Book Reviews

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A collection of book reviews published on The India Forum.

Review

Does Pluralism have a Future?

Cultural plurality cannnot serve as a bulwark against the heady unifying power of majoritarianism buttressed by official political power. To defend democracy, we need to reacquaint people with the…

▶21-Oct-2025

Janaki Nair

Book Review

Freedom under Fire in India’s Media Landscape

‘Framing the Media’ offers a comprehensive overview of India’s media policies, laws, and court rulings since Independence, showing how governments and corporate forces have persistently undermined…

▶12-Oct-2025

Mihir Desai

Book Review

Dancing Like a Man: Astad Deboo and Contemporary Indian Dance

Astad Deboo's career was intimately linked to the trajectories of Indian dance, such that his style shaped and reshaped Indian audiences’ understanding of Indian dance.

▶22-Sep-2025

Kanika Batra

Book Review

Does Contract Farming Work?

Offering a multidisciplinary comparative analysis, ‘Contract Farming in Developing Countries’ bridges theory and practice, serving as a comprehensive primer on rural development strategies while…

▶12-Sep-2025

Gopal Naik

Book Review

What Does Justice Mean for Survivors of Caste Atrocities?

For survivors of caste crimes, a successful case under the SC/ST Atrocities Act is often not legal success, but a chance of improvement in life in their local contexts.

▶05-Sep-2025

Abhineet Maurya

Book Review

India’s New Labour Codes Undermine a Century of Worker Protections

India’s new labour codes that consolidated 29 central labour laws in 2019-2020 reveal a pro-employer ideology. These codes reverse hard-won protections and return conditions to colonial-era standards.

▶01-Sep-2025

V. Krishna Ananth

Book Review

Sharp on Industry, Thin on Science

'AI Con' scrutinises the inflated promises of AI and highlights the social risks. Though timely and provocative, some arguments need refinement, and the limited recognition of genuine…

▶25-Aug-2025

Suvrat Raju

Book Review

The Case for Systemic Educational Reform

Improving children’s education should be everyone’s priority. But it requires more than fragmented fixes. Real progress needs a comprehensive strategy with curriculum reform, teacher empowerment, and…

▶10-Aug-2025

Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta

Book Review

Nehru’s Non-Alignment

A new assessment of non-alignment as a product of a specific historical juncture, where Nehru was simultaneously trying to avert war and prop up hopes from internationalism.

▶04-Aug-2025

Amit Julka

Book Review

Counting Heads in Jammu and Kashmir

In Jammu and Kashmir, population statistics are not neutral facts. Numbers are routinely manipulated by governments and communities to assert power and identity.

▶28-Jul-2025

Aijaz Ashraf Wani