Grand Tamasha is Carnegie’s weekly podcast on Indian politics and policy co-produced with the Hindustan Times, a leading Indian media house. For six years (and counting), host Milan Vaishnav has interviewed authors, journalists, policymakers, and practitioners working on contemporary India to give listeners across the globe a glimpse into life in the world’s most populous country.

Each December, Milan looks back at the conversations we’ve hosted during the course of the year and selects a handful of books that stayed with him long after our recording wrapped. This year’s selections span biography, history, and political economy—but they share a common thread: Each offers a bold reinterpretation of India at a moment of profound political and social churn.

In keeping with this tradition, here—in no particular order—are Grand Tamasha’s top books of 2025. 

• A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India’s Development Odyssey
  By Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian. Published by HarperCollins India.
• Believer’s Dilemma: Vajpayee and the Hindu Right’s Path to Power, 1977–2018
  By Abhishek Choudhary. Published by Pan Macmillan India.
• Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia
  By Sam Dalrymple. Published by HarperCollins India.

Taken together, these books showcase the breadth of scholarship animating debates on India and South Asia today. They remind us that the region’s past remains contested, its present deeply complex, and its future still uncertain. I hope you find these conversations as stimulating and inspiring as I did.

One final note here: As you consider your year-end charitable giving, we hope you will choose to support Grand Tamasha. 

This season, you might have noticed that we’ve expanded into video, allowing listeners to watch full-length conversations on YouTube. Listener contributions sustain the costs of production, research, and distribution—especially as we expand our video offerings. 

The podcast receives no external funding beyond what our audience generously provides, and contributions from U.S.-based supporters are fully tax-deductible. 

We would be grateful for whatever support you can offer. Please visit https://donate.carnegieendowment.org/for more information on how you can give.

On behalf of the entire team, we hope you have a wonderful holidays. Thanks for listening to the show—and see you in the new year.

Episode notes:

1. “The Forgotten Partitions That Remade South Asia (with Sam Dalrymple),” Grand Tamasha, October 29, 2025.

2. “A Sixth of Humanity and the Dreams of a Nation (with Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian),” Grand Tamasha, October 22, 2025.

3. “Vajpayee and the Making of the Modern BJP (with Abhishek Choudhary),” Grand Tamasha, September 3, 2025.

4.  Milan Vaishnav, “Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of 2024,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 17, 2024.

5.  Milan Vaishnav, “Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of 2023,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 19, 2023.

6.  Milan Vaishnav, “Grand Tamasha’s Best Books of the Year,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, December 20, 2022.