I stumbled upon a blog where enthusiastic and bibliophilic readers had posted the 10 best books on India (covering various dimensions like economy,culture,politics etc.).I have listed them down here expecting it might act as a reference for people who want to read quality books about India.I truly believe no single book can capture the country perfectly.However most of the books listed here are considered excellent by experts.
1. Khushwant Singh’s collection of essays on India
2. Chapter 8: “After the Permit Raj – India’s Awakening”, from “The Commanding Heights” by Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw.
3. “Culture Shock! India” by Gitanjal Kolanad – how Indian society works.
4. “Everybody loves a good draught”, by P. Sainath – Related to Vidarbha farmer suicides.
5. “The idea of India” — Sunil Khilnani
6. “In the name of democracy” by Bipan Chandra – Emergency period in 1970s.
7. “India 2020″ by APJ Kalam.
8. Gurcharan Das’s “India Unbound” and “The Elephant Paradigm”.
9. “India in slowmotion” by Mark Tully.
10. “In Light of India” — Octavio Paz.
11. “Empire of the Soul” – Paul William Roberts.
12. “The Burdens of Democracy” by Pratap Bhanu Mehta.
13. “The Best of R K Laxman”.
14. “India’s Economic Reforms” – Jagdish Bhagwati.
15. “The Age of Kali” - William Dalrymple.
16. “The Argumentative Indian” by Amartya Sen.
Add to the list "India after Gandhi" by Ramachandra Guha, a must-read for anyone who wants to know the history of India post independence.I am still reading it.
Cheers!