15 August,2026 08:59 AM IST | Mumbai | Nandini Varma
Representation pics/istock
What history does India have to tell since its freedom from the British rule? Ramachandra Guha examines this in his masterpiece. From the celebration of the first "Independence Day" in 1930, to the events that led to the partition, linguistic reorganisation of states in the new nation, the fight of the Nagas for self-determination and tensions in the Kashmir Valley, communal conflicts and regionalism in the 1960s, the declaration of Emergency, caste-based violence, Guha chronicles all that has shaped the world's largest democracy.
The Independence Day narrative is incomplete without reflecting on the impact of Partition on the lives of people on the two sides of the border. Through personal interviews, author and publisher Urvashi Butalia assembles pieces of a harrowing history from the testimonies of those who survived. She argues that apart from literary and political representations, the way to understand Partition is to learn how people remember the facts and that Partition is not a thing of the past. Its echoes are heard even today.
Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie's pathbreaking work in postcolonial writing traces the life of Saleem Sinai, born "on the stroke of midnight", on August 15 1947, in the city of Bombay (now Mumbai). As a result of the timing of his birth, he and other midnight's children are bestowed with special powers. Using magical realism, Rushdie explores a changing India that witnessed an identity crisis, migration, wars and emergency.
In her new memoir, one of the leading legal minds of the country, Indira Jaising, reflects on the primacy of the constitution of India and draws a map of the crucial legal battles she led in her five-decade-long career. This gives us a peek into a part of the legal history of India years after independence, especially the realities of gender inequality and institutional neglect. Her conversation with Ritu Menon, for instance, includes elaboration on cases like the Bhopal Gas Tragedy compensation case, the triple talaq ban case, Sabarmati entry case, domestic violence reforms, among others. Pair it with Assembling Indian Constitution by Rohit De and Ornit Shani.
While plenty of books highlight the contribution of the well-known freedom fighters of the nation, few throw light on the unsung heroes. Ira Saxena's book is a great introduction to some of the lesser-known fighters who played a significant role in the freedom struggle through non-violence. From the story of Hashmat Ali Khan in Meerut to that of Sarla Jagmohan in Rann of Kutch, readers meet ordinary people with immense grit.
The Quit India Movement saw its early beginnings at a Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee, but one is rarely made privy to its history in the southern parts of the emerging nation. Tanjore was one such city. In Devika Rangachari's novel, through Thambi's life, we get a peek into it. As stations begin to get vandalized and leaflets are being circulated, young Thambi tries to make sense of it all and picks up pieces of courage to do the right thing in tense times.
Prem Behari Narain Raizada learnt the art of calligraphy under the guidance of his grandfather. As he practiced every day to perfect his art, his Os began to curl like âtwisting vines' and his Ss began to curve like slithering snakes, the way his Dadaji's did. Soon, news of his calligraphy skills spread and he became the official calligrapher of the Constitution of India. This book written by Mamta Nainy and illustrated by Priyankar Gupta captures his journey perfectly.
How was India mapped? Shruthi Rao and Meera Iyer take young readers through a surveyor's journey among forests, hills and rain to tell the story of the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India. They depict how the map of India was made through the use of an interesting technique called triangulation, which uses length of a side and two angles from a point. The book is an adventurous ride that introduces readers to history through maps and math.
1997
The year Arundhati Roy became the first Booker Prize winner from Independent India
Available: At leading bookstores and e-stores
