ANTICIPATING INDIA : THE BEST OF NATIONAL INTEREST BY SHEKHAR GUPTA (HARDCOVER) OLD BOOK

Anticipating India: The Best Of National Interest is a collection of news columns that have appeared in The Indian Express from November 1997. When India was going through a particularly chaotic political era, the author Shekhar Gupta, started National Interest, a column that went into the depths of Indian politics. Gupta beautifully portrayed the intricate relationships between populists, politics, and economics. The column has gained wide readership over the last seventeen years.

This book is a collection of articles that focus on politics and political economy themes, starting from the Ruchika Girhotra case, to the gang rape of December 2012 and the rise of Arvind Kejriwal, Narendra Modi, and Rahul Gandhi. Gupta analyses the successes and failures of Indian Prime Ministers like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh. He also throws light on factors that have heightened Indian federalism, and focusses on the Indian public who have managed to keep a check on those who hold political power in this country. This book questions power and authority, and illustrates how these have been abused in many cases. At the same time, it also challenges the stereotypes and assumptions about India and Indians.

Anticipating India: The Best Of National Interest is a fantastic book, which take readers on a ride where history unfolds before their eyes. Gupta’s writing is contemporary, straightforward, engaging, and informative. Those who wish to understand Indian politics over the last two decades, should read this non-fiction book. Anticipating India: The Best Of National Interest, published by HarperCollins in 2014, is available in hardcover.