"pop"

I've done a fair amount of "pop" history and academicky reading this month so far, all of which I've really enjoyed. Actually, to be fair, most of them were books I picked up for my dissertation (which is going JUST FINE, so stop asking) but ended up being not extremely relevant.

India Since Independence is a concise textbook-like work on Indian history and economic performance since independence. I was actually looking forward to it, because it helps me put into context a lot of the Nehruvian policy that I've been writing about for the chapter I'm currently working on. So it does what any decent textbook ought to do - which is basically hand things to you on a plate. I'm including it in the list on this page anyway, firstly because even though it's a thoroughly academic book and everything, I think it's an accessible book which most people ought to (and do) read anyway. I'm also listing it here because, like almost every other book I'll be writing about in this post, I've been too lazy to actually read any fiction and too broke to buy anything new. 

Savaging the Civilized is a biography of Verrier Elwin's written by Ramachandra Guha. I read it at the Teen Murti Library while getting some books photocopied. I actually picked it up thinking that it would have something solid to say about the Nehru-Elwin debate on tribal policy in India, but there wasn't much substantial in it on this particular subject. I read it anyway because it was a fascinatingly written account of Elwin's life - I hadn't been a fan of much of Elwin's work before this, mostly because the way he writes is quite annoying. But this book changed a lot of this, and now I find myself treating a lot of what Elwin had to say with a lot more sympathy and patience. 

I also really like Ramachandra Guha. I know that for lots of people India After Gandhi is totally a pop history sort of work, but I love the way he writes and puts things together. I've only read a part of India After Gandhi (it's huge, okay!), but I was discussing this with someone last night and he made a totally valid point. Guha deals with pretty much the same period and subject matter as Bipan Chandra and others in 'Indian Struggle for Independence', but treats it so very differently. While Chandra and others make some terrific arguments, Guha just provides a brilliant narrative of the time. I also found this in Fissured Land. (Not the first part so much, because that was quite dense and not narrative at all, but the third part was very, very nicely done.)

On 'Making a Difference' which I read because it looked very exciting, and not because it's even slightly relevant for my dissertation, I will make a separate post. Later.