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Indian Controversies
Ayodhya / Babri Mosque / Islam and Iconoclasm / Rushdie / Freedom of Speech / The Versed Themselves / Jinnah / Sir Syed Ahmed Khan / Terrorism / Kashmir / Article 370 / Punjab / Incitement / Appeasement / Restoring Dialogue / Jamia Milia Islamia / 'Rushdie The Second' / Bible / Literal Interrancy / Papal Infallability / Milleniarism / Fundamentalism / Taking offence / True Secularism / Reason / Evidence / Abuse / Law / Consitution / Enforcement / Fundamental Duties / Rights / Shah Bano / Shariah / Quran / Jesus / Mohammed / Kafirs / People of the Book / Sole Spokesmen /
- GenresPoliticsIndiaNonfiction
692 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2002
16 people are currently reading
406 people want to read
About the author
Arun Shourie
39 books299 followersIndian economist, journalist, author and politician.
He has worked as an economist with the World Bank, a consultant to the Planning Commission of India, editor of the Indian Express and The Times of India and a Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Vajpayee Ministry (1998–2004). He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982 and the Padma Bhushan in 1990.
Popularly perceived as one of the main Hindu nationalist intellectuals during the 90s and early 2000s.
He has worked as an economist with the World Bank, a consultant to the Planning Commission of India, editor of the Indian Express and The Times of India and a Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the Vajpayee Ministry (1998–2004). He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1982 and the Padma Bhushan in 1990.
Popularly perceived as one of the main Hindu nationalist intellectuals during the 90s and early 2000s.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 5, 2016
Arun Shourie as ever steps into regions of situations in India that most people in public life steer clear of for fear of being object of mudslinging or worse, and treats the subjects he looks into with the same clear incisive light of reason that he used to for his journalistic career, giving facts about the issues from history and present, and analysis without partisan considerations.
From Sikh turmoil and the pronouncements of various Sikh revered Gurus against various mainstream deities (which explains a name of an extremely popular and much visited (by both Hindu and Sikh people) deity in north, that goes against ancient tradition in a strange way) and sects, and reasoned analysis of today's - or rather yesteryear's perhaps, since the Sikh extremism fomented by exterior (to India) interests is now seemingly over - propaganda, to the history of the whole temples destruction by various invaders and reconstruction thereof issue, to the question of a common civil code and history thereof, to other various issues, this book is a good place to get to know about the various stormy controversies that India has been plagued with often quite unnecessarily and for such ignominious reasons as a dirty political game overriding the interests of the nation.
None of these things, or at least very very few, are actually secrets - in a country like India there can be few of those - but while most people do know all this and might admit it the truth of it all in privacy, in public life the overwhelming considerations are pandering to the dominating interests and those that don't do so are in danger of being at the bull's eye of everyone's free range for shooting slime and being treated like criminals, merely for telling it like it is rather than pretending for sake of pleasing partisan interests of mostly powers from outside the nation.
The picture that comes to mind with an uncanny similarity - not for the book but more for the situation, generally - is that of the ancient epic Mahaabhaarata where the sons of Gods lose and go on losing time after time, almost until the end when Divine finally has to step in and help the fight on the side of right, and meanwhile the ignoble, the greedy, the manipulating and the evil go on scoring and exiling the good, the reasonable, even the loved ones. Not that Raamaayana was or is different in this by much - but it had fewer villains and less complications, being earlier in history, and the villains were strangers to the good ones, to say the least.
From Sikh turmoil and the pronouncements of various Sikh revered Gurus against various mainstream deities (which explains a name of an extremely popular and much visited (by both Hindu and Sikh people) deity in north, that goes against ancient tradition in a strange way) and sects, and reasoned analysis of today's - or rather yesteryear's perhaps, since the Sikh extremism fomented by exterior (to India) interests is now seemingly over - propaganda, to the history of the whole temples destruction by various invaders and reconstruction thereof issue, to the question of a common civil code and history thereof, to other various issues, this book is a good place to get to know about the various stormy controversies that India has been plagued with often quite unnecessarily and for such ignominious reasons as a dirty political game overriding the interests of the nation.
None of these things, or at least very very few, are actually secrets - in a country like India there can be few of those - but while most people do know all this and might admit it the truth of it all in privacy, in public life the overwhelming considerations are pandering to the dominating interests and those that don't do so are in danger of being at the bull's eye of everyone's free range for shooting slime and being treated like criminals, merely for telling it like it is rather than pretending for sake of pleasing partisan interests of mostly powers from outside the nation.
The picture that comes to mind with an uncanny similarity - not for the book but more for the situation, generally - is that of the ancient epic Mahaabhaarata where the sons of Gods lose and go on losing time after time, almost until the end when Divine finally has to step in and help the fight on the side of right, and meanwhile the ignoble, the greedy, the manipulating and the evil go on scoring and exiling the good, the reasonable, even the loved ones. Not that Raamaayana was or is different in this by much - but it had fewer villains and less complications, being earlier in history, and the villains were strangers to the good ones, to say the least.
February 3, 2012
I think interesting book on Indian political controversies by a man, who seen it from an editor and opposition leader perspective.
June 9, 2013
good read, must for all those who want to know on babri masjid, shah bano case etc..
April 10, 2014
Few chapters of this book should be in syllabus of Indian Higher Secondary Education!
November 13, 2025
a collection of comprehensive essays written on the various issues pertaining to religion plaguing India today . it covers the whitewashing of some of India's religious leaders and politicians, the inability of the Union government to function properly in the face of mindless hordes and how it bends down to please the mob, the rise of Hindu nationalism as a response to this lack of back bone ,etc. the book is important because various bad faith actors in India , such as in the form of opportunistic politicians and religious leaders , have been using religion to stoke division and gain power . they have misrepresented their religion to hold back their community, and in the process , become very powerful .the whitewashing of historical figures such as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Muhammad Ali Jinnah has also been thoroughly discussed. troubling features of current Indian polity such as corruption , mob empowerment and the weakness of the state has been elaborated upon. the insurgencies in kashmir and punjab has also been talked about.
Shourie's solution to all these ailments is basically to talk , hold educated dialogues for peaceful change , and use the power of the state to clamp down on bad faith actors. in the case of insurgencies he rightly suggests the use of the military to root out the terrorists and putting counter pressure on pakistan so that it doesn't commit misadventures again. he points out that the media ecosystem consisting of liberals should not be a part of the decision making process .
this book was written almost at the beginning of the millennium and still there's a lot wanting in terms of the Union Government's resolve in these aspects. still we are defensive and are paying the price for our indecisiveness regarding the pakistani threat and the fundamentalist threat. and all this happening under a so-called Hindu Nationalist government .
so it is because of this awareness of our situation that Shourie's suggestions actually sound naive to me. i respect his outstanding scholarship . he has delved deep into history and law in proving his points , including that of islamic texts and history . he has stood by his fundamental humanity in deciding what's right and what's wrong. his style is excellent , to produce mountains of evidence and cover all points of an issue , leaving no room for a counter. its exasperating to know that this sound advice will basically go unthought of in the halls of power because of internal politics.
a book to be read to come up to date regarding religious issues in India.
Shourie's solution to all these ailments is basically to talk , hold educated dialogues for peaceful change , and use the power of the state to clamp down on bad faith actors. in the case of insurgencies he rightly suggests the use of the military to root out the terrorists and putting counter pressure on pakistan so that it doesn't commit misadventures again. he points out that the media ecosystem consisting of liberals should not be a part of the decision making process .
this book was written almost at the beginning of the millennium and still there's a lot wanting in terms of the Union Government's resolve in these aspects. still we are defensive and are paying the price for our indecisiveness regarding the pakistani threat and the fundamentalist threat. and all this happening under a so-called Hindu Nationalist government .
so it is because of this awareness of our situation that Shourie's suggestions actually sound naive to me. i respect his outstanding scholarship . he has delved deep into history and law in proving his points , including that of islamic texts and history . he has stood by his fundamental humanity in deciding what's right and what's wrong. his style is excellent , to produce mountains of evidence and cover all points of an issue , leaving no room for a counter. its exasperating to know that this sound advice will basically go unthought of in the halls of power because of internal politics.
a book to be read to come up to date regarding religious issues in India.
July 21, 2024
In his classic style, Shourie drives home certain points, cautions us against certain outcomes and warns us against certain paths by making sure the text is not only logical but replete with examples and evidence. Although I do not agree with many points, the book no doubt is a must read for anyone interested in politics.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews