others).

Reading this book and others (e.g. Nehru: The Invention Of India - Shashi Tharoor) I am now able to appreciate the monumental task which lied ahead of triumvirate of Indian Independence struggle (read again .. no Gandhi here) of integrating ~545 princely states into one nation, setting up IAS/ICS to conduct first free and fair elections (1951) and finally writing a truly secular and inclusive Constitution for protecting lowest strata of indian society (ScheduleTribes/Castes) at that time. The arguments, discussions went in during that constituent assembly are also well documented in this book with good rationale.

He has put good arguments to convince...

United States on Jun 14, 2019

Debjit Sengupta: The Indian history taught in schools has been biased, irrelevant and incomplete. For the children, the history ends with partition and independence. After this period, the history seems to be devoid of contents. The events after that may appear in popular cinema and television but Indian history book never formally covers it, at school. In order to glorify India’s past; there have been mixed myths and half-truths. For e.g., it can be United Nations declaring India’s national anthem as world’s best or India’s victory over China in 1962 war. There have been many such instances, including bizarre achievements of ancient Indians. There are many reasons why Indian students finds history so boring. I am always on the lookout for an authentic account of Indian history. This book attempts to narrate and analyze major characters, controversies, themes and processes of independent India. The West had lovingly devalued India’s attempt for democracy. The doomsayers had predicted a disastrous India with death of every prime minister. Many went to the extent of calling India as a dystopia, which anytime could be replaced by a military rule. Whatever be the earlier debate on forlorn...

India on Jun 03, 2019

Eric Stimson: These are the kind of history books I most like to read: broad overviews of vast stretches of history, written in an accessible yet scholarly and well-researched manner. Guha points out in the intro that historians have traditionally focused more on the colonial period than on recent Indian history, as if that period was more interesting. He makes a good case for recent Indian history's importance and drama, telling a tale of religious upheaval, political turmoil, a few insurgencies, idealistic heroes, cynical scoundrels, social change, some horrible riots, economic growth, wars with Pakistan and China, and a few interesting figures with multiple sides to their personalities (namely, Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay).

Although it's a huge, long book, Guha rarely conveys the impression that he's dwelling for too long on any particular topic. I did think he gives the Nehru era a little more coverage considering its duration, but considering that this is when the foundation of modern India was laid, it's justifiable. He also devotes two whole chapters to the Jayaprakash Narayan movement and the ensuing Emergency, but since this was a dramatic time when India's future as a...

United States on Jul 02, 2011