Understanding India and its Problems (Vol I-II)
Author : Braj Bihari Kumar
Publisher: Macmillan Education
Publication Year : 2025
Price : 3600
About the Book
Understanding India and its problems is set into two volumes that are divided into eight themes. It offers a variety of essays by experts on multiple issues ranging from ‘Indian Identity’, ‘Indian Spiritualism’ and ‘India Beyond its Frontiers’ to Democracy and Diplomacy’, ‘Indian Economy’ and ‘Security’. The book contains articles that not only provide new insight into understanding India and its problems but also suggest long-term solutions. It is designed to open new avenues for scholarly discussions and debate on the issues that the book deals with.
About the Author
Braj Bihari Kumar is a distinguished figure in academia and research, serving as the editor of the comprehensive work, "Understanding India and its Problems, Volume I". He has held significant leadership positions that underscore his influence in the realm of social science research, notably as the Chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), located in New Delhi. His expertise and engagement were not confined to national boundaries, as he also served as a Governing Body Member of the Science Council of Asia, an esteemed organization based in Tokyo, Japan.
| VOLUME- I | |
|---|---|
| Contents | |
| Foreword | |
| Preface | |
| Introduction | |
| Braj Bihari Kumar |
| Indian Identity | |
|---|---|
| 1. | River Saraswati: The Life-Line of the Harappans in Middle Holocene Time K S Valdiya |
| 2. | Modern India Needs to Wake Up to Its Ancient Past Amish Tripathi |
| 3. | Why India Can't Afford to Forget Sanskrit Bibek Debroy |
| 4. | Archaeological Evidence and Mahabharata B R Mani |
| 5. | Continuities or Ruptures: Perspectives on Some Aspects of Ancient India Meenakshi Jain |
| 6. | Politics of the Aryan Myth: Global Background Navaratna S Rajaram |
| India and Its Multiple Facets: From the Editor's DeskIndia and Its Multiple Facets: From the Editor's Desk | |
|---|---|
| 7. | Stupidity in the Garb of Scholarship Braj Bihari Kumar |
| 8. | Land Routes Linking Central and Southeast Asia Braj Bihari Kumar Braj Bihari Kumar |
| 9. | Central Asia in Ancient Indian Literature Braj Bihari Kumar |
| 10. | India and Central Asia: Links and Interactions Braj Bihari Kumar |
| 11. | Kharosthi Documents in Xinjiang Braj Bihari Kumar |
| 12. | Religion and Cult Syncretism in Central Asia Braj Bihari Kumar |
| 13. | The Religion of the Indian Tribes Braj Bihari Kumar |
| India Beyond Its Frontiers | |
|---|---|
| 14. | India's Cultural Relations with Southeast Asia LK Mahapatra |
| 15. | Continuity or Discontinuity in Hindu-Buddhist Temple Art in Ancient Java Rov E Jordaan |
| 16. | Dvaravati: Political Life and Thought Phasook Indrawooth |
| Indian Spiritualism | |
|---|---|
| 17. | Buddhist Route and Upanishadic Tradition Ram Swarup |
| 18. | Buddhism vis-a-vis Hinduism Ram Swarup |
| 19. | Affinity between Vedic and Buddhist Traditions SR Bhatt |
| 20. | Modern Critique of Buddhism from a Hindu Viewpoint: A Review Koenraad Elst |
| 21. | Hindu Roots of Sikhism Ram Swarup |
| Education and Social Science Research | |
|---|---|
| 22. | Transforming Indian Higher Education DP Singh |
| 23. | Resetting the Research Priorities for a New Narrative on Development Sachin Chaturvedi |
| 24. | Towards Transdisciplinary Research in Social Sciences Amita Singh |
| 25. | Fifty Years of Indian Council for Social Science Research and Development of Psychology Research in India Janak Pandey |
| 26. | Organisation of Database for Policy-Linked Narratives: The Role of ICSSR Amitabh Kundu |
| 27. | Contribution of Indian Council of Social Science Research to Research in Economics RS Deshpande |
| 28. | On the Need for Indigenous Social Sciences Girishwar Misra |
| 29. | Indian Archaeology After Independence K Paddayya |
| 30. | Revisiting Indian Mode of Philosophising SR Bhatt |
| 31. | Philosophy in Post-independence India Ashok Vohra |
| 32. | How Fixation with Communalism Deformed Social Science Education and Research Shankar Sharan |
| 33. | Notes on the Contributors |
| VOLUME- II | |
|---|---|
| Contents | |
| Foreword | |
| Preface | |
| Introduction | |
| Braj Bihari Kumar |
| Democracy and Diplomacy | |
|---|---|
| 1. | India's Great Parliamentary Journey A Surva Prakash |
| 2. | PV Narasimha Rao and Post-Nehruvian India Sanjava Baru |
| 3. | Constructive Nationalism: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and His Forgotten Legacy Hindol Sengupta |
| 4. | India's Great Democratic Journey and the Need for Electoral Reforms SY Quraishi |
| 5. | Indian Foreign Policy Over the Decades and How Modi Transformed It Kanwal Sibal |
| 6. | India and China: The Great Rivalry Claude Arpi |
| 7. | India's Refugee Problem: Some Reflections and Few Suggestions Saradindu Mukherji |
| Economics | |
|---|---|
| 8. | The India Growth Story: Challenges and Opportunities Rajiv Kumar with Ranveer Nagaich |
| 9. | The Indian Economy 1947-2018 Meghnad Desai |
| 10. | Beyond Equilibria Sanjeev Sanyal |
| 11. | Emerging Power Centres in the World of Research and Development and the Indian Journey D K Nauriyal |
| 12. | Global Economic Crisis and Implications for India R Vaidyanathan |
| 13. | Polemics on Institutions and Statistics for Policy: An Alternative Perspective MH Suryanarayana |
| 14. | Need to Recognise and Present Native Indian Economics P Kanagasabapathi |
| 15. | Farm Suicides in India: Trends and Issues Satish Verma |
| Security | |
|---|---|
| 16. | India's Internal Security: Challenges and Response Prakash Singh |
| 17. | From Uri to Balakot: How India Redefined Its Pakistan Policy Madhav Nalapat |
| 18. | India's National Security Challenges and Strategy Rajiv Nayan |
| Miscellaneous | |
|---|---|
| 19. | Humane Values are the Future Lokesh Chandra |
| 20. | Indian Public Health System: Biomedical, Ethical and Socioeconomic Perspectives Bhushan Patwardhan and Rajas Parchure |
| 21. | India's Literary Journey Since Independence Ramesh Chandra Shah |
| 22. | How Constructive Nationalism Fires Up Good Journalism Abhijit Majumder |
| 23. | Indian Cinema Post-independence: A Lost and Found Saga Gautam Chintamani |
| 24. | The Forgotten Massacre: Why India must Revisit Morichjhanpi Utpal Kumar |
| 25. | Towards a National Cultural Policy for India: Opportunities and Challenges Vikram Sampath |
| 26. | Dhoni: A Small-Town Phenomenon Biswadeep Ghosh |
| Notes on the Contributors | |