As the year 2018 came to a close, we asked some of our contributors and Southasia's prominent writers, intellectuals and journalists about some of the most interesting books they read over the past year. Here's what they had to say.
Nalaka Gunawardene, Journalist
Democrats and Dissenters by Ramachandra Guha
In this fourth in a series of books exploring the creation and evolution of the Indian Republic, Ramachandra Guha once again offers fascinating insights in engaging prose. The book's 16 essays contain perspectives that are mostly Indian, but sometimes, Southasian or global. The contest between democracy and authoritarianism in the world's most populous subregion could not have a better chronicler. We ignore this historian at our peril.