Here is a recently published book on India that you might find interesting. If you wish to read a review of the book please visit Literary India at the following website under the title "Representing the Indian Nation and its People" by Ruchika Mohan:
http://literaryindia.com/Literature/World-Literature/Book-Reviews/Representing%20the%20Indian%20Nation%20and%20Its%20People.html
Representing India: Cultures, Politics, and Identities by Mukesh Williams and Rohit Wanchoo published from Oxford University Press, 2008, Pages 368, Price: £ 24.99 (United Kingdom), Rs. 695 (India) Hardback ISBN-13: 978-0-19-569226-6
The book can be bought from any of the amazon websites.
Obviously every book gives you something, but you have to wait till the very end of the chapter or sometimes even till the very end of the book to find something useful and significant. Representing India gives you tightly packed information in every page. It is obvious from the beginning of the book that Williams and Wanchoo know the subject as well as the best in the area. The book is unique in the sense that it is simply written taking the reader step-by-step from simple to difficult concepts. Both the authors have used their rich and wide-ranging experience as teachers and scholars, both in India and Japan, to deal with the most complicated ideas in a simple, matter-of-fact language. If you wish to write a research paper on India or get an overall view of Indian diversity, the book is worth reading. To give you an idea of the large sweep of the book here is a list of the chapters included in it:
1. The Sanskrit Heritage: Bengali and Hindi Literatures
2. English and Indian English Literature
3. Representing the Nation in the Hindi Media
4. Hindu Politics and the Nation
5. Religious Identities and Politics
6. South Asian Disapora: Negotiating Des Pardes
The footnotes are a beehive of well-documented references and cross-references. It is possible to use the footnotes to develop your newly acquired knowledge about India and delve deeper into any of the areas treated in the book, from languages to Diaspora.
