Book Review: India: The Rise of an Asian Giant (2008)

My review of Deitmar Rothermund's India: The Rise of an Asian Giant is up on H-Net...a big thank you to Prof. Sumit Guha for commissioning it.

[May 26, 2010 Update: Unfortunately, a couple of typos/errors crept in over the course of the process. In particular, the published version includes the following: "The book contains no more than a couple of stray references to Muslim Indians (let alone to other religious minorities, B. R. Ambedkar’s protest-Buddhism for the “untouchables” aside)--remarkable given the centrality of Muslims to Indian politics, both by exclusion. It largely omits discussion of the Hindu-nationalist Right--and by ideological inclusion--the secular Left, as well as smaller Northern Indian caste-based parties, the success of each of which depends on particular caste-groups voting in tandem with Muslim voters."

...which should read:

"The book contains no more than a couple of stray references to Muslim Indians (let alone to other religious minorities, Ambedkar’s protest-Buddhism for the “untouchables” aside) – remarkable given the centrality of the Muslim to Indian politics, both by exclusion – on the Hindu-nationalist right – and by ideological inclusion – on the secular left (not to mention for the smaller Nothern Indian caste-based parties, the success of each of which depends upon particular caste-groups voting in tandem with Muslim voters). "]