Nasima Aziz

As the title suggests, the book takes the reader on a journey through the most popular period of the history of Awadh—the 1700s and 1800s. The historical scenario is diligently explained; and a peep into the dynamics of the court, the personal lives of the nawabs, and their changing relationship with the Mughal rulers and the colonial masters, makes the book extremely interesting.


Reviewed by: Kirti Narain
Sutapa Dutta

While William Carey’s name is etched in the history of missionary activity in India, arguably little is  known about Hannah Marshman, who worked alongside her missionary husband, Joshua Marshman, as well as Carey. Similarly, Mary Ann Cooke, the first ‘unmarried’ woman sent to do missionary work in India, has had few biographers.


Reviewed by: Namrata R Ganneri
Yasmin Saikia

The Cambridge Companion to Sayyid Ahmad Khan, published on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817-98), fittingly includes contributions by historians, political scientists, literature scholars, and a specialist in religious studies.


Reviewed by: Barbara D Metcalf
Rajmohan Gandhi

There are histories of India, and then occasionally we have histories of south India. Histories of India tend to be, to a great extent, about regions of the subcontinent lying north of the Deccan plateau and the Vindhyas. Depending on the period of Indian history being considered, a conscientious scholar might take into account some significant developments in the south, but the overall narrative is likely to focus on the Ganga plains and the north-west.


Reviewed by: Amar Farooqui
Prannoy Roy

In this timely book, The Verdict: Decoding India’s Elections, India’s original, most popular, and respected pollsters, Prannoy Roy and Dorab R Sopariwala unpack their story of elections in the world’s largest democracy. Spiced with anecdotes from the field and bits of dry humour, this deftly crafted, superbly researched volume presents ‘the characteristics, the experience, and the lessons learned from watching and studying Indian elections over the last seven decades.’


Reviewed by: KK Kailash