Caterpillar and the Mahua Flower:
Tremors in India's mining fields
edited by Rakesh Kalshian
Panos South Asia, 2007 Mahua flowers fall to the ground in the morning, which women then sweep up and carry home in baskets, to dry in the sun. For the poor, this is a meal that gives instant energy; when fermented, it also becomes a powerful spirit. The title of this work suggests an anthropological study of life in the Adivasi belt of Central India, but turns out to be a powerful book on resource economics, instead. The articles here recount the exploitation of the poor by the nexus of the mining industry, administrators and politicians. The story of the mines of Keonjhar, in Orissa, which exports most of its iron ore to China, is particularly moving. Following Manmohan Singh's recent declaration of Naxalism as the main enemy of modern India, this work could offer him a better understanding as to why leftwing extremism thrives in rural parts of resource-rich Central India. By the standards of INGO publications, this book is surprisingly engrossing. (CKL)
An American Witness to India's Partition
by Phillips Talbot
Sage, 2007 In 1938, the New York-based Institute of Current World Affairs awarded 23-year-old Phillips Talbot, a reporter with the Chicago Daily News, a fellowship to study the dynamics of contemporary India. Talbot's reports from the field over the following decade document the most turbulent period of the Subcontinent's history. Seamlessly bridging the gap between journalistic stories and academic research, Talbot writes with empathy, insight and flair. This collection provides rare glimpses into larger-than-life figures such as Nehru, Gandhi, Jinnah, Patel and Liaquat Ali, who, unthreatened by the young Talbot, allowed him extraordinary access to their personal and political affairs. This fascinating work is worth a read even if only for the letter by Talbot's wife, Mildred, who evocatively describes the heady Independence Day celebrations of 14 and 15 August in Karachi and Delhi, against the backdrop of a horrific communal conflagration. (Laxmi Murthy)
The Great Partition:
The making of India and Pakistan
by Yasmin Khan