From The Hindu, a special edition on Independent India at 60, including essays by Amartya Sen, Manmohan Singh, and more. From The Guardian's G2, a special issue on The New India. From Forbes, a special report on India At 60, including an essay by Amartya Sen. Shashi Tharoor on how the nation born 60 years ago today is built on a bold idea of difference — and an agreement that it's healthy to disagree. A miracle in Calcutta: Horace Alexander spent India's day of independence with Mahatma Gandhi in Calcutta—and watched him broker a miraculous peace between the city's warring Hindus and Muslims. With celebrations commemorating the country's 60th year since gaining independence from British rule already well underway, India is poised to enter a new era of economic expansion, led by a burgeoning class of young movers and skakers.
A review of Indian Summer: The secret history of the end of an Empire by Alex von Tunzelmann (and more). A review of Gandhi: the Man, His People and the Empire by Rajmohan Gandhi; The Great Partition: the Making of India and Pakistan by Yasmin Khan; and India Remembered by Pamela Mountbatten. A review of India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy by Ramachandra Guha. A review of Fantasies of a Bollywood Love Thief: Inside the World of Indian Moviemaking by Stephen Alter. Bollywood’s hegemony: Sixty years after Independence, the reach of popular Hindi cinema has left regional films and talented directors out in the cold. The Big Fat Indian Wedding: India's economic prosperity has brought a burgeoning of lavish ceremonies at astronomical cost. Will efforts to cap the wasteful spending succeed? India is both secular state and religious society. Where does Buddhism fit, and what can the Indian experience teach?
From Open Democracy, the violent territorial rupture of 1947 and its legacy reveal partition to be conceptually flawed and historically ill-grounded as a solution to political antagonism. Sixty Years of Freedom — and Animosity: Both Pakistan and India are celebrating six decades of independence from the British this week. But the reality of today is a far cry from the dreams of 1947. Despite their shared culture, cuisine and love for the game of cricket, India and Pakistan seem prepared to fight more wars. Pakistan at the Crossroads: Stability depends on restoring democracy and bringing prosperity to Pakistan, and an interview with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. After the Raj: Cif bloggers write about India and Pakistan, 60 years after partition, including Partition's other anniversary: Bangladesh may have its independence, but there is still no freedom for its minorities. Always with us: An article on the intractability of South Asian poverty.
