Home Publications Book Reviews
Book Reviews
Harnessing the Trade Winds: The Story of the Centuries-Old Indian Trade with East Africa, Using the Monsoon Winds by Blanche Rocha D’Souza, (First published in Kenya in 2008 by Zand Graphics Ltd, Reprinted in India 2021 by Pentagon Press LLP.) Pp. 204. IN
Samir Bhattacharya, Research Associate, VIF

Long before the Christian era, Indians had the knowledge of monsoon winds. And Indians started sailing, not only before the European explorers of 14th centuries and around, but Indians sailed even before Hippalus, the Greek mariner, famous for...

November 15, 2021
Tags: Historical and Civilisational Studies
“Kathmandu Dilemma: Resetting India-Nepal Ties” by Ranjit Rae, Vintage Books, New Delhi, pp. 224, 2021, ₹ 499
Rishi Gupta, Research Assistant, VIF

As one completes the immigration and security checks at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) and passes through the boarding gates, one gets amused on why is there another set of security checks, just next to the runway, before boarding an Air...

September 23, 2021
Tags: Air India, India-Nepal Ties, Janjati-Madhesi, Nepal, Neighbourhood Studies
Book Review: Uttam Kumar Sinha, Indus Basin Uninterrupted: A History of Territory & Politics from Alexander to Nehru. Gurgaon, Penguin Random House India, 2021. 352pp.
Prof K Warikoo

The book traces the history of Indus basin from Alexander’s campaign to Muhammad bin Qasim crossing the Indus River and laying the foundation of Muslim rule in India. It follows up providing the Mughal rulers perspective on hydrology and water use,...

September 23, 2021
Tags: Great Game, Indus Basin, Muslim rule, West Asia, Governance and Political Studies
Buddha in Gandhara by Sunita Dwivedi; Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 2020, 295pp.
Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Research Associate , VIF

‘Buddha in Gandhara’ is the fourth book by Sunita Dwivedi. She is a Silk Road traveller and has a keen interest in uncovering Buddhist heritage across India Subcontinent. This book presents an account of the ancient Buddhist cities of Gandhara—a...

July 8, 2021
Tags: Buddha, Buddhas Dhamma, Buddhist, Gandhara, Greco-Roman, Kashmir, Philosophy, Historical and Civilisational Studies
“India’s China Challenge: A Journey through China’s rise and what it means for India” by Ananth Krishnan, Harper Collins, 2021, pp.420, Price Rs. 599
Rup Narayan Das

No scholar following India-China relations in India or abroad can ever claim anonymity with Ananth Krishnan regarded as the most authentic interpreter of India-China relations for about decades as a correspondent filing despatches from mainland...

June 3, 2021
Tags: China, International Relations and Diplomacy
Politics of Geo-politics: Continuity and Change in India-Nepal Relations; Edited by Lok Raj Baral (2018); 256p; price: 799 ISBN-10: 81-8363-138-9; Publisher Adarsh Books, New Delhi
Cchavi Vasisht, Research Associate, VIF

The edited volume includes multiple perspectives of former diplomats and academicians from India and Nepal. It theorises India-Nepal relations, focussing broadly on economic, security and geopolitical relations. The book was published in 2018, and...

April 28, 2021
Tags: Nepal, Neighbourhood Studies
Omar Sadr, Negotiating Cultural Diversity in Afghanistan. Oxon: Routledge, 2020, xiii+242 pp., INR 995, ISBN: 978-1138371057
Soumya Awasthi, Associate Fellow, VIF

‘Negotiating Cultural Diversity in Afghanistan’ by Omar Sadr is an account of Afghanistan's multicultural society. The book discusses the challenges that the government faces in ensuring national integration under cultural diversity. The book...

April 26, 2021
Tags: Afghanistan, Neighbourhood Studies
A Promised Land by Barack Obama, Crown, New York, 2020 pp.902, Ebook ISBN 9781524763183
Praveen Menon

The advantage with presidential memoirs of articulate politicians like Barack Obama is that apart from profound thoughts, travails, dilemmas and policy decisions a US President makes, they bring into life with vivid description the humane sentiments...

November 25, 2020
Tags:
India and EU: An Insider’s View by Bhaswati Mukherjee, New Delhi: ICWA and Vij Books, 2018, ISBN: 978-81-93759-10-3, pp. 336, Rs 995
Dr Himani Pant, Associate Fellow, VIF

Although India was among the first countries to develop ties with the European community in the 1960s, the country’s present level of engagement with the European Union (EU) is not commensurate with the existing potential. The four-year long hiatus...

June 18, 2020
Tags: Brexit, China, European Union, India-EU summits, Europe, International Relations and Diplomacy
The Rise and Fall of Khoqand: Central Asia in the Global Age, 1709-1876. By Scott C. Levi, Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017. 2017, 258pp.
Dr Pravesh Kumar Gupta, Research Associate , VIF

Until recently, a few books have been published on the history of Central Asian Khanates of Khiva, Bukhara, and Kokand. In his book, Levi C. Scott, a professor of Central Asian history at Ohio State University, focuses on the historical significance...

June 3, 2020
Tags: Central Asia, Central Asian history, Crimean War, Ferghana Valley, Khanate of Kokand, Russian forces, International Relations and Diplomacy
Contact Us