Makers of Modern India

"The striking thing about modern India is that the men and women who made its history also wrote most authoritatively about it." So begins one of the first major anthologies of Indian political writing, impressively annotated by Guha (India After Gandhi). The book recovers and elucidates obscure political writings that "had a defining impact on the formation of the Indian Republic" and demonstrate the diversity of India. A variety of rhetorical styles adds to the complexity and liveliness of the collection: Syed Ahmad Kahn's blunt political rhetoric on Muslim separatism abuts Rammohan Roy's elegant articulations on gender inequality. Though providing a wide gamut of political, religious, and regional writings, the collection is marred by a paucity of female voices—only two women are included. An indulgent focus on Gandhi is punctuated by welcome excerpts by other gifted writers: Jayaprakash Narayan and his incisive critique of Indian political apathy toward Tibet in the earlier stages of Chinese annexation, and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay's excerpt on communalism and the class underpinnings of partition. Despite the vastness of the material and the limitations imposed by its structure (organized by individual not by theme or chronology), the book is an engaging and illuminating read, and brings to the fore both the diversity of India and the relevance of its modern political origins. (Apr.)