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How the Indian State Constructs ‘Muslimness’ through Law and Violence
“In Tanweer Fazal’s book, ‘Practices of the State: Muslims, Law and Violence in India’, he explains how this state-sponsored identity flattens the Muslims into a homogenous community.” “Taking a leaf from Jean Paul Sartre’s Nothingness of Being, where he reflects on the Jewish identity being fixed by the anti-semite gaze, in India the state’s gaze…
Unravelling the Hindutva Playbook of Social Engineering
“An authoritative account of a post-truth India, this book fills a yawning gap in intellectual resistance, by unravelling the nuts and bolts of the strategies followed in setting the stage for the Hinduisation of the public sphere.” “An authoritative account of a post-truth India, this book fills a yawning gap in intellectual resistance, by unravelling…
Representing Cultural Evolution through Song-text
The book holds a cross-disciplinary appeal and beyond academia, anyone with a keen interest in poetry and music in Indian tradition could find it worth a read. Vidula Sonagra, EPW A review that very succinctly tells us what the book contains, achieves and represents. The book is a significant contribution to the social history of…
Reflections from within
A.S. Panneerselvan discusses Sukumar Muralidharan’s book, “Freedom, Civility, Commerce” on the Hindu website: Asking for a reaffirmation of core values, Mr. Muralidharan reminds us that though there has never been a golden age of journalism, we should be aware of the difficult realities of today. He points out that information overload has not led to more…
Comrade and Artist
There are few, if any, publications on Indian artists that reveal as much about the socio-cultural history of the post-independence era as this unique book does. In exploring the unusual life and oeuvre of the dissenting painter, Anil Karanjai, roads across the earth introduces fresh perspectives not just on modern Indian art or on the…
The Mosaic of Islam
Today, 23 percent of the global population is Muslim, but ignorance and misinformation about Islam persist. In this fascinating and useful book, Perry Anderson interviews the noted scholar of Islam Suleiman Mourad about the Quran and the history of the faith.
Splintered Justice: two reviews
Check out these 2 Frontline reviews of Warisha Farasat & Prita Jha’s stinging commentary on India’s justice system. Splintered Justice: Living the Horror of Mass Communal Violence in Bhagalpur and Gujarat.
Probing the unhealed wounds
Splintered Justice: Living the Horror of Mass Communal Violence in Bhagalpur and Gujarat captures the anatomy of a communal riot. A review by Kuldeep Kumar in The Hindu.
Three Essays at the New Delhi World Book Fair
New Delhi World Book Fair 2017. 7 January-15 January, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. For Three Essays books, do visit the IPD Alternatives stall at Hall No. 11 – Stall No. 528 —— New releases from Three Essays: 1. Indian Society and the Secular: Essays (Romila Thapar) 2. Splintered Justice: Living the Horror of Mass Communal…
Indian Society and the Secular
Romila Thapar‘s new book of essays, Indian Society and the Secular, arrives at a time when India is facing its greatest challenges since Independence in 1947. With ultra right in power and forces of Hindu nationalism out to revise the very idea of a pluralistic, democratic and secular republic and recast it into a Hindu rashtra.…
Reality that stinks
“Dalits and Adivasis in India’s Business Economy: Three Essays and an Atlas” captures the experience of doing business in a caste-conscious social environment KULDEEP KUMAR writes in The Hindu, 5 March 2016: The suicide of Dalit researcher Rohith Vemula, termed “institutionalised murder” by many a commentator, has focused the nation’s attention on the status of the…
Following DD Kosambi
Ram Ramaswamy Some years ago, a friend of mine at JNU proudly told me about a book that he had picked up from the library “sale”, a book that had once belonged to D D Kosambi (DDK). Apparently it had not been checked out for years, and was therefore deemed unworthy of staying on in the library,…
“A lingering pain that seeps slowly and eternally through the flooded scars of Kashmir”
Hufaiza Pandit reviews Of Gardens and Graves To read Of Gardens and of Graves is to witness the coming to life of Yeats’ famous line: “A terrible beauty is born”. It is to be reminded, if ever a reminder was needed, of the lingering pain that seeps slowly and eternally through the flooded scars of Kashmir, the…
Perry Anderson remembers Praful Bidwai
On publication of The Indian Ideology, I was asked by Praful Bidwai if he could interview me about it for Outlook. I was then in France, and our exchange was conducted by email. … [Before this] I had met Praful just once, at a conference in Delhi in 2010, at which I remember him gently reproaching me…
Of Gardens and Graves: Review by Gowhar Fazili in Biblio
The juxtaposition and the parallel reading of poems written by Pandit and Muslim poets is a conscious move to se the shared language and poetry as the “affective glue that binds” them together even as they bear witness to “the destruction of the community”. Kaul does not perceive the suffering of the two communities –…
To Speak of Kashmir
Of Gardens and Graves “In our world, official stories are repeated ad nauseam by every form of government or corporate media, and most often these stories have more to do with administrative convenience than with people’s lives. One of the most important tasks of writers is to produce accounts of experiences and events that contest…
Keeper of Memory
On Eduardo Galeano … Galeano’s death on April 13 is like the death of Gabriel García Márquez last year. The departure of both is a huge loss for the continent. Both knew how to tell a tale: one could bring his literary talent into play in histories of imperialism, of everyday life, of football; the other…
Sharing Galeano
In honour of Eduardo Galeano who passed away on April 13, we at Three Essays Collective are offering Open Veins of Latin America at a special price of Rs250 for next two weeks, starting April 16. For a book priced at Rs450, this amounts to a discount of nearly 45 percent, and with free postage…
In Memorium – Daya Varma
Daya Varma died just a week ahead of the release of his second book, Medicine, Healthcare and the Raj: the unacknowledged legacy. He will be remembered for his extraordinary life – a life lived so directly, courageously and honestly. There were many books inside him, waiting to be shaped after he retired from his busy…
Three Essays at Book Fair
New Delhi World Book Fair 2015 February 14–22 | Pragati Maidan Three Essays Collective is present at IPD Atlternatives Hall No 1R Stall Nos. 49 & 50
The Kafkalands Of India
At a time when the world is back to debating terror, it’s clear that the ruling regime in India has made certain that things tilt in a certain direction. On December 30, 2014, in what appeared to be a New Year gift, BJP President Amit Shah was let off on all charges linked to the…
Securing the Nation State as Terrorist
Excerpt from the review in EPW by Sharib Ali What Kafkaland: Prejudice, Law and Counterterrorism in India has to say is indeed odd and tragic. Sethi’s canvas is specific. It is not Kashmir, not the north-east, not “Naxal”. It is bomb blasts, attacks, conspiracies in “mainland” Indian cities and towns, which have together constituted the…
‘It’s important to stay engaged and keep pressing for equality and justice.’
Surabhi Chopra is co-editor of ON THEIR WATCH: Mass Violence and State Apathy in India. Examining the Record. She is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law, Chinese University of Hong Kong. She researches transitional justice, national security and the rights of the poor. She replies to four questions we posed before her. 1.…
Music, City, Self
Aneesh Pradhan in conversation with Nalini Taneja about his book Hindustani Music in Colonial Bombay and some key issues in contemporary Hindustani art music. What in your view are the key problems in historiography of Hindustani music, as well as musicology that derives from it? Until the last two decades or so, historiography of Hindustani…
‘No justice is possible in a system of impunity and compromise.’
Prita Jha is co-editor of ON THEIR WATCH: Mass Violence and State Apathy in India. Examining the Record. She is a human right activist working in Gujarat. She replies to four questions we put to her. Q.: The book is based on painstaking field-work. The chapter on Gujarat, written by you, is the longest. The…
MSS Pandian, 1957-2014
The sudden departure of MSS Pandian, historian, scholar and extraordinary teacher, adds a sense of emptiness to these terrible times. A massive heart attack following a gastro-intestinal complication, of which he wasn’t fully aware, took him away on 10 November 2014 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. On the way to…
Before the Law
Kafkaland explores the grisly underbelly of counterterrorism, where prejudice and lawlessness are the standard operating codes. From Mumbai to Bangalore, to Delhi to Madhya Pradesh, it examines some of the most prominent terror cases to show that the hallmark of terror investigations is not simply a casual subversion of norms but cynical prejudice and brutal…
The Doctor and the Saint
In her introduction to the annotated critical edition of Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s ‘Annihilation of Caste’ (Navayana, 2014), Arundhati Roy looks at the ways in which caste plays out in modern India, and how the conflict between Ambedkar and Gandhi continues to resonate into the present day. To mark the launch of the book Arundhati Roy…
A life of music: Patha Chatterjee on Gangubai Hangal
Deepa Ganesh gives a “captivating and perceptive account of the life and music of Gangubai Hangal”. Deepa Ganesh’s biography, A Life in Three Octaves, brings alive the musical journey of Gangubai Hangal and her day-to-day existential struggles. It was a life fraught with financial difficulties, which was made worse by a lack of worldliness—singers with…
Three Essays at the New Delhi World Bank Fair
Three Essays books at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2014 (15-23 February) at the IPD Alternatives stall (Hall 14, Stall 13)
Slash that divides and bridges: Rajesh Sharma on his ‘in/disciplines’
1. How How did you get to write these essays? What motivated you? I believe I am also responsible for the world in which we find ourselves. I have tried to respond to this world from time to time. As a person who teaches – and who can read and write – I think I…
A sad day for publishing
Penguin, in agreeing to withdraw Wendy Doniger’s book The Hindus: an alternative history, has signaled its willingness to do business with the ultra right in India. The venerable Oxford University Press has already been doing this for some time: the fate of the book on Shivaji by James Laine and the anthology of essays by…
A LIFE IN THREE OCTAVES: The Musical Journey of Gangubai Hangal
Gangubai was born to a family of traditional musicians in Dharwad and went on to become one of the greatest vocalists of the Hindustani classical music. ‘A Life in Three Octaves’ is an account of the life and times of this extraordinary musician who forged the highest form of art through the crucible of her…
KN Panikkar’s History as a Site of Struggle reviewed in Frontline
History as a Site of Struggle encapsulates the righteous indignations of a sensitive activist of a historian who is unhappy with the way politics has been drifting into the narrow alleys of obscurantist jingoism and sectarian hatred. Panikkar has been an eminent academic, but, as the editor rightly puts it, “he has spent as much time…
Review roundup: The Indian Ideology
India and Ideology: Why Western Thinkers Struggle With the Subcontinent By Pankaj Mishra, Council on Foreign Relations According to Perry Anderson’s new book, The Indian Ideology, India’s democracy — routinely celebrated as the world’s largest — is actually a sham. An Interview With Perry Anderson on “The Indian Ideology” Sentimentalizing Gandhi by Praful Bidwai, Conterpunch.org ‘The…
New book: Dalits and Adivasis in India’s Business Economy by Barbara Harriss-White and others
India’s founding fathers and neo-liberalisers alike expected economic development to dissolve ‘archaic’ forms of exchange, but the modern Indian economy remains embedded in caste relations. At the base of the caste hierarchy are formerly untouchable and tribal workers. But a growing minority of dalits and adivasis have been incorporated into the Indian economy not as…
Shri M. Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India addressing at the release of Professor K.N. Pannikar’s book “History as a Site of Struggle”
Shri M. Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India addressing at the release of Professor K.N. Pannikar’s book “History as a Site of Struggle”, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on September 11, 2013. Shri Nikhil Kumar, Governor of Kerala is also seen. Also in the picture, KN Panikkar, Romila Thapar, Shashi Tharoor and Governor of Kerala Nikhil Kumar.…
Media roundup for the book release of History as a Site of Struggle
The Hindu The true historian would strive to explain to the reader how and why things were as they were, avoiding any kind of blind trust in tradition. The Vice-President said Mr. Panikkar stood tall in the noble fraternity of such historians. New Indian Express Ansari said that this volume was a collection of papers…
History as a Site of Struggle book release video by Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala
Watch the book release of History as a Site Struggle by KN Panikkar. Speakers include Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India, and Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala. Also present were Romila Thapar, Shashi Tharoor and N.A. Baby. The event took place in Thiruvanathapuram on September 11, 2013.
New release: History as a Site of Struggle by KN Panikkar
This valuable collection of essays by KN Panikkar chronicles contemporary South Asia as it has unfolded in the last three decades. His being a historian of modern India has lent to his analysis of contemporary concerns a unique vantage point not available in most commentaries of contemporary South Asia. The author focuses on the alliance…
New release: FASCISM, edited by Jairus Banaji
This collection of essays contains the first-ever English translation of Arthur Rosenberg’s fascinating analysis of the emergence of fascism in Europe, as well as a short introduction to the essay that explains its significance, and then four contributions that extend the framework to India – dealing in turn with Savarkar and the politics of the…
New book by Daya R. Varma: Reason and Medicine
We are pleased to announce the release of Daya Varma’s Reason and Medicine, Art and science of healing from antiquity to modern times. This book is brilliant and wise, full of unexpected insights, and a delight to read! It is the kind of rare book that only a practising scientist with a deep awareness of…
We are at the 2013 New Delhi World Book Fair
Three Essays Collective books are available at the 2013 New Delhi Book Fair from February 4 to 10. We are sharing the Independent Publishers’ Distribution Alternatives (IPD) stall with like-minded publishers. IPD Alternatives Stall No 197-198, Hall 14 Pragati Maidan exhibition grounds New Delhi For more information, visit the New Delhi Book Fair website: www.newdelhiworldbookfair.gov.in
Political Economy of Uncaring: A review
C Shambu Prasad reviews A.R. Vasavi’s book Shadow Spaces: Suicides and the Predicament of Rural India in EPW. Why is it that India, which has arguably the largest number of farmers in the world, spends little time discussing its worst agrarian crisis? Why are farmer suicides not considered “newsworthy”? What makes us treat them as…
Romila Thapar on BBC Radio
Romila Thapar on her life and times. A wonderful interview done by BBC’s Lyce Doucet. Radio at its best. As the World Service marks its 80th anniversary, we ask six octogenarians how the world has changed for women in the last eight decades. In no single arena has the world altered so much and in…
Perry Anderson’s ‘Outlook’ interview on “The Indian Ideology” on Counterpunch
Complete interview on Counterpunch You could say that, very roughly, it advances five main arguments that run counter to conventional wisdom in India today. Firstly, that the idea of a subcontinental unity stretching back six thousand years is a myth. Secondly, that Gandhi’s injection of religion into the national movement was ultimately a disaster for…
Perry Anderson’s “After Nehru” on London Review of Books
Read the complete article on LondonReview of Books This real achievement has, in what by now could be termed the Indian Ideology, been surcharged with claims to a largely imaginary status: the notion that the preservation by the Indian state of the unity of the country is a feat so exceptional as to be little…
Praful Bidwai interviews Perry Anderson for Outlook India: ‘Respect Gandhi If You Will, Don’t Sentimentalise Him’
The complete interview available here: http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?282832 … His latest book, The Indian Ideology, just published by the Three Essays Collective, is a scathing critique of the dominant celebratory discourse of the Idea of India, or the lionising of the democratic stability, multi-cultural unity and impartial secularity of the Indian state as a miracle. His three recent…
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