Book Review : Debating Modern Indian History

Saurav Kumar Rai, Debating Modern Indian History, Manak Publications, New Delhi, 2021, 218 pages, Rs 500

Debating Modern Indian History by Saurav Kumar Rai is a fascinating, engaging and reader-friendly book. It is an ambitious project which reappraises the conventional as well as recent historical interpretations of modern Indian history through eight diverse yet contested themes. In order to pursue his arguments, the author presents the broad themes within recent historiograhical debates. The discussion is thought-provoking and interesting, and certainly forms a welcome step away from the conventional presentation of these events solely from the perspective of the reader’s interests. Of course, the reader may take issue with particular details and claims: for example, minute details of the selected themes have been meticulously crafted in such a manner that they delineate a non-partisan approach.