The Hindu On Books

Amitav Ghosh speaks to us on his latest work of non-fiction “The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables For A Planet In Crisis”

Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu

Syed Akbaruddin speaks to us on his latest book ‘India vs UK: The Story of an Unprecedented Diplomatic Win’

Syed Akbaruddin was India’s Permanent Representative to the UN when India scored an unprecedented diplomatic victory in 2017 by defeating UK for a seat on the International Court of Justice. India’s Dalveer Bhandari was elected a judge of the ICJ. Mr. Akbaruddin’s recent book ‘India vs UK: The Story of an Unprecedented Diplomatic Win’ is an account of the contest in which all five permanent members of the UNSC united against India.

Guest: Syed Akbaruddin, who is currently Dean, Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad

Host: Varghese K George, Resident Editor - Delhi, The Hindu

Prof Neera Chandhoke speaks to us on her new book, The Violence in Our Bones: Mapping The Deadly Faultlines Within Indian Society

G. SampathOne of the big promises of democracy is that it would solve – to a substantial extent – the problem of violence. It is commonly held that one of the differences between barbarism and civilization is that barbarians tend to kill those they hate or disagree with, whereas civilized folks resolve their differences through dialogue and negotiations – that is, by non-violent means. The highest form of such a civilized society is liberal democracy – the kind of democracy our freedom fighters had in mind when we got independence in 1947.

But with independent India about to turn 75, we find that violence is endemic in Indian democracy. So how do we reconcile this story that we tell the world – of India being the land of Buddha, Ashoka andn Gandhi, of India being a civilization that practically invented non-violence, as it were -- with the widespread proclivity for violence, ranging from road rage and gender violence all the way to communal riots and encounter killings?

It is this difficult question that Prof Neera Chandhoke, a political science scholar, explores in her new book, The Violence in Our Bones: Mapping The Deadly Faultlines Within Indian Society.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

In this episode of The Hindu on Books, Pallavi Aiyer speaks to us on her latest book 'Orienting: An Indian In Japan'. Through the book, Pallavi Aiyer draws a comparative image between the life in India and Japan. She draws a contrast between the way of life, environment and the general state of India and Japan.

She also raises the issue of race, caste and other arbitrary societal norms which are posted in the minds of Indians where no such exist in Japan. One of the key difference she draws in the safety of women and children in India when compared to Japan.

Through her work, she tries to let the reader hope; Whether can India do and be better.

Host: Kallol Bhattacherjee, Senior Assistant Editor, The Hindu

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In this episode of The Hindu on Books, we are chatting with one the most acclaimed investigative journalist Josy Joseph where we talk about his new book "The Silent Coup". The book answers the question "Is our democracy slowly being degraded?" He also talk about how people simply bend the rules of suits the wims of the ones in the power seats. Josy Joseph makes the reader ask where the democracy in India on the decline as the deep state uses the security apparatus for political ends?

In what can be described as an "angry book", Josy Joseph take the creative non-fiction form to tackle this question.

Guest: Josy Joseph, Journalist and Author

Host: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu

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In this episode, we are joined by Sanjaya Baru and Suhasini Haidar to talk about the new book "A New Cold War: Henry Kissinger and the Rise of China” Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Kissinger's historic 1971 visit that marked the start of the era of U.S.-China engagement, the book examines the legacies of the visit. We discuss in this podcast how the 1971 visit happened, its impact on the Cold War, and the evolution of U.S.-China relations in the years since. We particularly focus on the consequences for India, and ask what the lessons from history are as India navigates a new era of U.S.-China competition. The book is a collection of essays by 18 authors, and is edited by Dr. Baru and Rahul Sharma. Suhasini Haidar is among the authors.

Guests: Sanjaya Baru, political commentator, author, and previously media adviser to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh; Suhasini Haidar, National Editor and Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Host: Ananth Krishnan, China correspondent, The Hindu

In this eposide of The Hindu on Books, we are sitting down for a chat with Nirupama Subramanian where she talks about her latest book "Murder on the Menu: The Sensational Story of the Tycoon who founded Saravana Bhavan"

Twenty years ago, the murder case of Prince Santhakumar, a young tutor-turned-insurance agent, created a sensation in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere as it pointed to the involvement of P. Rajagopal, founder of what was once considered an empire in the field — Hotel Saravana Bhavan. Till the discovery of the murder, Rajagopal, who entered the fray with limited resources, was regarded as a model restaurateur as his chain of hotels became a byword for quality vegetarian food and employee welfare. At the same time, his story is an illustration of how a man, however successful he may be, can get caught out because of his own shortcomings.

Through the book, Nirupama Subramanian tells the dark reality of the much-beloved vegetarian gormet empire.

Host: Soma Basu, Deputy Editor, The Hindu

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In their book, Spy Stories: Inside the Secret World of The R.A.W and I.S.I, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark make several explosive revelations, including about the Pulwama attack and alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav. The two foreign journalists seem to have enjoyed an unprecedented level of access to the intelligence establishments on both sides, even working as back-channel diplomats after the Pulwama attack.

In this book, the duo seeks to document the inner workings of the RAW and the ISI. They also trace the career of NSA Ajit Doval through the past few decades, especially from the 1999 Indian Airlines’ flight IC-814 hijack, which the NSA describes as a “diplomatic failure”, to the 2000 Parliament attack, and more recently events in Kashmir, including the 2016 Pathankot and 2019 Pulwama attacks in which 40 personnel were killed, as well as the retaliatory Balakot strikes by the Indian Air Force.

In this podcast, Adrian Levy speaks to Suhasini Haidar on the work that went into the book.

Guest: Adrian Levy, Author

Host: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor, The Hindu

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Malcom Gladwell says "The Bomber Mafia" marks a departure for him stylistically as a writer as he has never told a story before that was just one narrative with no social science. But there is a common thread across Gladwell’s books, which is his fascination with how the human psyche deals with conflict; and this book has that in spades.

The Bomber Mafia follows the competition between the two men in “one of the grandest and consequential stages of the Second World War,” Gladwell says hoping the book will invite people to look at how society operates along similar lines of division now.

Guest: Malcom Gladwell, journalist and author

Host: Divya Kala Bhavani, Technology Editor, The Hindu

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Kavitha Rao tells the stories of six women, who in the 19th and early 20th century challenged societal norms, fought gender and caste battles to tread an unconventional path and become doctors in her famous work "Lady Doctor: The Untold Stories of India's First Women in Medicine"

The book helps us to see what it was like for these six women who defied every obstacle, balanced work and family lives, and left a lasting impression and impact on their peers and especially on women who joined the field in the years after them. Memories of them, says the author, have been erased as history has been rewritten by men. And that is what prompted her to write about the motivating life stories of these women for all to know.

In this podcast, Ms. Rao tells us how she put together the stories of Anandibai Joshi, Kadambini Ganguly, Rukhmabai Raut, Muthulakshmi Reddy, Mary Poonen Lukose, and Haimabati Sen, each of whom was a pioneer in her own way between 1860 and 1930.

Host: Soma Basu, Deputy Editor, The Hindu

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