What do you think?
Rate this book
Countdown
On 11 May 1998 the Indian government tested five nuclear devices some forty kilometers from Pokaran. Seventeen days later Pakistan tested nuclear devices of its own. About three months after the tests, Amitav Ghosh went to the Pokaran area, after which he visited Kashmir as part of the defense minister’s entourage. He also went to the Siachen glacier in the Karakoram Mountains where Indian and Pakistani soldiers have been exchanging fire since 1983. Ghosh then travelled through Pakistan and Nepal. Countdown is partly a result of these journeys and conversations with many hundreds of people of the subcontinent.
73 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1999
27 people are currently reading
587 people want to read
About the author
Amitav Ghosh
58 books4,200 followersAmitav Ghosh is an Indian writer. He won the 54th Jnanpith award in 2018, India's highest literary honour. Ghosh's ambitious novels use complex narrative strategies to probe the nature of national and personal identity, particularly of the people of India and South Asia. He has written historical fiction and non-fiction works discussing topics such as colonialism and climate change.
Ghosh studied at The Doon School, Dehradun, and earned a doctorate in social anthropology at the University of Oxford. He worked at the Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi and several academic institutions. His first novel, The Circle of Reason, was published in 1986, which he followed with later fictional works, including The Shadow Lines and The Glass Palace. Between 2004 and 2015, he worked on the Ibis trilogy, which revolves around the build-up and implications of the First Opium War. His non-fiction work includes In an Antique Land (1992) and The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2016).
Ghosh holds two Lifetime Achievement awards and four honorary doctorates. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India's highest honours, by the President of India. In 2010, he was a joint winner, along with Margaret Atwood, of a Dan David prize, and in 2011, he was awarded the Grand Prix of the Blue Metropolis festival in Montreal. He was the first English-language writer to receive the award. In 2019, Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the most important global thinkers of the preceding decade.
Ghosh studied at The Doon School, Dehradun, and earned a doctorate in social anthropology at the University of Oxford. He worked at the Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi and several academic institutions. His first novel, The Circle of Reason, was published in 1986, which he followed with later fictional works, including The Shadow Lines and The Glass Palace. Between 2004 and 2015, he worked on the Ibis trilogy, which revolves around the build-up and implications of the First Opium War. His non-fiction work includes In an Antique Land (1992) and The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2016).
Ghosh holds two Lifetime Achievement awards and four honorary doctorates. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India's highest honours, by the President of India. In 2010, he was a joint winner, along with Margaret Atwood, of a Dan David prize, and in 2011, he was awarded the Grand Prix of the Blue Metropolis festival in Montreal. He was the first English-language writer to receive the award. In 2019, Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the most important global thinkers of the preceding decade.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
November 3, 2015
Had expected a lot given it's Amitav Ghosh, but just two pages into the page I knew what the writer believes in, who he is against - aka the Rajdeep Sardesai/Sagarika brand of journalism.
Some good info abt Indo-Pak relations, but at the end of it all, there's really nothing you take away from this book. Should have been restricted to an op-ed article at best.
Some good info abt Indo-Pak relations, but at the end of it all, there's really nothing you take away from this book. Should have been restricted to an op-ed article at best.
December 31, 2011
This is a great book to read; its simple language makes it easily digestible, its size makes it a commute-friendly quickread. Focussed on the 11th May 1998 nuclear device testing in Pokaran, Rajasthan, the book covers different points of view on various related elements of the test including Indo-Pakistan relations. The different viewpoints, presented as intereviews with key players in the debates, makes for interesting reading. A recommended read to help understand how India thinks and responds in a political way.
To give you a taste, here’s my favourite quote from the book taken from a conversation between the author and George Fernandes, then Deference Minister of India:
‘I don’t think many Indians care about the country,’ he said. ‘By Indians I mean those in the highest places. If they cared they wouldn’t have been looting the treasuries as they are and they wouldn’t be allowing the crooks of the world to treat their country as a grazing ground. Some day we will sink and this will not have anything to do with China or with Pakistan. It is because this country is cursed to put up with a leadership that has chosen to sell it for their own personal aggrandizement.’
As you can see, still a relevant book thirteen years on.
To give you a taste, here’s my favourite quote from the book taken from a conversation between the author and George Fernandes, then Deference Minister of India:
‘I don’t think many Indians care about the country,’ he said. ‘By Indians I mean those in the highest places. If they cared they wouldn’t have been looting the treasuries as they are and they wouldn’t be allowing the crooks of the world to treat their country as a grazing ground. Some day we will sink and this will not have anything to do with China or with Pakistan. It is because this country is cursed to put up with a leadership that has chosen to sell it for their own personal aggrandizement.’
As you can see, still a relevant book thirteen years on.
December 28, 2016
I did not quiet get the purpose if the book. Written immediately after the nuclear weapon race between India and Pakistan if the late 90s, this book tries to portray the nuclear tests as a blunder for India. The author travels through Pakistan to fetch the answers he wants to hear. He talks to the then Defence Minister George Fernandes and comprehends his answers in the fashion he seeks them for his book. Effect of nuclear war on cities like mumbai and Delhi were sadistic and seemed desperation to prove his point.
November 5, 2020
An inside view of what India Pakistan relationships are...
March 22, 2024
Hindsight proves that the dude had no idea what he was talking about.
June 19, 2012
This is the first non-fictional work that I read of Amitav Ghosh, and his craft of being profound yet comprehensible makes this 85 pager an very good read. It was, partially, published as a newspaper article and hence the style is that of a journalistic piece to begin with. However, by the 85th page, one feels as if having completed a proper long-form work of non-fiction. This essay is based on the May 1998 nuclear tests, first by India and then followed closely by Pakistan as a retaliation. As a journalist-author, Ghosh travels to Pokharan, the site of the tests, only to realise that the "symbol" of self-reliance and prestige that the tests were supposed to be, is actually a time-bomb ticking to someday decimate South Asia. The immediate aftermath of the 1974 tests introduced cancer, deformed births and skin diseases to the neighbouring villages around Pokharan. The 1998 tests would perhaps bring in more than just disease and deformities.
A "rising" India desperate to showcase itself as a regional power, and an internally diseased Pakistan hurtling towards civil disintegration, are both bleeding themselves on huge investments on defence and military, avoidable costs that could be better utilised for the actual welfare of their respective people. This general observation in the essay holds true still, even almost 12-13 years from the publication of this essay.
Ghosh travels to Siachen, Pakistan and various corridors of power in New Delhi, conducting interviews and discussions with civil society members, nuclear scientists as well as politicians. While not every perception may be viewed equally by the people of out two countries, but the overall conclusion is the same- this game of misconceived one-upmanship is the result of the lack of caring leadership at the highest levels, rather than a real defence need. A sentence somewhere in beginning portion of the essay perhaps captures the essence of the writer's conclusion: he describes the Parliament House as "An establishment of power where rules that are made to govern the whole nation radiate outwards in decreasing circles of effectiveness".
A "rising" India desperate to showcase itself as a regional power, and an internally diseased Pakistan hurtling towards civil disintegration, are both bleeding themselves on huge investments on defence and military, avoidable costs that could be better utilised for the actual welfare of their respective people. This general observation in the essay holds true still, even almost 12-13 years from the publication of this essay.
Ghosh travels to Siachen, Pakistan and various corridors of power in New Delhi, conducting interviews and discussions with civil society members, nuclear scientists as well as politicians. While not every perception may be viewed equally by the people of out two countries, but the overall conclusion is the same- this game of misconceived one-upmanship is the result of the lack of caring leadership at the highest levels, rather than a real defence need. A sentence somewhere in beginning portion of the essay perhaps captures the essence of the writer's conclusion: he describes the Parliament House as "An establishment of power where rules that are made to govern the whole nation radiate outwards in decreasing circles of effectiveness".
February 16, 2012
Incredible. Only 80 pages long, this is a documentary account of the authors travels to India and Pakistan soon after a set of nuclear tests were performed by both in 1989. In this short volume, Ghosh manages to make geopolitics come alive through the stories of the politicians, activists and ordinary people he meets. The book reads like a novel, but has an ultimate purpose. Billions are spent not only on nuclear weapons, but on a facade of agression high in the himalayan glaciers which is both comical and sad (about 1000 soldiers die from the weather each year, not from any of the daily exchanges of fire) becuase it can be stopped so easily. Ghosh leads us through landscapes such as this, and is able to show us how the two countries' histories cause them to misunderstand the purpose of nuclear weapons, how this could (and nearly did) easily lead to the first nuclear war, and how ordinary folk, who only hanker for peace between the two nations, are left behind by politicians greedy for power.
February 9, 2012
This is a curious little book, written in the wake of the nuclear tests conducted by India Pakistan in 1998. It started out as an article in the New Yorker and retains the immediacy of a journalist’s approach. But Amitav Ghosh is better known as a novelist and, in the manner of V.S. Naipaul, manages to combine insightful analysis with the fiction writer’s eye for the deeper truth.
Fourteen years after the tests, there are elements of the book that are dated; but surprisingly much of the description of the relationship between India and Pakistan governments has not changed. India still treats Pakistan as a sadly errant younger brother that should really come back to the family; Pakistan sees India as the frustrating elder sibling with an unfair genetic advantage. Ghosh’s conclusion is that both governments care more about each other than they do about their own peoples.
Worth reading, particularly for those interested in the historical context of Indo-Pak relations.
Fourteen years after the tests, there are elements of the book that are dated; but surprisingly much of the description of the relationship between India and Pakistan governments has not changed. India still treats Pakistan as a sadly errant younger brother that should really come back to the family; Pakistan sees India as the frustrating elder sibling with an unfair genetic advantage. Ghosh’s conclusion is that both governments care more about each other than they do about their own peoples.
Worth reading, particularly for those interested in the historical context of Indo-Pak relations.
August 8, 2015
It is never easy to get out of an Amitav Ghosh book and lead a normal life thereafter, as if you haven't been affected by anything. Countdown was no less different. Ghosh's first non-fiction publication from Ravi Dayal and Penguin is only 80 pages but makes you think of the many unturned, yellow edged pages of the history of the Indian subcontinent. A docu like narrative that is structured around India's nuclear test during the NDA regime, Countdown touches upon the many aspects of the politics of power, in Pakistan as well as in India. Ghosh's caricatures of George Fernandez, India's then defence minister and Asma Jahangir, Pakistan's legendary human rights activist, will never fade from your memory. Countdown is still relevant, in fact more relevant today.
November 1, 2017
A short collection of essays around India's nuclear tests back in those days. I'm a sucker for Amitav Ghosh, so needless to say, don't expect objectivity from me. It's good to see an Indian author writing about interactions with the similar-minded intellectuals across the border, and how some of the actions are viewed by sane minded people on the other side of the border, and how they judge the actions of their own government. Surprisingly, years after it was written, it seems to be relevant to the India-Pakistan relationship. A good, quick read (although I took almost 2 years to finish it, as I kept on losing it in other books due to its size, and kept rereading for context) .
January 7, 2021
This books seems to be the author's way of reconfirming his preconceived notions from selected people. In this short read, the left leaning writing has tried to hammer how wrong the nuclear tests (especially during Atal Bihari Vajpayee's tenure, Indira Gandhi's initial tests get a bare mention) are for India.
A more balanced read would have been to highlight both sides of the coin, write about discussions with dignitaries involved who were pro-tests instead of having a single negative approach from the start to the end of the book.
A more balanced read would have been to highlight both sides of the coin, write about discussions with dignitaries involved who were pro-tests instead of having a single negative approach from the start to the end of the book.
December 1, 2013
No where near his best. Amitav is good at story-telling and not as good at articulating his views on issues as he attempts to do in his book. He still makes out a strong case against the nuclear tests. He also narrates his personal experiences with the usual ease. The book makes an interesting reading.
March 13, 2012
A provocative piece of non-fiction, that is, befitting the standards of the author, superbly written. You may agree with his views, and you may disagree. But you would love to read his writing. Recommended.
January 18, 2016
Again, another very lucidly written book. Even though he's mainly retelling conversations interspersed by a few observations, he manages to convey the situation of India's nuclear problems within the context of the world in general and South Asia in particular very effectively. Excellent read.
February 8, 2013
one of the few timeless books, too bad i lost it.
Read
June 21, 2025Set against the backdrop of the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan, the book is a commentary based on the author's conversations and first-person reflection as a journalist at that point in time. Amitav, as always, has a gripping style that meanders through the crises, chaos, and despair that mark the political outlook for the nation's birthed through a partition and inherited the colonial bureaucracy that struggles to acquire a higher purpose or political vision that is needed for ushering in social democracy. Comparing the outlook of leadership and intelligentsia of India and Pakistan, around what having the nuclear option meant to both and how it links to the complex aspirations of the political leadership. The dilemma that India's former Defence Minister, late George Fernandes, represents, ranging from his days as a harsh critic of nuclear power and arms to holding the post when India conducted atomic blasts, makes for an insightful read. There is an occasional connect with the lived realities of people, like the villagers near the blast sites at Pokhran, the army men and officers at Siachen, the highest and coldest battlefield in the world.
June 4, 2021
Bewildered!
When you pick something written by someone as distinguished as Amitav Ghosh, you expect nothing short of a great piece.
Though the anecdotes and viewpoint shared in this writing are noteworthy, all in all it seemed incoherent.
I found myself asking the question, What is the point the author is trying to make?
Its obvious that author's beliefs are of peace and against nuclear armament.
But it seemed more like a long rant of one's mind coming from a place of great frustration.
Its not a book or a novella even, probably a long article (of 80 pages).
I will not recommend it to anyone.
When you pick something written by someone as distinguished as Amitav Ghosh, you expect nothing short of a great piece.
Though the anecdotes and viewpoint shared in this writing are noteworthy, all in all it seemed incoherent.
I found myself asking the question, What is the point the author is trying to make?
Its obvious that author's beliefs are of peace and against nuclear armament.
But it seemed more like a long rant of one's mind coming from a place of great frustration.
Its not a book or a novella even, probably a long article (of 80 pages).
I will not recommend it to anyone.
November 30, 2025
Amitav Ghosh’s non-fiction has always been both hard-hitting and lyrical, but this book is a revelation. Who would have imagined that an account of the aftermath of the Pokhran nuclear tests could be rendered with such poetry?
Ghosh traces what the tests meant for India and its closest neighbour, Pakistan—how a nation long colonized wrestles with the desire to be taken seriously, to be seen as a “great power.” His visit to the Siachen glacier is particularly striking: a stark meditation on the futility of defending an inhospitable terrain purely for military pride, an unpopular opinion he articulates with courage and clarity.
Through a chorus of voices—including a fascinating, detailed interview with George Fernandes, the then defence minister—Ghosh underscores that India never intended to use its nuclear arsenal. Instead, the tests were a bid for a seat at the global table as a legitimate nuclear state.
But as he moves across the border into Pakistan, his certainty falters. The volatile political climate, the conversations with human rights activists, and the revealing look into how ordinary Pakistanis perceive India all lend the narrative a deep, unsettling nuance. His account of visiting the Wagah border from the Pakistani side is transporting.
This slim book remains one of the most important pieces of writing on the Asian political landscape. Sadly, not much has changed since Ghosh first wrote it.
Ghosh traces what the tests meant for India and its closest neighbour, Pakistan—how a nation long colonized wrestles with the desire to be taken seriously, to be seen as a “great power.” His visit to the Siachen glacier is particularly striking: a stark meditation on the futility of defending an inhospitable terrain purely for military pride, an unpopular opinion he articulates with courage and clarity.
Through a chorus of voices—including a fascinating, detailed interview with George Fernandes, the then defence minister—Ghosh underscores that India never intended to use its nuclear arsenal. Instead, the tests were a bid for a seat at the global table as a legitimate nuclear state.
But as he moves across the border into Pakistan, his certainty falters. The volatile political climate, the conversations with human rights activists, and the revealing look into how ordinary Pakistanis perceive India all lend the narrative a deep, unsettling nuance. His account of visiting the Wagah border from the Pakistani side is transporting.
This slim book remains one of the most important pieces of writing on the Asian political landscape. Sadly, not much has changed since Ghosh first wrote it.
April 6, 2015
"There are no Indians left," states George Fernandes, cryptically.
I picked this book up at a local book fair, for 100 Rs. I'd been wanting to check out some of Ghosh's work, and I've also been reading a bit of what some call 'literary journalism' these days. The blurb on the back looked promising, and I started reading it.
The book basically is Ghosh's search for reasons and motives in the aftermath of the 1999 Pokaran (also spelled Pokharan) nuclear tests. He speaks to experts, common people and politicans in his search for answers. A rather bland premise, yes, but Ghosh's search makes it interesting.
It begins with a trip to the test site and the surrounding areas, and insights from the residents on what they think of it all. Their responses, unsurprisingly are not very positive.
This section finishes off with a musing on what he calls the archaic concept of the 'great power', a musing that he returns to later.
Then, Ghosh questions some Indian politicians on their views. Here, Ghosh goes on a slight tangent to talk about George Fernandes, a senior Indian politician, and in doing so reveals a bit about his own self and his history, as well as Fernandes' politics and ideals. This section rouses in you a sense of idealism, principles and a respect for a real life person who stood up for their beliefs. A great character sketch of sorts, but on a real life person.
Ghosh then travels to Kashmir to visit the army installations there and talk to the military personnel stationed there. And here, you'll have to excuse me for some rambling, since is probably the best part of the book, and the most surreal.
A description of Ladakh follows his visit to 'lower Kashmir', and it is intense. Vivid, fanciful and inspires longing. The adjectives bring to mind sci fi and for a minute, I forgot what I was reading. How could I know that the most starkly expressive imagery of Kashmir would be from a work of literary journalism, and not a travel magazine? And it's in Kashmir where fact seems to touch fiction, because as an officer says, it's Kashmir that the common man turns into something fairy tale like, far away, to distance it from the immediacy of their minds. Helicopters being worshiped and defense ministers serving soldiers food are among the many curiosities that happen here.
Ghosh does a good job humanizing the military without sentimentalizing them.
The next section deals with Pakistan, and their perpetual dance with chaos. It explores the idea the bomb has in their collective consciousness, and how it contrasts with India. This section is a bit lacking in that Ghosh only talks to experts and the elite, but given the security conditions it's not surprising.
The narrative of his search ends with an obligatory visit to Wagah, and an account of the world famous ceremony. All sense of brewing tensions recede.
In the last section, Ghosh lists out hypothetical scenarios of nuclear war, with experts providing figures and listing out the heavy potential collateral damage - to Nepal and the Himalayan water sources, for example. He admonishes the world's lack of responsibility for failing to deal with what the 'great powers' had began during the Cold War. India's nuclear tests, he says, should wake the world from their slumber.
He finishes off with a chilling statement on how nuclear war in the Subcontinent would be tantamount to civil war, as the people affected would be the leaders' own.
The entire text features a distinct style of writing - succinct, compact and condensed. Certain motifs repeat - the monopoly of the 5 nuclear powers, India's sense of insecurity, 'great power' status, the sheer absurdness of investing in nukes in the midst of rampant poverty, the inevitability of nuclear tensions flaring up - all deeply embedded in the Subcontinent's psyche. It features talking to people as varied as Ram Vilas Paswan, the head of the Jam'at-ul-Islami, and Asma Jehangir. There's a sense of deep sympathy with the common man, but none of the usual sentimentality that follows.
Metaphors flow with sage comparisons, and you feel closer and closer to understanding 'how to love the bomb'. A great read.
I picked this book up at a local book fair, for 100 Rs. I'd been wanting to check out some of Ghosh's work, and I've also been reading a bit of what some call 'literary journalism' these days. The blurb on the back looked promising, and I started reading it.
The book basically is Ghosh's search for reasons and motives in the aftermath of the 1999 Pokaran (also spelled Pokharan) nuclear tests. He speaks to experts, common people and politicans in his search for answers. A rather bland premise, yes, but Ghosh's search makes it interesting.
It begins with a trip to the test site and the surrounding areas, and insights from the residents on what they think of it all. Their responses, unsurprisingly are not very positive.
This section finishes off with a musing on what he calls the archaic concept of the 'great power', a musing that he returns to later.
Then, Ghosh questions some Indian politicians on their views. Here, Ghosh goes on a slight tangent to talk about George Fernandes, a senior Indian politician, and in doing so reveals a bit about his own self and his history, as well as Fernandes' politics and ideals. This section rouses in you a sense of idealism, principles and a respect for a real life person who stood up for their beliefs. A great character sketch of sorts, but on a real life person.
Ghosh then travels to Kashmir to visit the army installations there and talk to the military personnel stationed there. And here, you'll have to excuse me for some rambling, since is probably the best part of the book, and the most surreal.
A description of Ladakh follows his visit to 'lower Kashmir', and it is intense. Vivid, fanciful and inspires longing. The adjectives bring to mind sci fi and for a minute, I forgot what I was reading. How could I know that the most starkly expressive imagery of Kashmir would be from a work of literary journalism, and not a travel magazine? And it's in Kashmir where fact seems to touch fiction, because as an officer says, it's Kashmir that the common man turns into something fairy tale like, far away, to distance it from the immediacy of their minds. Helicopters being worshiped and defense ministers serving soldiers food are among the many curiosities that happen here.
Ghosh does a good job humanizing the military without sentimentalizing them.
The next section deals with Pakistan, and their perpetual dance with chaos. It explores the idea the bomb has in their collective consciousness, and how it contrasts with India. This section is a bit lacking in that Ghosh only talks to experts and the elite, but given the security conditions it's not surprising.
The narrative of his search ends with an obligatory visit to Wagah, and an account of the world famous ceremony. All sense of brewing tensions recede.
In the last section, Ghosh lists out hypothetical scenarios of nuclear war, with experts providing figures and listing out the heavy potential collateral damage - to Nepal and the Himalayan water sources, for example. He admonishes the world's lack of responsibility for failing to deal with what the 'great powers' had began during the Cold War. India's nuclear tests, he says, should wake the world from their slumber.
He finishes off with a chilling statement on how nuclear war in the Subcontinent would be tantamount to civil war, as the people affected would be the leaders' own.
The entire text features a distinct style of writing - succinct, compact and condensed. Certain motifs repeat - the monopoly of the 5 nuclear powers, India's sense of insecurity, 'great power' status, the sheer absurdness of investing in nukes in the midst of rampant poverty, the inevitability of nuclear tensions flaring up - all deeply embedded in the Subcontinent's psyche. It features talking to people as varied as Ram Vilas Paswan, the head of the Jam'at-ul-Islami, and Asma Jehangir. There's a sense of deep sympathy with the common man, but none of the usual sentimentality that follows.
Metaphors flow with sage comparisons, and you feel closer and closer to understanding 'how to love the bomb'. A great read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2023
We have all known Amitav Ghosh as the weaver of stories, bringing to life exotic locations and eras. This time he casts his focus on the nuclear dilemmas plaguing India and Pakistan and does so inimitably with style and precision.
On one side he relates the almost illogical underestimation of the nuclear threat on the Indian side who are rather seduced by the ephemeral promises of 'superpower-dom' and on the other hand the logical but overtly pessimistic view on the Pakistani side where there is a real sense of a country going to pieces.
The profiles of George Fernandes , the Indian defence minister at the time and the Pakistani human rights activist Asma Jehangir are beautifully done and are wonderfully illustrative of the politics in both countries. It is especially moving and tragic in many ways to see an idealist like George turned into a Realpolitik leader - the kind whom he criticised all his life. It succinctly shows what is wrong in our cynical politics today where men of ideals are 'spun and spun' by the system until they are hollow shells of their earlier selves.
There is also a wonderful account of the Siachen conflict and the futility of the entire endeavour made even more ludicrous and tragic by the fact that it was these two poor countries who were engaged in it. The description of the perils faced by the soldiers and their feelings are done in a very engaging way.
In the end there is a chilling dystopian description of a Delhi hit by a nuclear missile. This will bring to sense all the gung-ho supporters of the nuclear tests as they will realize what a horrible event they have conspired to bring into existence.
In the end this book despite its slim size espouses strong ideas against a nuclear world and along the way enlightens us also about the tragedy that is India-Pakistan politics. Two thumbs up!
On one side he relates the almost illogical underestimation of the nuclear threat on the Indian side who are rather seduced by the ephemeral promises of 'superpower-dom' and on the other hand the logical but overtly pessimistic view on the Pakistani side where there is a real sense of a country going to pieces.
The profiles of George Fernandes , the Indian defence minister at the time and the Pakistani human rights activist Asma Jehangir are beautifully done and are wonderfully illustrative of the politics in both countries. It is especially moving and tragic in many ways to see an idealist like George turned into a Realpolitik leader - the kind whom he criticised all his life. It succinctly shows what is wrong in our cynical politics today where men of ideals are 'spun and spun' by the system until they are hollow shells of their earlier selves.
There is also a wonderful account of the Siachen conflict and the futility of the entire endeavour made even more ludicrous and tragic by the fact that it was these two poor countries who were engaged in it. The description of the perils faced by the soldiers and their feelings are done in a very engaging way.
In the end there is a chilling dystopian description of a Delhi hit by a nuclear missile. This will bring to sense all the gung-ho supporters of the nuclear tests as they will realize what a horrible event they have conspired to bring into existence.
In the end this book despite its slim size espouses strong ideas against a nuclear world and along the way enlightens us also about the tragedy that is India-Pakistan politics. Two thumbs up!
November 19, 2013
An enchanting travelogue, very easy to read, about the aftermath of the Pokhran nuclear tests by the Indian Government on 11th May, 1998 and the Pakistani nuclear tests in response 17 days later. A superb writer of fiction, Amitav Ghosh also writes very accessible non-fiction of his travels, mostly in south and south-east Asia, and the socio-politics of the region. Countdown is an excellent addition to this portfolio, and it is a thin book at less than 100 pages.
The book follows Ghosh's travels to Pokhran, Kashmir, the Siachen glacier, Nepal and Pakistan, as he visits the border areas that are politically significant in relations between India and Pakistan. Particularly noteworthy are the conversations between the writer and then Defense Minister George Fernandes, as well as conversations with human rights lawyer Asma Jehangir.
The book gives a clear picture of the situation between the two countries 15 years ago, and makes some predictions. Here is an excerpt that sums up Ghosh's opinions of the Indo-Pak situation in 1998 and his forebodings for the future that is now:
"There is a deepening crisis in India and Pakistsan and the almost mythical hopes and beliefs that have come to be invested in nuclear technology are a symptom of this. The pursuit of nuclear weapons in the sub-continent is the moral equivalent of civil war: the targets the rulers have in mind for these weapons are, in the end, none other than their own people."
The book follows Ghosh's travels to Pokhran, Kashmir, the Siachen glacier, Nepal and Pakistan, as he visits the border areas that are politically significant in relations between India and Pakistan. Particularly noteworthy are the conversations between the writer and then Defense Minister George Fernandes, as well as conversations with human rights lawyer Asma Jehangir.
The book gives a clear picture of the situation between the two countries 15 years ago, and makes some predictions. Here is an excerpt that sums up Ghosh's opinions of the Indo-Pak situation in 1998 and his forebodings for the future that is now:
"There is a deepening crisis in India and Pakistsan and the almost mythical hopes and beliefs that have come to be invested in nuclear technology are a symptom of this. The pursuit of nuclear weapons in the sub-continent is the moral equivalent of civil war: the targets the rulers have in mind for these weapons are, in the end, none other than their own people."
January 5, 2016
The book shook my belief about Indian nuclear warheads, which I believed were only a means for India to flex its muscles. Looking at the volatile relations between India and Pakistan it made me think about the real threat of a nuclear war in the subcontinent.
Although Amitav Ghosh from a humanitarian point speaks about all the negative implications of a nuclear war, I felt that it is a very one sided view about the whole argument. The fact that nuclear arsenals are a reality today and might have been the only reason to stop fully fledged wars in the past. Also strategic factors of not signing the Non Proliferation Treaty have not been dwelled into.
Some facts I believe are a little exaggerated to help the authors cause, " There is absolutely no reason to believe that China has any further claims on India" (after the 1962 Indo- China war). Although the book is dated but today in 2016 India does face an ominous war threat from China.
But finally it made me think about the consequences of a nuclear war on the people and the environment if unleashed. After all wars are fought to protect nations and people in the nation.
Although Amitav Ghosh from a humanitarian point speaks about all the negative implications of a nuclear war, I felt that it is a very one sided view about the whole argument. The fact that nuclear arsenals are a reality today and might have been the only reason to stop fully fledged wars in the past. Also strategic factors of not signing the Non Proliferation Treaty have not been dwelled into.
Some facts I believe are a little exaggerated to help the authors cause, " There is absolutely no reason to believe that China has any further claims on India" (after the 1962 Indo- China war). Although the book is dated but today in 2016 India does face an ominous war threat from China.
But finally it made me think about the consequences of a nuclear war on the people and the environment if unleashed. After all wars are fought to protect nations and people in the nation.
Read
July 13, 2011Its a symbol of spectacular journalistic writing. You could have expected this coming only from Amitav Ghosh. The book is a 150 pager but delved deeply into empathic issues with the Pokharan tests and allied issues not only in the nation but also our troubled-troubling neighbours Pakistan. It has picked up real time character like Asma Jehangir from Pakistan and brilliantly elucidates the resentment amongst various factions withing Pakistan who are not supportive of the govenrment's policies.
There is a line that beautifully describes the Parliament House as " An establishment of power where rules that are made to govern the whole nation radiate outwards in decreasing circles of effectiveness".
A must read..
There is a line that beautifully describes the Parliament House as " An establishment of power where rules that are made to govern the whole nation radiate outwards in decreasing circles of effectiveness".
A must read..
August 13, 2011
A great essay explaining the consequences of the nuclear rat race in the Indian subcontinent. It also explains that the nuclear threat is between India and Pakistan is merely because of the politicians and not because the people of the countries want it. Most of the people in both the countries do not even understand what they will gain by having a nuclear bomb. The basic problem for both the countries remain Bread, Cloth and House ("Roti, Kapdaa Aur Makaan"). It will be interesting to see that how the politicians of both the countries can answer this basic need of their people while spending millions of dollars in nuclear bomb.
February 26, 2015
Mr. Ghosh is a master painter of prose with the most fertile imagination and a way with words which very few writers can claim to possess. This quick read starts at Pokharan, talking about our misconstrued perceptions about what it means to be a nuclear "power", the author moves onward to examine Siachen and the Pakistani way of life. The climax of the book is a rather indulgent yet depressing assessment of the possibilities if Delhi were to be Ground Zero for a nuclear strike. Lovely read, I'm the newest Ghosh fan on the block.
October 1, 2012
If you are interested, even in the slightest way, about the nuclear policy of India and Pakistan you should read this book. Loved the way he starts with the village near the Pokhran site and ends with the cataclysmic image of a New Delhi devastated by a nuclear attack. Also, brought back memories of Leh, enlightened by the passages on George Fernandes, Siachen Glacier and the interview with Asma Jahangir.
June 25, 2013
Given the author is Amitav Ghosh i had actually expected something ( No, a lot actually) more from this book. The book being a sort of autobiographical account of the 1999 nuclear tests lacks information .It lacks opinion. I was just somewhat satisfied (and that's only because i read this on a train, i had nothing else to do)
April 10, 2016
This one was truly interesting to know about India's second nuclear research experiment in 1998. I had heard all good things but reading this actually opened my mind to another prospect of its other influencing factors. Reminded me of George Fernandez's struggle in Indian politics and how he's among one unsung heroes.
February 1, 2017
The book compels us to think about the existence of wars and weapons; and the futility thereof. I strongly agree with the author's observations and point of view. It's quite horrifying to know how money and human lives are wasted for a useless piece of land. And how people in power misuse the patriotism and false sense of security in others for their personal gains.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews