scorecardresearch
Monday, July 21, 2025
HomePageTurnerBook Excerpts

Book Excerpts

India has too many tiny farms in agriculture and tiny firms in industry. That’s a problem

In his new book India Unlimited, economist Arvind Panagariya writes about the problem of tiny firms in India, which has reduced output per worker.

Petty, bad tempered Kasturba — What Gandhi said while courting Sarladevi & Esther Faering

In Kasturba Gandhi: A Biography, B.M. Bhalla writes about one of Kasturba’s most trying times when Gandhi would obsess over other women and mock her publicly.

India-Pakistan diplomacy wasn’t poisoned after violent Partition. Officials kept their calm

In Animosity at Bay, Pallavi Raghavan writes about how India and Pakistan together prioritised creating a mutually-acceptable administrative architecture.

Gifts from Jaganmohan Reddy to Nagarjuna but PV Sindhu has no idea of number of awards

Few Indian sportspersons, outside cricket, have made it to Forbes’s list of ‘richest’ sportspersons. Sindhu is an exception, writes V. Krishnaswamy in Shuttling to the Top.

Rajendra ‘Jubilee’ Kumar’s lonely years: ‘I helped all those I could. Where are they today?’

In Jubilee Kumar, Seema Sonik Alimchand writes about the life of one of Bollywood’s biggest superstars and the year he almost had no films.

How I created Theobroma’s favourite product and became brownie queen of Mumbai

In Baking a Dream, Kainaz Messman Harchandrai writes about the most famous product of Theobroma — brownies and how her mother inspired her to create it.

My memories of being in RSS shakha are very different: Milind Soman

In his memoir, Made in India, Milind Soman writes about how being part of the RSS shakha at young age was like being in a ‘desi Scouts’ movement.

The real Wani: Army officer who gave Kashmiri children chocolates & guided against militancy

In a new book, Sonal Chaturvedi traces the life of late Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, the first Kashmiri Ashok Chakra awardee.

Cultural artillery, Christianity, education: How the British & missionaries Westernised Khasis

In 'White As Milk and Rice', Nidhi Dugar Kundalia writes about how 80% of Khasis today are Christian converts because of the British.

Feminism has a problem – it’s over-dependence on the state to deliver for women

In Hood Feminism, Mikki Kendall writes women who are outspoken about police brutality or sexual assault are positioned more as sacrifices than saviours.

On Camera

India’s TRP ecosystem needs a reset. Time to end BARC monopoly

A ratings monopoly in India has led to lack of technological variation, resulting in sluggish systems detached from market dynamics.

India-US set to ink mini trade deal soon, reach understanding on agricultural & dairy products

Mini deal will likely see no cut in 10% baseline tariff on Indian exports announced by Trump on 2 April, it is learnt, but additional 26% tariffs are set to be reduced.

Not just AK-203, India & Russia to jointly manufacture AK-19 and PPK-20 for domestic use and export 

India-Russia JV is also racing to deliver 7,000 more AK-203 assault rifles by 15 Aug. These are currently being made with 50% indigenisation and this will surge to 100% by 31 December.

Strategic partner one day, tactical nightmare the next: India’s learning Trumplomacy the hard way

Public, loud, upfront, filled with impropriety and high praise sometimes laced with insults. This is what we call Trumplomacy. But the larger objective is the same: American supremacy.